Everyday Adventures

Book Review: The Long Way to a New Land

2012-01-25T20:48:00.000-08:00

I don't use Sonlight as our primary curriculum any longer, but I continue to value and respect their reading choices. This one is a repeat for Zach and me, new to Noah and Lily. The Long Way to a New Land is of the series, "An I Can Read Book." On the back, suggested age is to 4 to 8, and I believe that is quite accurate, on the upper ages the child reading independently and on the lower ages as a read-aloud by the parent. The family in the book leaves a bleak existence in Sweden for new hope in America, based on a letter of encouragement from relatives who already had made the treacherous journey across the ocean. We follow the family through the journey, ending the book at arrival in the new land. For those interested, this family's saga continues in "The Long Way Westward." The pictures in Long Way to a New Land are dark blacks and grays, very little color, obviously suggesting the gray existence of the family. Unfortunately, it also means they are not easily seen, nor interesting, to the child reading the book or being read to. This is unfortunate, as it seemingly takes away some of the enjoyment of the book for the child, at least my children. I have used this twice now with 1st graders. The story itself is somber without being depressing, and interesting without being too long or detailed for a young child. I continue to think this is a good resource for the younger ones studying immigration to America during the early 19th century.

Book review: Cora Frear

2012-01-24T16:17:00.000-08:00

This is used in Sonlight curriculum. It is a great fit for any US history/pioneer period study. I typically use it with my 1st grade kids, but my older and younger are interested too. Cora is a little girl who helps her dad, a doctor. On the way to a patient in their buggy, they get caught in a prairie fire. Cora is key in saving them, but I'll leave the rest a surprise. What is especially nice is this is based on a true figure in history, and of course female heroines are great as there are not quite so many books written starring a female for kids to admire. It is good for probably 2-3rd grade and above to read alone, or as a read-aloud down to even pre-K age.

Note it is part of the Brave Kids series, and we just put another of these on our library holds list as this one has been such a hit here.

Book Review: Dame Shirley and the Gold Rush

2012-01-23T11:19:00.000-08:00

Although Dame Shirley and the Gold Rush has suggested age range of grades 3-6, I think it is suited towards slightly younger ages as well. The book is slim, only 4 chapters, making it a good choice for older struggling readers or reading aloud to younger readers with shorter attention spans. It gives a brief glimpse of life in the gold camps from the point of view of Dame Shirley, the wife of a doctor, as recollected through letters to her sister in the east. It is said those letters are the first truly honest written records of the gold camps. I used this book with 1st and 4th graders. We read it aloud over the course of a week. The language was simple, easily understood by both. There are a few black and white pictures to help the younger crowd. What this book provided that other resources did not interestingly was an introduction to the problem of racial tensions between the Hispanic and white miners during the time. Very little was mentioned about this in other books we read, but it features prominently in the camp described by Dame Shirley, causing her much distress. This gives a nice leap to talk about the history of these tensions throughout California history and into modern times. For such a short book, this is a very nice addition to our California study with grammar age students.

Book Review: Tales and Treasures of the California Gold Rush by Randall Reinstedt

2012-01-20T13:55:00.000-08:00

Tales and Treasures of the California Gold Rush is an engaging book told in the first person narrative of the author, a storyteller. Chapters cover stories about the first gold discovered, how the 49ers arrived in California, famous and infamous bandits, what the 49ers did for fun and many, many tales of lost and buried loot from the mines, never found, to ignite the imaginations of the listeners of the tales. I read this book to my 1st and 4th graders in our California State study. Both were engaged in the lively tales, nearly always involving some sort of guns, hanging or a posse. So be forewarned, this book has quite a bit of death and burials, but not gory, and unavoidable given the subject matter. The early mining camps were not peaceful places. In terms of the kids' visualization of the time, place and people of the Gold Rush, this has far been their favorite resource this year. We very highly recommend it, both for the content and the easy narrative style of the storytelling, as either a read aloud selection or as a reader for older kids.

Book review: Jessie Benton Fremont: California Pioneer

2012-01-17T11:56:00.000-08:00

This book is used as part of the Beautiful Feet California History Through Literature Guide. I used this primarily with my 4th grade son, with a 1st grader tagging along. Honestly, this book was a very difficult read, the hardest by far of the books used in the Beautiful Feet California History pack. My 4th grader is an accelerated learner, and he did okay, but he did not really enjoy this selection. I did not enjoy it either honestly. The vocabulary and syntax in the book were elegant, clearly a very literate and graceful writer. It was the actual plot that was uninteresting to us. The book covers almost the entirety of Jessie's life, yet I did not as a reader develop much empathy or interest in her fate. We are told time and time again in the book of her love of her life, her husband, so much so that this book could almost be considered a romance. The politics of the time, as they relate to our characters, are covered well, which is likely why this book is included in the history guide. We learn about topographical exploration of the west, slavery tensions in the government and among the states, the Mexican-American war, gold and mineral rights in California and the election of Abraham Lincoln through the historically-accurate interactions of the characters. Her children, her illnesses and her sadness are covered very dispassionately though, given she is the primary character. Perhaps this is because the author has her background in journalism rather than novels? The tone throughout is very dispassionate, which is disappointing as I think this was probably a very dynamic and interesting couple in history. Overall, I was extremely disappointed in this selection and will not read it again when I cover this time period later with my other children.

Zach and Eden reading together

2012-01-17T11:28:00.001-08:00

IMG_4555, originally uploaded by WeeBeaks.

As part of our day now, Zach often reads for 10 minutes or so with Eden. I love to see how they are interacting.

Eden's new crayons

2012-01-03T14:28:00.001-08:00

Eden crayons, originally uploaded by WeeBeaks.

Eden got a new set of Melissa and Doug triangular crayons for Christmas. These are easy for her to grasp, and nice and chunky so they don't break. Plus, there is no paper wrapped to tear off and throw on the floor! These are a huge hit here.

Review: Cruise of the Arctic Star

2011-12-07T12:48:00.000-08:00

I read this book aloud to my children, ages 9 and 6. In the novel, the author, Scott O'Dell (author of Island of the Blue Dolphins and other works) travels up the coast of California in his own boat, with his wife as navigator, and a friend and one hired person as crew. Each chapter talks a little bit about the author's boat travels (including lots of boating/ship terms and references) alternating with O'Dell's musings about the history, geography or flora/fauna of the California coast. For example, as he leaves the San Diego port, he talks about that, reflects on the battle of San Pasqual in the area in the past and comments on kelp beds and recent environmental history. O'Dell is very much interested in environmental preservation, which comes through clearly in this writing. He has a clear love of the CA coast.

In our studies, we used the book as a jump point in our history study. So when O'Dell talked about Jed Smith in history, we broke off to read more about Jed Smith.

We found the boat/ship terminology a bit tough going at times, especially with my 6yo 1st grader. Even I found it a bit tedious, but then again I'm not a sailor. If you are, that may be the best part of the book for you! History fans will find much to enjoy though in his engaging recounting of some of the events in California's history. My young children love his fictional writing, and much enjoyed this work of his as well. This book is not written for children but those interested in California history will probably much enjoy it.

Of note, we did this book as part the Beautiful Feet History of California Study Guide, which suggests a nice collection of literature from which to study California history. The guide includes the books, a suggested schedule and suggested comprehension/discussion questions as well as notebooking activities for a full California study. The guide is suggested for grades 4-8, but we are doing it with a 4th grader and a 1st grader. My 4th grader is loving it, and my 1st grader struggles with some selections more than others but is overall getting a lot from the study as well.

Sea World holidays

2011-12-05T14:44:00.001-08:00

IMG_4163, originally uploaded by WeeBeaks.

This past weekend we went to Sea World. They are fully into holiday mode there. The kids loved the snow to play in (made snow that is, not naturally occurring of course). We rode a few rides, saw a few animals, most notably the penguins, which Noah has been studying. Then we had to stop by the decorate your own cookie booth, where we purchased giant sugar cookies that came with a little tub of frosting, M&Ms and sprinkles. A friendly North Pole elf came along as Lily was about to chow down on her cookie.

Butterfly hatched today

2011-11-29T14:16:00.001-08:00

IMG_4118, originally uploaded by WeeBeaks.

We had another chrysalis on our play structure for the last couple weeks. It hatched today finally. We have been watching it daily. The kids were so excited to see it before it left today.

Monarch butterful chrysalis?

2011-11-18T11:25:00.001-08:00

IMG_4065, originally uploaded by WeeBeaks.

Found on the basketball this morning in the yard, thus meaning no basketball, but the kids are thrilled anyway. We think it is a monarch? Hopefully we will get to watch for a while and see if we are right.

Picture of our workbox system

2011-11-17T14:39:00.001-08:00

Picture of our workbox system, originally uploaded by WeeBeaks.

Ah, my much neglected blog. Although it is better to have a neglected blog than neglected kids. Life is going well but busy busy. We are doing a workbox system this year. Here is a picture of our workbox system. The top row is for Zach's "boxes," using magazine files. Noah has the same setup. Lily wanted her own stuff so she has the latch boxes. Hers can then hold small pieces/games without any problem if dropped. All are loving their "boxes" system.

A big change for next year's curriculum

2011-06-01T20:03:00.000-07:00

I have been considering it for a while, but I'm finally going to make the break from Sonlight in the fall. In a lot of ways, I will miss it, but we are all ready for something new. As the years have gone by, I have removed bits and pieces here and there (bible section, etc) and added what is a better fit for our family. I became very unhappy with their revised language arts, the new one not being what my oldest child needs at all. So I was down to history and science, and the science jumps all over the place, something that has become less and less tolerable for me, feeling that I'm not providing a sufficiently solid base on which to build. I loved it in the lower cores for sure, such fun memories of those books. I'm even still happy with the history selections, enjoying the nonfiction spine mixed in with tons of historical fiction and nonfiction to really bring history alive. That is truly where Sonlight shines for sure.

So, you ask, what are we doing in the fall? Okay, so maybe you didn't ask but I'll tell you anyway. After trying out one unit of Tapestry of Grace last year (and deciding it was not for me), we are going to just go with the classical education 4-year history cycle, and rely heavily on topics and recommendations in The Well Trained Mind. I have to tell you, it feels rather odd to think of flying along without my humongous binders full of resources and schedules from Sonlight. I don't think I would have felt nearly so grounded as a new homeschooler without those. But I put in my order, and I anxiously await my materials for fall, some of which I have never seen in person due to not being able to find them locally. I have my core subject spines ordered, but I will be adding in lots and lots of the historical fiction we so love here, ala Sonlight style. We will probably be trolling the internet for good recommendations to correlate with our time period being studied (cycle year 4 by the way, modern times). Anyone with good blog recommendations for me? :)

Lily in the Garden today

2011-04-28T12:55:00.001-07:00

IMG_3255, originally uploaded by WeeBeaks.

Just a picture today - Lily in the garden.

My Garden, early in the season

2011-04-19T20:53:00.001-07:00

IMG_3179, originally uploaded by WeeBeaks.

The weather has been so strange this spring, warm and then cold, warm and then cold. My lettuce doesn't know whether to bolt or get frost bitten. But I'm working on it. You can see my nice pak choy bolted - bummer! Then the very next week my new tomatoes got frost. But I'm keeping going and hoping to have a bountiful summer garden.

Snickerdoodles!

2011-03-14T12:49:00.000-07:00

I love Snickerdoodle cookies. A month or two back, Krusteaz brand was running lots of promotions on their cookie line mixes, including in store deals and coupons. At Ralphs locally, the store deal with the coupon combined to make the mixes free. So of course I have pantry full of the mixes now, since I love coupon deals. In any case, we are slowly using those mixes up. Thank goodness they are fairly tasty, right? Today I made up another box of them as cookies, but was contemplating just how incredibly much of the cinnamon sugar mix they include in the box to roll the dough in. Seriously, it is 3x the amount needed! We don't eat cinnamon sugar toast or anything that typically uses that kind of mix, and I hated to waste it. It finally occurred to me how best to use up that premixed cinnamon and sugar in our house ... the oatmeal cinnamon bread from TheFrugalGirl we love so much. So today I made 2 loaves of the bread plus the 2 dozen cookies, and that little packet in the boxed mix provided just the right amount of cinnamon sugar mix for all three. I love it.

Eden says Happy St. Patricks Day!

2011-03-07T13:35:00.001-08:00

IMG_3058, originally uploaded by WeeBeaks.

Our littlest wishes everyone a happy early St. Patrick's Day. :)

First morning in her new big girl bed

2011-03-07T11:37:00.003-08:00

IMG_3113, originally uploaded by WeeBeaks.

Lily last night got a big girl bed (toddler bed), and spent her first night in it. It went very well. She got new bedding too to match. We moved her HUGE purple body pillow in with her, which she likes to cuddle with. Here she is waking up after a pleasant night in her new bed with only one incident at about 4 a.m., where she either fell out of bed or woke up disoriented. We got her back in, and she slept until nearly 9 a.m.!

Random typical homeschooling day

2010-11-18T14:49:00.001-08:00

I saw on another blog a homeschooler challenging homeschool bloggers to post their average day minute by minute. I honestly considered it, but just didn't have that much energy (shame on me) for a complete day. And in typical fashion I can no longer find the original blog to link back to it. Blech. I do read other homeschooling blogs for inspiration, ideas and just to feel like not everyone is perfect! I love seeing other people's school rooms or work areas, so I am sharing ours on a typical day, i.e., I didn't clean it up first!

Our space was a dining room in a former life, like before kids and homeschooling. I love that we have tons of light through 2 windows and a sliding door. And, well, that same light makes for a bad photo from the angle I used. Oh well. The littles can be out on the play structure too, and I can see them while supervising the ones inside. The desk belongs to DS age 8, DS age 5 at the table on the far end and DD age 3 bops from her coffee table full of work boxes and a space at the table for coloring. DD age 4 months likes a sunny patch on the floor for her tummy time now days. The computer and my area are on the far right in the photo.

Closer view of two hard at work coloring, at least until I broke out the camera.

Eden hard at work examining her toy and building her strength in her head and back via tummy time.

And Zach working hard at his desk. He tends towards a really messy desk unless I force him to clean it. This is clean for him.

And this is how we spend our homeschooling days.

Review: Elmer's Crafter's supplies

2010-10-26T15:40:00.001-07:00

IMG_2623, originally uploaded by WeeBeaks.

My disclaimer here is we got the items pictured for FREE to try through the Bzz Agent program. I get no compensation for my opinion (hey, not even 2 cents LOL) but we did not have to purchase the items. So here is our (kids included) opinion of the items.

First off, the glue stick is a typical glue stick honestly. I wouldn't say it is particularly better or worse than any other glue, excepting the ones that got too old in the craft box and were no longer sticky. The kids and I all tried the stick, and we all liked it. It stuck well, smoothed on nicely and was a good size.

The glue pen was even better. It had a nice fine point applicator and a wider applicator for larger items. The glue itself is clear. All of us particularly liked this one, and I will be purchasing a few more of these for use around the house. It is perfect for small craft projects as well as regular paper use, schoolwork and scrapbooking.

Now, on to the scissors. These we have to say we hated. The plastic they are made from is really really thin and flimsy, so flimsy that the tips of the cutting area bend and then don't cut. They stick together even when just holding them and opening and closing. We have other scissors that do special cuts for nice borders, and those don' t have this particular issue. We will not be keeping these as they were frustrating to use and certainly not strong enough for thicker nicer papers (heck, they didn't even do well with the thin sheets of paper). And the littlest fingers in our house found these extremely frustrating to use.

The other thing with a pink button in the middle is a corner rounder. This performed pretty much as expected though was a little sticky. I find that to be true of most of these types of products though so it is certainly average and worked okay.

The glue dots and glue on a roll I love. These are my favorites for scrapbooking, quick, easy, nonmessy, good hold. I tucked these away for my own personal use. The kids then asked me where they went. LOL They loved them too, and I don't usually buy them the nicer supplies as they are extremely HUGE consumers of glue products.

So my overall opinion is that we loved all the glue products. I would most certainly buy those for scrapbooking and crafting. The X-acto cutting supplies I just don't know. The corner thing worked okay but the scissors honestly felt pretty cheaply made IMHO.

Flashback ...

2010-10-25T13:57:00.001-07:00

photo, originally uploaded by WeeBeaks.

We went grocery shopping this weekend. We saw someone dressed oddly, but then again next weekend is Halloween so didn't think too much of it. We finally thought it looked like he was dressed ala Ghostbusters. Again, an odd choice as most teens and below wouldn't recognize that costume at all. Geez, I feel a little old here. In any case, we finally realized that Dan Aykroyd was at the local Albertsons grocery chain promoting his like of vodka, complete the Ghostbusters automobile. We then had to explain the movie to the kids so they knew what it was all about. LOL

Review: What's Smaller Than a Pygmy Shrew?

2010-10-14T13:18:00.000-07:00

The book opens describing the size of a pygmy shrew relative to an elephant, then relative to a ladybug, and proceeds smaller and smaller, each smaller item compared to a new even smaller item down to atoms, quarks and electrons. The book wraps up by describing how everything in the entire universe is made up of atoms. This book dovetails nicely, by the way, with another of this author's books, Is a Blue Whale the Biggest Thing There Is?.

Suggested age range for this book is 4-8 yrs. I used this with boys ages 8 and 5. The 5yo grasped some of the concepts, but really a lot of it was over his head as he could just not grasp it totally. The 8yo was much more enthralled with the whole idea, having used a microscope before and really understanding it better. It is one of the most user friendly books I have found though to put it in a true real world perspective, as most science texts simply start with what an atom is without really trying to explain how incredibly tiny that is.

We thoroughly enjoyed this book, even mom as a refresher, before starting in on our basic chemistry textbook for my 3rd grader. :) My kindergartener will stop here with this brief intro, and is enjoying paging through the pictures again and again.

And, by the way, I'm not paid at all for my review. I am just sharing a book we liked! :)

Review: Is a Blue Whale the Biggest Thing There Is?

2010-09-09T10:33:00.000-07:00

Today we had the pleasure of reading Is a Blue Whale the Biggest Thing There Is? by Robert Wells. And by the way, this is not a paid review, nor did we receive the book free or anything. I review this simply because I want to share a great book! :)

This selection is part Sonlight's P4/5 core curriculum which we use for Noah right now.

It is a slim little book, a nicely illustrated picture on each and every page, and an amount of text appropriate for a preschool attention span. It begins by showing the relative size of a blue whale to other common animals (elephant, lion). With that as a jump point, each page takes us progressively larger relative to the current topic, from whales, to mountains, to planets, to suns, stars, on and on until we reach the size of the galaxy. So a hard to grasp concept of a galaxy's size is broken down into bite-sized pieces. This is a perfect introduction to comparative sizes, concepts of millions and billions (great intro to that on the first page) and brief astronomy for a young child.

This is geared towards ages 4-8. Based on our experiences today, I would say that is pretty accurate. Noah is 5 now and enjoyed it, getting a lot out of it but not grasping it 100%. The pictures were engaging, and the text was approachable for his understanding level. His attention stayed put through the book. Zach is 8 now, and enjoyed it as well, listening to me read it and then grabbing it for a second read on his own, completely grasping the content and staring in wonder. He has a much firmer grasp on just how unimaginatively big a galaxy is after this book. The astronomy of course was more of a review for him, but that is great too, as we are off to build on that for him later on with more in depth astronomy, while Noah will stop here...

No, not more pictures!

2010-09-09T08:37:00.001-07:00

IMG_2443, originally uploaded by WeeBeaks.

No, she isn't hiding from the camera yet. She was just napping. Isn't she just adorable! I couldn't resist posting another picture. She is keeping us all busy, but it is well worth it.

Zach's catalog poem

2010-05-19T15:11:00.000-07:00

Zach had an assignment in his language arts this week of writing a catalog poem. I thought what he wrote was really sweet so am sharing it:

My Sister, Lily

Who cries a lot
Who can't think of a better thing than a lap
Who explores mom's phone
Who naps a little
Who throws food
Who loves everybody

Announcement ....

2010-03-08T12:05:00.000-08:00

We have been keeping fairly silent on it, but decided to finally share that we are pregnant again. We found out last week it will be another GIRL! Yeah for sisters, huh? I always wanted a close sibling in childhood, so am thrilled that L will have a sister close in age. We are due near the end of July. It has been so far a relatively easily pregnancy with one blip two weeks ago that landed me in the hospital for a week on IV fluids. I pray that everything will go well through the remainder. Now we just have to come up with a name. Any suggestions? ;)

Book: Pompeii: Lost and Found by Mary Pope Osborne

2010-01-30T13:38:00.000-08:00

Zach and I just finished up reading Pompeii: Lost and Found by Mary Pope Osborne. I found it just browsing the history section in the library for him. What a treasure this little book turned out to be. We are finishing up Rome in our Sonlight core 1 and I wanted to cover Pompeii a little more. He had read in his readers a children's paperback about Pompeii, but that was months back. I needed to refresh his memory a bit. This Osborne book is a nonfiction storybook, large size, with nicely done illustrations on each page, and not an overwhelming amount of text, making it perfect as a quick review or adjunct to another more meaty history book covering the topic. The illustrations are "fresco style," meaning they appear in the style of what fresco paintings would look like at the time, on the walls of the villas. I thought that was a particularly nice touch. The book opens and closes with the archeological find, thus framing the story for the kids into the past, and reiterating it as a true historical account rather than just a story. It also goes beyond the bare basics of the destruction of Pompeii, discussing also the culture and times of Rome briefly, one topic per two-page spread in the book. It does not gloss over the fact that the entire town died, but it did it in a considerate way, I think. That can be a rough topic for some particularly sensitive kids that age. This is a great book on Pompeii, appropriate for lower elementary students. It went very nicely with our last weeks of Sonlight core 1.

Reviewing: Guiding Your Catholic Preschooler

2010-01-13T09:02:00.000-08:00

I'm a little behind on my reviews, as I finished this selection last month. The holidays do that to me! :) I did want to say a brief bit though. This book had been recommended to me in several groups and lists as really a 5-star book for helping share the Catholic faith with a preschooler. I honestly just didn't agree truthfully. There were some creative ideas, but all and all I wouldn't say this book was what it was hyped to be for me personally. Pray for your child, take them to mass, etc., are basically common sense if you want to share your faith. Other suggestions were a bit too much for us, or at least for our children, such as taking them to solemn long masses. My kids are good kids, but none have tolerated that so far. My oldest at 7 is doing well now. I think it is just developmental and temperment related. This book also tries to briefly summarize what holy days of obligation are, lists common prayers and so forth. I'm thinking perhaps this book was intended for Catholic parents who do not practice their faith regularly? But on the other hand it also discusses having holy water and an alter in your home, which are typically seen in more conservative Catholic homes where the faith is strong. So perhaps to me this book had a bit of a trying to cater to each group, and it didn't come off that well. I will say, the author obviously is passationate about her topic, and this is a well researched book. If you are coming from absolutely zero ideas, this is the book for you to get you started.

Legend of the Candy Cane unit study and lapbook

2009-12-15T11:33:00.000-08:00

The kids and I are continuing on with Sonlight core 1 and P3/4 but we wanted something a little bit festive to add on for the holidays. I saw the Legend of the Candy Cane free unit study and lapbook recommended on the Sonlight forums, and it seemed just the thing. I printed out a lot of the materials there, and we started on it yesterday. What fun! Zach especially is loving it and doing the entire thing pretty much. I scaled it down with some extra cut/paste and coloring for Lily and Noah to do their own versions at their own level but still have something that looks like Zach's "big guy" lapbook. We aren't done quite yet, but we are having a great time. I also didn't know where candy canes originated, so it's fun for me too. If we get the time (and mom has the energy), we will be making our own candy canes too later on. The recipe is on the linked site.

Book Review: If you Find a Rock

2009-11-11T08:06:00.000-08:00

Yes, indeed, I'm catching up on reviewing some of the books we have read lately. I love finding blog opinions on books, so we're sharing ours of some of our books we read lately.

I picked this book up as it appeared on our recommendations from Amazon. I admit I probably wouldn't have chosen it for my son myself. I was wrong though as he loved it. He read it four times in a row, slowly looking at each picture and reading the text a couple times. He is 7, a very fluent reader, and honestly drawn to mystery/adventure books, but this really appealed to him. The pictures are read photographs with real kids and real rocks, in nature. The text is in poetry format, lyrical and well written but simple enough for a child to enjoy, hear the rhythm and understand. What was his favorite part? All the types of rocks shown and discussed and the uses. It elevates a simple smooth rock to something to be savored and explored, excellent book to excite the child's imagination.

Book Review: Follow My Leader by James Garfield

2009-11-10T10:31:00.000-08:00

Zach and I read this booktogether, my reading it aloud to him and then he chose to read it again himself. As I was reading, this was one of those where he always asked for another chapter, more. The book features, Jimmy, a typical preteen boy, who is blinded by an accident involving a peer. The rest of the book describes his journey through approximately the next year, as he struggles to deal with both the realities of being blind and the emotions surrounding it. So many children's books do not do adequate character development, and even kids can pick up on that. This character is very real, with realistic emotions, weaknesses, strengths and fears. The other characters, particularly his peers, are also fairly developed. Jimmy in the story receives a guide dog, which I understand would not actually occur in someone his age (that young is not allowed a trained guide dog). However, the story makes the event seem plausible and realistic. Topics explored included blindness, Braille language, guide dogs, how peers may treat a blind student and, a very big one, forgiveness and hatred, and what those feelings can do to a person if not adequately dealt with. These are big topics for little readers, but the book does an admirable job with them. The book is also a great discussion starter for going further in depth with any of those topics and more. We highly recommend it.

Happy Halloween and Happy Birthday

2009-11-02T11:06:00.001-08:00

IMG_5215, originally uploaded by WeeBeaks.

My fairy baby girl, and the whole family, wish everyone a Happy Halloween (she is showing off her costume here). And we wish her a happy 2nd birthday. I can't believe it has gone so fast.

The Year of Miss Agnes - Review

2009-10-29T14:27:00.000-07:00

Zach and I read the Year of Miss Agnes by Kirkpatrick Hill as part of his core 1 Sonlight curriculum. Yet again Sonlight came through for us and picked a winner. Zach loved it, and I enjoyed reading it with him.

In the novel, our main character is a little girl growing up in a remote Alaskan Indian village. In the first pages, we see yet another teacher in their one-room schoolhouse has quit, but not before insulting the children and expressing her disgust at their culture and customs (such as eating lots of fish). There is apprehension as they wait to see who will be next to teach them. Fortunately, that "who" is Miss Agnes. She brings with her fresh ideas, shelves the old books and opens up a whole new world of thoughts and ideas to the children, inspiring not only the children but the parents to shift some of their ideas. A strong theme in the book is who needs school and how much, including teaching of the deaf, schooling beyond the basic (college) and attitudes towards schooling in a native culture. I won't spoil the ending for you, but suffice to say it leaves open a nice discussion and some thought. My son still likes to come up to me (weeks later) and discuss this novel.

Do You Doodle? Or Write? - Review and ideas

2009-10-29T11:28:00.000-07:00

We absolutely love the Do You Doodle? series of coloring books in our house. It gives gray line drawings, or partial drawings, to get a little one started, but not complete pictures. So the pictures have to be completed, often in fun or creative ways. Then they can be colored. That is clearly a step up from the basic coloring books. And the themes are not just licensed characters or simple things, but really creative or fun activities, some making the kids think a bit and some just silly and fun, bringing forth a giggle or two. An example from this week in the book was a line drawing of a boy and the instructions to draw him covered in measles! Or a drawing of a boy in a large box or hole with instructions to draw a way for him to get out. My son, age 7, loves these.

This year we took it a step further though. As background, I have a wonderfully creative, sometimes silly little guy. He loves to tell magical, creative stories full of adventure. But when I ask him to write I'm lucky to get one dull sentence. Without adjectives or adverbs. As dull as he can possibly make it. Ninety-nine percent of writing prompts leave him cold. This year we have tried combining his Do You Doodle? book with his writing notebook with much better success. He can do as many Doodle pages as he wants. Then his assignment is to pick just one and write about his picture. He still has not become some amazing writer here, but I get a lot more detail from him, and some of his creative skill is coming out. Just a tad some days. More other days. But a huge improvement! So if you want some fun and creative writing prompts combined with art, give this book a try.

Exploring Ancient Greece and Greek Mythology

2009-09-22T15:12:00.000-07:00

In our Sonlight core 1 right now we are deep into ancient Greece and Greek Mythology. What fun Zach and I have been having with this!

I actually got very lucky in that Zach picked up from the bookstore over the summer a fiction book that has a mythology theme, The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1), which is part of a series. He has since went on to read the next couple in the series, and loved those as well. If you have an advanced reader and are doing mythology, those may be very fun for you as well, to do a comparison of where the author got the characters, how much is "factual" (well, at least an accurate rendition of the mytho), and how much is Riordan's own imagination and expansion of the character and so forth.

In the free realm, the internet is, of course, full of facts, games, websites, "educational" material (some yes, some no) and everything else you could want about Greek Myths. I did some major searching last week for a few select sites for Zach to explore. He loves the computer, and loves games. I wanted to connect that love of the computer with some reinforcement with what we were learning. One site I found that I really liked for content and style, and Zach really liked for the fun factor was Adventures in Ancient Greece. It has too much content for me to list it all, but it had a god/goddess Greek/Roman name matching with what they oversaw, a nice map, exploration of different areas and a quiz at the end where Zach had great fun proving how much he knew, with no prompting by me to take the quiz. :)

And right now both boys (ages 7 and 4) are deeply engrossed in a mythology audio CD Greek Myths, thus giving me the time to write this post. LOL. We all love Jim Weiss. We have seen and heard him in person each year now for 3 or 4 years at the California Homeschool Network Family Expo in Ontario, California. He is such a fantastic storyteller, and we have purchased several of his CDs. I really can't recommmend them highly enough, highly educational and highly entertaining. Our minivan always has a few stashed, and usually one in the CD player.

Back to some more interactive schooling for Zach and I as his CD winds up, but I wanted to share these resources, as I benefit greatly from all the blogs and posts of other homeschoolers sharing tips and sites with me to make education really come alive for students.

My baby girl

2009-09-15T16:11:00.001-07:00

My baby girl, originally uploaded by WeeBeaks.

Just a good picture I got of our baby girl today.

New outfit for me!

2009-09-01T20:26:00.001-07:00

Whole outfit, originally uploaded by WeeBeaks.

Today I sewed for me for fall. I did McCall 5434, which has an asymmetrical hem wrap top and pull-on pants. I really like how those came out. The pattern also included a strange tube top for underneath. I skipped that, and instead made a camisole style top from Ottobre Woman magazine, issue 2/07, pattern #1, the tank top. I did lace edges instead of binding on the top for a cami look. We'll see how long a white top lasts with the kids, but for now I'm pleased.

Birthday boy

2009-08-27T08:32:00.001-07:00

Birthday boy, originally uploaded by WeeBeaks.

Happy birthday Noah! I can't believe you are 4 already.

Tomatoes just starting to come in.

2009-08-05T11:59:00.001-07:00

IMG_4488, originally uploaded by WeeBeaks.

Lest I feel sad about the waning cucumbers, I also snapped this photo of the tomatoes, which are just starting to come in. I'm looking forward to lots and lots in the coming weeks. This are just the beginning of them. These are "Better Boys." Our heirloom varieties mostly have fruit set but not ripe yet so we are still awaiting those.

Cucumber bounty!

2009-08-05T11:58:00.001-07:00

IMG_4487, originally uploaded by WeeBeaks.

I took out our slicing cucumber vine yesterday as it was waning, but two weeks ago I snapped this picture of just one day's harvest. Wow! What a lovely year it has been for cucumbers from our garden. Yum, yum.

kids 4th of july

2009-07-07T15:26:00.001-07:00

Not the greatest of photos, but it is HARD to get 3 kids all smiling at the camera at the same time. So here is at least 3 sitting still at the same time. Happy 4th of July!

Book Review: Mountain Born by Elizabeth Yates

2009-06-09T12:47:00.000-07:00

This is another gem of a book Zach and I read together as part of our Sonlight Core 1 curriculum. I have to admit, yet again, that I probably would not have chosen it randomly from the book store shelves. In fact, in the start of it, I was worried Zach would not enjoy it due to the vocabulary and content.

The content involves a boy, Peter, who lived in the past (specific dates not given in the book), in a remote mountainous area, on the outskirts of a village apparently. Peter's family is a farming family, primarily involved in raising sheep. The entire story revolves around Peter and his relationship with his cosset, Biddy. Now my own son is a city boy who has never been really close to a sheep honestly, and the farming life is completely unknown to him. He is drawn to action-packed tales of detectives, robots and sci-fi adventures. So you can guess I was hesitant about this book. However, the simple story of a boy and his pet easily transcended the differences between Zach and Peter, and Zach sat enthralled day after day as we read this book aloud together.

Which brings me to the other point about this book, the vocabulary. It is a rich, complex book in terms of both the word choices and the syntax. Sonlight made a good choice to make this a read-aloud rather than leaving it to the student to read on his/her own. We stopped often during the story to explain the meaning of a word, or to reread a passage if I saw he was looking a bit confused. The exposure to this language was wonderful though, and added many words to his vocabulary that he would not have normally encountered, even in his spelling words or workbooks.

So, I have to give this book a high recommendation from boy my son and myself. It is a lovely book to read together.

We enjoyed this selection so much in fact, that we requested from the library, A Place for Peter, which is the sequel to Mountain Born. In the sequel, Peter is older now, and is struggling through that difficult period between being a boy and a man. The writing is as good as Mountain Born, but the story is not quite as engaging to Zach at this period in his life. It is a nice followup though; we love to continue on with series we enjoyed together.

A cute note about A Place for Peter is I did get it from the library here, and there was only one copy in the system in storage at Central Library. We had it sent up to our local brand and picked it up. It didn't even have a call number, just "storage" on the spine. It still has the old envelope for the check-out card, on which is printed library rules, including a note of a 4 cent per day overdue fee, or 2 cents per day for juvenile books. LOL I tried to find a date it was put into the library system, and apparently it was Nov 24, 1952 by stamp, and the copyright on this edition is 1952. What a neat treat to hold this old book and think of all those who have read it before us.

I won!

2009-06-08T11:19:00.001-07:00

I entered some blog giveaways sponsored through Sew Mama Sew a couple weeks ago. And I won a couple things! This arrived in the mail last week, and it is just gorgeous! It was made by TickledPaisley, who makes these gorgeous bags also for sale in her Etsy Shop. Stop by and take a look! I can vouch for the fact that her sewing is beautiful, and the style/size of this bag is fantastic for me. It fits nicely on my shoulder and holds all my junk, err stuff, plus a spare diaper and wipes if we are out and about.

Thanks again, Susan!

Lily accessorizing

2009-06-01T18:06:00.001-07:00

Lily accessorizing , originally uploaded by WeeBeaks.

A funny of the day. I brought Lily down to play this morning in the family room. She rounded up a yellow fleece hat and her plush yellow doggy purse and put them on to coordinate today. Note her hat - she still has trouble putting that on herself. LOL She was proud of herself though!

A Work in Progress and a Look Back

2009-06-01T09:48:00.001-07:00

Yard in progress, originally uploaded by WeeBeaks.

I snapped this picture from my office/sewing area the other day. Here is our lower patio. You can see where the kids play if I'm sewing or in the office. I can see them and hear them through the window right there. They love to play down there.

Beyond that is the area where our little sprigs of chamomile ground cover is starting to fill in. The left side got planted a month or so before the right so it is filling in more.

The next tiers have our roses. The smell is soooo sweet out there. All the regular size roses are very fragrant. I pick mine based on smell! LOL Tucked in between we have some of my father-in-laws mini roses and some lavender plants. The uppermost slope is still very much awaiting attention.

For the look back, I grabbed a photo when they are working on it, digging the trench for the wall. Rich and his dad did an incredible job didn't they?

Deals, Deals and more Deals at Target

2009-05-16T14:48:00.001-07:00

I had a bunch of coupons to use up so went deal hunting today. I had the Pullups $3/1 coupons to use, expiring today, and found some 15% off at Target. Not a great deal, but we needed them and I had the $3 coupons, which are not that common (they usually put out the $2 coupons).

I had the Electrasol $2.50/1 coupons to use also, expiring tomorrow. I checked the Wal-Mart and three Targets, all in about a 10 mile radius thankfully. The prices of Targets within a couple miles of each other do vary. At the last one I found the Electrasol on 15% off clearance for $3.64 a box so that is what I went with, using my $2.50 off coupons and getting it for $1.14 per box of 20 tabs.

I had one $1 off Post Trail Mix crunch. Target had it for $3.34, so $2.34 for the box. More than I EVER pay for cereal, but DH loves that brand and that brand only the best. I can't deny our breadwinner his Trail Mix Crunch. He takes one box a week to work for breakfast and it lasts a week perfectly per him, with one carton of soymilk to go with it ($1.04 for the soymilk at Costco). So total then is $3.38 for one week of breakfasts for DH. Pretty darn good when I look at it that way.

My BEST deal today though I owe to Jane4girls. If you don't read her blog and are a deal hunter, you need to check it out. She put a heads up that the Kashi GoLean waffles at Target were $1.79 per box and there were $1.50/1 printable coupons, making them 29 cents a box!!! I checked, and mine actually locally were down to $1.77 per box. I used the printables and some Vocalpoint coupons for $1.50/1 and got 6 boxes at 27 cents per box. What a deal! The kids love those.

Vitaminwater 10 is $1 at Target, and I had one more $1 off coupon to use up, so that just cost me the 5 cent CRV and tax.

I found some Yoplait Go-Gurts on clearance with soon dates for $1.88 each, and I had a coupon $1/1 coupons I got from a coupon trading buddy. Score! on the 88 cent Go-Gurts, again something the boys love and rarely get. Our newspaper gives the measley $0.75 off when you buy 2 boxes, so I don't buy them. At $1 off one box from her newspaper plus the clearance price, the boys got two boxes of those.

Revlon nail files are 1.29, and you can use the $1 off 1 Revlon tool coupons, making them 29 cents each. To make it better though I got a $1 off Revlon Target coupon in the mail and stacked that on since you can use a Target and manufacturer together. So I got 5 packages of nail files free.

Lastly, I have a $4 rebate, again from my generous trading buddy, when you buy 1 Softsoap Ensembles pump plus the refill. The pump was $5.99 and the refill was $2.89 (OUCH regular price), for a total of $8.88, but of course I had coupons too. I had a manufacturer coupon of $1.50 off the pump set and $0.75 off the refill and a Target mailer $2 off Ensembles to bring the total down to $4.63, and then I will send in for the $4 rebate, so final cost is $0.63 plus tax and the $0.44 stamp, so a little over $1. I'll pay that for the pump and refill. :)

A GREAT couponing day at Target.

Review: Gooney Bird Greene

2009-05-08T20:05:00.000-07:00

We are still working along on Sonlight Core 1 with Zach. This week we finished up Gooney Bird Greene by Lois Lowry. I was a little worried honestly about this one. First of all it has a picture of a little girl on the front in a pink tutu. That just isn't a cover that catches Zach's attention honestly. Thankfully though, it was a read-aloud rather than a reader, and hence he didn't have a choice.

It started a little slow and seemed a little bland in the first part. Zach, however, did start to enjoy it rather quickly, enjoying the funny tales Gooney Bird had to tell. He seemed to easily find the humor in the wording, and grasp why it was funny.

I honestly still didn't particularly like it through the middle of the book. This book is better for an independent reader than a read-aloud, as is scheduled in Sonlight. I can perhaps see why it is scheduled as a read-aloud, as the parent can be sure the student fully grasps the humor and why, and perhaps use it is a leap-off discussion of how to write a good story. However, the font changes and so forth that are used to indicate to the reader that what is a "Gooney Bird Story" from regular text are completely lost when done orally. That alone made it a bit of a problem for a read-aloud.

By the end of the story, I too was sad to see it end though. Zach, and even Noah, were enjoying the book. As it wrapped up, I really saw it's value as we read the last chapter. That chapter talks about how each of us has stories to tell and how to find them, using specific concrete examples from the stories Gooney has already told so well. So, a young reader is left with the message that he/she has stories in her own life to tell, and reminded that there are specific storytelling techniques to utilize that will make it the most interesting it can be for the audience. That is a great message to leave with the reader.

Now that we have read it as scheduled, my own independent reader will get a chance to reread it and see the written techniques used as well. He loves to reread, thankfully. I'm very glad we had exposure to this through our curriculum, because honestly I would not have picked it out for my son, nor would he have chosen it for himself, based on the cover art or description on the cover. It really was an excellent book though.

Zach and Lily reading together

2009-04-28T11:22:00.001-07:00

IMG_3831, originally uploaded by WeeBeaks.

Zach is working on his homeschool history and Lily is joining in for a peek at the book too!

YES, a cleanser that doesn't give me a headache.

2009-04-21T13:43:00.000-07:00

I suffer from severe migraines, and scents can trigger one, such as perfumes, added scent to things, etc. Home cleaning products are some of the strongest scents around. Typically I'm okay, but sometimes some products really trigger a whopper of a migraine. And I never know what products will do it, which makes me a bit cautious on some new products, even though I do love scents in my home.

Through Bzz Agent I got to try the new Natures Source Cleaners. These are FANTASTIC! Really, I would buy these again even without the free coupons. Maybe even without a coupon. Maybe even without a sale at the grocery store. Okay, maybe I would wait for a sale. I'm frugal after all. LOL

Seriously though, these cleansers are really nice. There is little to no scent at all. Your house just smells clean, as in absence of stink rather than presence of perfumey scent. There is a bathroom clean, toilet cleaner, general purpose cleaner and window cleaner. I have tried them all, and had very good results with all of them. And honestly our house gets pretty dirty. We have 3 small children, one dog and are home most of the time since we homeschool. Our house takes a beating, and these cleaners did an excellent job cleaning it up again. As an example from today I moved the chest freezer to clean under it - YUCK. It was gross down there on the linoleum, truly nasty. I spritzed on the general purpose cleaner, waited a few minutes and scrubbed it with a rag, no elbow grease or scrubby sponge required.

I haven't even mentioned that these are good for the environment, something we all need to be concerned about. Many of the older cleansers really shouldn't be in the water cycle, going down your drain to be treated and out to the ocean. These cleaners are biodegradable. So they work great, smell good and are ok for the environment. Definitely good stuff.

I know I sound like a commercial, but these are nice. Give them a try yourself - they are also often on sale at the supermarket and there were coupons in last week's paper so they won't break the budget either. :)

New Sewing Blog

2009-04-20T11:08:00.001-07:00

I'm moving my sewing posts to it's own space! So, if you are interested in my sewing but not the other stuff, visit my new blog, which will be updated soon with lots of new sewing projects. I haven't been posting much, but I HAVE been sewing and am going to be getting some pictures soon. :)

One of Zach's creations

2009-04-07T13:07:00.001-07:00

This is one of Zach's creations from K'Nex. He loves to build and create new gadgets and vehicles. This, per Zach, is a special type of vehicle that can go over things and stand up on its back wheels. It thought the addition of the red rubberband really added a lot.

A thought process of a 3-year-old

2009-04-01T13:02:00.000-07:00

I forget sometimes how much is going on in the head of a 3-year-old. Really, it is fascinating. They have so many connections going on in their brains that adults just don't. Here is a funny one from yesterday I want to get down before I forget:

We are outside, I'm pulling weeds from the rose bushes and Noah is riding around the patio on his tricycle ....

NOAH: Mom?
ME: Yes?
NOAH: Do dinosaurs have butts?
ME: Well, dinosaurs don't exist anymore. But they did have butts I suppose.
NOAH: Oh, okay. Then dinosaurs rode bicycles?
ME: [pause] They could have ridden bicycles I guess if bicycles had been invented then.
NOAH: Okay.

This morning, one more serious but gives the idea his mind is always working:

NOAH: [studying the ketchup bottle] What does this say?
ME: [back turned to him doing something] Ketchup.
NOAH: [pause] K ... says kkkk [makes K sound, looks a bottle] ... doesn't say ketchup
ME: [surprised] Show me the bottle.
NOAH: [Shows it to me and points to the word]
ME: You are right, Noah. That says Hunts.

He is really reading better now and asks me all day what things say. I recall Zach doing this too at the same age as he started to read and was suddenly curious what every single sign, cereal box and book said. The 3s can be trying with tantrums, but it is amazing when I step back and realize how fast they are acquiring knowledge.

Shhhh ... don't tell Zach

2009-04-01T10:42:00.001-07:00

Look, look, look what I got for Zach for his birthday from Buttercupbloom on Etsy. Isn't it just the cutest little owl? It is even cuter in person too. I purchased it for his birthday in June and have it stashed away until then. It even has a tiny little pocket on the back. He will love that secret little pocket, just his thing. Can't wait to give it to him! :)

Zach's new pants

2009-03-13T16:59:00.001-07:00

IMG_3623, originally uploaded by WeeBeaks.

Today I finally finished up Zach's new pants, Ottobre 4/2008 #24, "Kalle Outdoor pants" done in a nice soft brushed twill. These are elastic waist, just like he likes, but with lots of fun details and pockets. Those same "fun" details and pockets, plus loads of topstitching, are why these pants have taken me the greater part of this week to sew. He is happy though, so it was worth it. :)

Poor Lily with a boo-boo

2009-03-13T16:29:00.001-07:00

Poor Lily with a boo-boo, originally uploaded by WeeBeaks.

Lily was cruising around the office on Tuesday, tripped and fell. Unfortunately, there was a hard metal object between her head and the floor and she hit it. She had a deep gash in her eyebrow. After calling her pediatrician, it was determined she likely needed stitches. I called Rich, and he took her to Children's Hospital ER while I stayed with Zach and Noah at home. My poor baby did need stitches. They sewed her up and put the strips on there. Thank goodness, they are disolvable and the paper strips will fall off on their own. I can't imagine her having to go to the doc to have them snipped out in a few weeks from now. She, remarkably, has left the whole area alone the last couple days and hasn't been pulling at the strips or her stitches. Hopefully she will heal up quickly. Poor little thing.

Ottobre 2/2009 camisole

2009-03-09T20:20:00.001-07:00

New camisole, originally uploaded by WeeBeaks.

Next up from the scrap bin is a top made from the newest Ottobre Woman issue, 2/2009. This is from pattern #1, the camisole top. I added a shelf bra to the design but otherwise no changes. It was so easy to sew, and I'm happy with the fit. Both the outer paisley crinkle cotton knit and the brown cotton lycra for the shelf bra were from my little knit scrap bin, so that was fun! :)

New summer dress

2009-03-08T18:20:00.001-07:00

New summer dress, originally uploaded by WeeBeaks.

Yes indeed, it is from the scrap bin fabric. Lily has herself a new summer dress. It was a super simple pattern, a freebie pattern from the SewingMamas website/forum, called the Jayme dress. It fits her nicely and is perfect for summertime. I can't believe how little fabric she still takes, even for a dress. :)

Knit scrap bin

2009-03-04T14:51:00.001-08:00

Knit scrap bin, originally uploaded by WeeBeaks.

What is this you ask? Laundry? A huge mess? It is my knit scrap bin. Anything knit fabric with odd size cuts out of it, less than 1 yard, etc., goes into the knit scrap bin. It has, ahem, gotten a bit out of hand. So March I'm going to be working on sewing up my scrap bin, starting with the knits. If I gain some ground on the knits, I'll be moving along to the woven bin, which is even larger than this one! Wish me luck. :)

Ottobre 3/05 sleeper

2009-03-01T19:27:00.001-08:00

Otto 3/05 sleeper, originally uploaded by WeeBeaks.

I'm sewing again. Lily grew inches in the last month or so and her sleepers are too short, especially those with feet in them. So, I'm sewing away. If nothing else, I'm going to get really good at zippers. Here she is modeling her new one tonight. The pattern is from Ottobre Magazine, the Autumn 2005 issue (3/2005). This came out really nice, I think. It has the crotch gusset like the Kwik Sew one I was using. That gives great fit for cloth diapers. I added the little snap tab at the top to the pattern because she is starting to unzip herself. I plan to make more of this style.

Lily in her new jacket

2009-02-23T16:33:00.001-08:00

Modeled shot, originally uploaded by WeeBeaks.

I finally finished Lily's jacket I started two weeks ago. I ran out of binding and had to order the brown binding from Canada. Yes, Canada. Talk about hard to find a match. I should have measured better before I started so I would not have run out. In any case, I finally finished it with the last 8 inches of binding I needed.

She liked it and didn't want to take it off. That is a miracle given she had stomach flu hit in the predawn hours this morning through mid morning. She napped and got her new jacket when she woke up. She perked up as she likes new things. :)

Medical - it pays to make the phone calls

2009-02-20T09:04:00.001-08:00

One of the things I really dislike doing is arguing over errors in bills, especially medical bills. It often involves calls, return calls, faxes of paperwork, on and on. And you would be surprised at just how often I have to do it ... or maybe not.

Are YOU checking every single medical bill for accuracy? You should. Even if you have insurance, every single penny matters. From an insurance perspective, if your insurance is being overcharged, your rate WILL go up. Maybe not this year but it will be inevitable. Insurance companies are in business to make money, lots of it. If you or your group of people (speaking in terms of corporate plans) are costing them money, they will raise your rates. It is really that simple. So if you want to keep your premiums low, be careful users of your insurance. Go when you really need to, and scrutinize that bill or explanation of benefits (EOB) that you get from your insurance company detailing what was charged from your provider and what was paid. If there is anything incorrect on there, contact your insurance company and/or your provider right away. If something was charged incorrectly, even if you personally were not charged but your insurance paid, it will effect you in the short run or the long run in terms of increased premiums.

Also, make sure if you get a bill from your physician you are correlating that with your EOB from your insurance company. That this week saved me $68.24. I got a bill in that amount from a provider for my son. I matched it with the EOB from your insurance company which clearly stated we only were supposed to have paid the copayment on that visit (which we already had). I then got on the phone with the provider, leaving voicemail (as nobody ever seems to be actually at their desk) and explaining concisely that the bill did not match our EOB and offering to fax it to them so it would be easier for them to look into it. Of course, when I call I speak clearly, give all our account numbers and so forth. This helps quite a bit so they have all the information needed. It took a week but I finally got resolution that our account has been corrected and we didn't owe them anyway. Moral of the story is something we have learned over and over again - reconcile your paperwork and call right away if something is wrong. It may save you a lot of money because there seems to be a high error rate in medical bills.

Kwik Sew 1037

2009-02-20T09:01:00.001-08:00

KS 1037, originally uploaded by WeeBeaks.

I finally made Lily some sleepers that I am really happy with. This is from Kwik Sew 1037, made in a really really stretchy aqua Malden Mills fleece.

I made a second pair then in a very thick fleece with little stretch, and those also came out quite well. I love being able to replicate our favorite PJs from stores.

In other news, note our model is standing so nicely. Lily began walking last month (at age 15 mos) and now is a walking pro, gaining speed by the day ... all the better to catch up with her brothers!

New Point site - Swagbucks

2009-02-19T09:46:00.000-08:00

There is a new point site I'm trying called Swagbucks. It works like MyPoints and many of the others. From all I have read from people using it, it is reputable and the prizes actually come. I'm pretty skeptical as a whole on point sites and just use a couple. I can't resist the lure of free gift cards and such though, especially in this tough economy.

This one you do searches through their search engine and randomly get awarded points. You don't sign up for anything (except the Swagbucks site itself, which is free). You just search regularly like you would through any other search engine ... and collect your points, which you can then trade in for merchandise and gift cards. Quite easy, and no spam suddenly appeared in my email either so that is always good! ;)

Referral link if anyone is interested:
http://swagbucks.com/?cmd=sb-register&rb=292388

Noah got new shirts too

2009-02-13T14:25:00.001-08:00

IMG_3493, originally uploaded by WeeBeaks.

Lest you all think only Lily gets new clothing sewn by mama, I have to show you a new shirt I made for Noah last week. He got two of the same style, both from my favorite patterns (Ottobre). He is wearing it today so I was reminded to make a post showing it. Since he is out in the mud, it may very well be the last time he wears it too! He manages to completely destroy a shirt every other week or so lately (I threw out THREE today after trying OxyClean and then a bleach pen). He wasn't all that happy to model it that day, but he was all smiles when he put it on this morning.

Small climber ...

2009-02-12T14:44:00.001-08:00

Hmmm, what now ... , originally uploaded by WeeBeaks.

Yes, she managed to climb up there all by herself while mommy was in the garage a couple minutes putting the laundry in the washer. She is quite agile to say the least, following right along in her older brothers' footsteps for getting into mischief.

Ottobre 1/09 #6

2009-02-09T09:38:00.000-08:00

The newest Ottobre children's edition had the cutest little tunic for babies/toddlers. It was a little fussier to make than my usual super duper simple tees and leggings, but it was worth it! I did it in a very lightweight pink paisley jersey knit for summertime, and used some aqua polka dot ribknit that had been in my stash for about 6 years for the neckline binding, cuffs and leggings. I really like how it came out. It covers her arms and legs for crawling and exploring but is very lightweight for spring and summer evenings. I used my snap press for the little snaps on the front. I WISH I had some to match the aqua but just didn't have a similar enough color in my assortment so the dark pink was the best I could do.

I'm eager to make this one again in different fabrics, but I'm going to do a few other projects first. So many patterns so little time .... :)

Review: The Well Trained Heart

2009-02-04T11:25:00.000-08:00

Time for another book review, I think. So what have I been reading lately? It should come as no surprise that it falls into the classification of a homeschooling book, a parenting book, or both in this case. I have been reading The Well Trained Heart by Ray and Donna Reish. I saw this recommended by a few families, but honestly was a little hesitant as Christian parenting books often are not a great fit for me. Some of them come off quite preachy and harsh in terms of types of discipline suggested. However, I decided to give it a read, as the more suggestions and advice the better for us. Then I weed out what I think we can use and forget the rest.

First off, the authors come across quite sincere and humble. They talk of their own journey to find a parenting style that works, of successes and failures, of struggles. That was a refreshing change from books that state right off that "if you do my program your kids will be perfect." Blech, not likely. In any case, the Reish book was definitely a winner in that regard.

I was also impressed by the very balanced viewpoint offered. Everything was backed up biblically, as I expected from recommendations. However, it was not excessively "spare the rod and spoil the child" type of biblical, meaning absolute obedience or else and little logic. Yes, they expect obedience from their children, but go into great detail explaining the core of their philosophy, which is a "relational" approach, meaning that everything hinges on the relationship you develop with your child, a relationship that is very warm, open and caring. It is not a one-way type of relationship where the children always obey and don't question. They talk a lot about debate in terms of formal debate, and how that can be applied to logic in parenting and rules.

Also stressed is character training in here prior to academics. I feel character training is not done enough. I don't mean again spanking or whatever of young toddlers. I mean time spent with your children teaching values and how to interact and live in community and society in a way that focuses on others rather than self/selfish needs. I think a lot of children (including mine in some areas!) lack that type of explicit teaching/training. The authors focus on avoiding peer influence more than I personally think is necessary, but they give their reasoning for it and so forth. Their thoughts are well explained on why they have made those choices in their family.

The steps to take to follow their model are well outlined with examples and suggestions. They also do talk briefly about their homeschooling, but that is no the focus of the book at all.

I gleaned several things from this book, and am quite glad I took the time to read it. It is a nice counterpoint to some of the more popular methods out there now including counting to three or relying solely on time outs essentially to get your children to behave. It is an excellent resource if you are like me and want to read and consider a variety of viewpoints on both ends of the spectrum before finally settling somewhere in the middle with a mixture of ideas you have collected.

We LOVE Diamond Notes

2009-02-03T09:34:00.001-08:00

Yep, Zach and I love Diamond Notes. Some of you are probably scratching your head at this point, right? What in the world is she talking about? Diamond Notes are part of our Sonlight curriculum, part of the language arts specifically. Diamond Notes can be seen on the Sonlight website, and probably purchased separately and can stand alone even if you don't use the rest of Sonlight. There are sample pages on the Sonlight website too so you can see what I'm talking about.

Basically it is for students to learn to write paragraphs. When I was in school I still recall we were supposed to do a topic sentence, blah, blah, blah. Well, you still need to do that, but diamond notes gives excellent visuals of a baseball diamond (hence the name Diamond Notes) to fill in first, sort of a brainstorming schematic. From there the student goes to separate sentences based on his baseball diamond. And from there he or she takes those separate sentences and forms the paragraph. The entire Diamond Notes program takes 5 weeks at 2-3 days a week. And it is miraculous for my kid who is ADHD and really has trouble organizing his thoughts coherently to write a paragraph. I really can't say enough good things about it.

So, if you are a parent trying to teach your child to do more coherent and concise paragraphs, this may be what you are looking for. Take a look! :)

Lily

2009-01-16T13:47:00.001-08:00

IMG_3383, originally uploaded by WeeBeaks.

We haven't had a family photo in a little while on the blog, so here is Lily modeling her new mama-made pants. She is still so small that 1/2 yard gets a pair of pants for her and a little extra for the scrap bin as well.

If you read my past posts, you know most of Lily's clothing comes from a cousin and a friend of a friend. As she gets bigger of course, we get a little less because kids get harder and harder on their clothing! So consequently there is less to hand down. We see this ourselves in passing clothing from our oldest son to our middle. Anything left from that then goes to a cousin, but by then it gets pretty sparse.

In any case, because we have a donated wardrobe we have some pieces that just don't have anything that reasonably matches them. So what I'm doing is pulling out clothing for this season and the next size up and matching up outfits. Then anything hanging around left over I'm looking at my stash fabric and seeing if I have a good match there. Then I sew up a coordinating piece. This cute striped top had nothing to go with it, so I did the brown pants for her.

This past week, she got 3 new pair of pants to go with existing tops. We also have trouble with pants given to us because she wears cloth diapers and typical clothing for toddler girls barely has room for a diaper at all let alone a cloth diaper. Besides, she likes her pants roomy for all that climbing, crawling, cruising and preparing to walk!

Happy New Year of Savings

2009-01-01T14:22:00.000-08:00

Have you read the JANE4girls blog? If not and you are a frugal minded person, you have to give it a read. She is an amazing person who is feeding her family on $800/yr. Yes, a YEAR.

A lot of people follow her blog, and I have joined a newly formed yahoo group of frugal minded people seeking to lower our grocery expenses for 2009, inspired by her blog. Most of us have not picked nearly so low of an annual sum as her, but we are all striving to stay within budget and spend less this year than last. For those of you interested it is "FrugalChallenge" on yahoo groups.

In that spirit, I will share with you our frugal purchase today. My DH LOVES Post Trail Mix Crunch cereal. At $4.xx a box it is not very frugal at regular price. However, it is on sale B1G1 free at CVS this week, and there is a new printable $2 off 1 box coupon at the Post website. It allows you to print two. Take your two coupons in to CVS and match up with the B1G1 free sale ($4.59/box regular price) and you get two boxes of cereal for 59 cents. Woohoo for savings in the new year. Happy shopping.

Tutorial for a super simple case to fit an iphone

2008-12-17T10:08:00.000-08:00

This is for an iphone but the instructions can be used to make a simple sleeve-style case for whatever you need. And I do mean simple. My goal was to have something to project it in my bag basically, while giving me the option of some minimal functionality with it in the sleeve.

COMPLETED:

First, you need to get the size you need. I laid my phone on my pattern material and added a generous seam allowance. My rectangle is 4-1/2 x 5-1/2 inches.

You need to cut 4 of those rectangles above: One back outside, one back inside, one front outside and one front inside. I cut 3 from cotton and 1 from a padded foam remnant. The padded foam is the back inside in mine. You will also need a piece of vinyl, described later.

Stack them RIGHT sides together with front outer to front lining and back outer to back inner.

On the back, sew just what will be the TOP of the case, lining to outside back.

On the front pieces, sew what will be the front opening. I did a rectangle paralleling the fabric, slightly less than 1 inch inside the margins.

Flip the back piece so the right sides are out and topstitch your one seam. This creates a neat back top for the opening for the case.

Cut out the window opening on the front pieces by cutting inside the inner rectangle you sewed. Cut close to the seam, and trim the corners very very close for turning.

Turn the front piece right side out and press it.

On what will become the top of the front, fold in your edges to prepare for topstitching that opening neatly.

Now cut your vinyl window piece slightly larger than the opening in the front.

Stitch the vinyl to the back of the front piece, covering the window opening with the vinyl. Also topstitch what will be the top front of the case. This is just to make a neat edge at what will be the opening of the case in the front.

Layer the top of the case on the back, right sides together, and sew them around the 3 unfinished sides (sides and bottom of the case), leaving open what will be the case opening at the top.

Turn it right side out and you are done. Note turning vinyl is probably not recommended, but do it carefully and try not to crease it sharply and it comes out okay for me.

All done:

Suggested modifications I may try in the future are an arm band (elastic attached to the back piece before stitching the body of the case together) for DH as he has requested, plus a snap at the top or closure, etc. You could make a ring to attach it to your bag or whatever too. You could create an opening for the camera eye in the back, opening for the speaker, etc. I just needed simple though as I carry mine in my bag and use a bluetooth headset for talking so this works for me.

2008-12-08T12:34:00.000-08:00

Today, Zach and I had the pleasure of delving into a new book, If the World Were a Village: A Book about the World's People, written by David J. Smith.

Even adults have trouble grasping the enormity of the population of the entire world as a number and attempting to envision how many that really is, then applying abstract and dehumanized percentages of how many people live where and so forth to that original unimaginable number. I had come across the natural concept of reducing that population number to 100 and then using the percentages as people. So, if the number to imagine was 1%, then 1 person in that 100 would do whatever it was.

This book, I feel, does a particularly nice job of presenting this information to children. It is a larger format, with wonderful illustrations (done by Shelagh Armstrong). The 1st page of the book sets the stage, encouraging us to travel into our mind to the "global village" of 100 people. Then, each 2-page spread in the book covers another topic, including "nationalities," "languages" and so forth, leading up to "the village in the past" and the "village in the future," meaning in this case population growth and issues regarding that. They do, by the way, make a quick note that scientists do disagree with some of the population growth numbers they present.

Zach was really engaged in this book, with wide eyes at the some of the facts presented, though honestly it wasn't new information. It really seemed to speak to him in a language he could grasp though, especially the pages on "air and water" (focus on pollution) and "food" (again, focus on how many in our world go hungry each day).

We use a religious homeschool curriculum and these topics do come up often in the sense of social justice. Honestly what is nice about this book is that it is NOT presented from a Christian perspective, thereby giving it a wider appeal, and allowing of course use in the classroom. It is presented in a quite factual and matter of fact tone, while still engaging the reader into some reflection about the meaning.

For the parent or teacher, there is a nice 2-page spread of suggestions for teaching children about the global village, or world, beyond this book.

In browsing online, I did see this interesting information on the author's website, including further links and activities, including several geared directly towards teachers and parents.

Only note I would make to those of you interested, is that the author is very very concerned about population growth and population control, so if these are issues where you tend to disagree with many scientists, you might want to view the author's website and position before you order the book for your children. I found the information to be emphasized in the book, but I also found it to be presented in a factual rather than a preachy manner for what it's worth.

As I said, we quite enjoyed the book as an addition to expand our core 1 studies for Sonlight, which is titled "Intro to World History." We worked on the Usborne Book of Peoples of the World this morning in our curriculum reading, and this was a very nice adjunct to that.

The Doodle Pro helps in spelling.

2008-12-08T10:06:00.000-08:00

I don't know why this one didn't occur to us before now honestly. Today we were going over spelling words, day 1, meaning that we were looking them over for the first time. The suggestions in our Sonlight IG include having the child write them at first on a blackboard or dry erase board, etc., as kids love the large movements. Plus, from my own experience, it would likely just add some fun to spelling as kids love white erase boards! In any case, we don't have one in our school area, aka, the family room. But this morning my eyes landed on a discarded Doodle Pro lying on the carpet. Aha! Zach LOVED writing out his words on his Doodle Pro. It is the little things in life that add up to a fun day for him, so I'm sharing this tiny tip to anyone who has a Doodle Pro or similar item and wants to give it a go on the spelling.

We are done with Core K!!

2008-12-05T12:58:00.000-08:00

Just today we finally finished up Sonlight Core K, a couple months delayed from our ideal end date. We had some setbacks, a new baby and so forth. What a great time we had doing it though, and I highly recommend Sonlight for homeschooling. We skipped parts of some of the books, most notably in Hero Tales, but overall the books were loved and enjoyed thoroughly for the great literature they are, timeless classics.

Now on to core 1, woohoo! We are also doing the new P3/4 core for Noah, and that is fun in its own right, though we have already discarded the Bible Stories book it came with, as that was far advanced for the age group and not interesting at all to him. We replaced it with an easier Bible Stories book and are thoroughly enjoying the other selections. Noah is quite proud that he too has special school books!

Happy birthday baby girl

2008-11-07T13:11:00.001-08:00

IMG_3211, originally uploaded by WeeBeaks.

I can't believe she is a year old already. I had to document it with a picture this week. This past year has just flown by.

Zach's new shirt

2008-10-23T14:44:00.001-07:00

Zach's new shirt, originally uploaded by WeeBeaks.

It's been a while so time for a photo! This is a shirt I made for Zach.

In other news ... there isn't too much. We just go day by day, homeschooling, dealing with life. :)

In sewing news, I'm sewing for family lately, and preparing for holiday sewing. I have several things in mind for each of the kids. I'm working on Zach's denim rag quilt. It would be done by now had I not sewed a bunch of the blocks together wrong! GGGRR. I hate when that happens. But it is fixable with the seam ripper at least. It has set me back in my timeline for completion of that. I'll post a picture of that when I get it done. It is not complicated by any means, and not elaborate. It is my hope that it will serve him for many years as it is rather plain honestly, befitting of a growing boy who is getting past the cutesy stage.

I also have cut out 5 new tops for myself and sewed up 4 of them already, all from Ottobre. These were sorely needed as some of my shirts, in fact probably more than 50% of them, are older than Zach. I just needed to get moving on the shirts as they certainly are not hard to do, taking an hour or less each now that I have the pattern adjusted my shape.

The kids are quiet, so if I sprint off right away from the computer I may get to sew a few seams before someone needs mommy again.

Walgreens deal on peanut butter

2008-10-14T19:26:00.000-07:00

Just time for a quick post tonight of Walgreens. The best deal for us this week is on Skippy peanut butter. They are 3 jars for $5 this week, and if you buy $15 worth you get a coupon for $5 off your next Walgreens order. There are coupons out for $1 off 2 jars of Skippy. So,

Buy 9 jars of Skippy = $15
Use 4 of the $1 off 2 jars: -$4

You get 9 jars of Skippy for $11 and $5 off your next order, so essentially 9 jars of Skippy peanut butter for $6, or $0.67 per jar.

While you are there, check to see clearance items. Our brand new store has on clearance Mexican food items including Herdez salsa for $1. There are coupons for $0.50/1 jar so that means Herdez at $0.50 per jar. The expiration date on ours is 2010, so cheap salsa for us for a while. Happy shopping! :)

CVS Bargains today

2008-09-24T13:47:00.000-07:00

I'm once again lagging on my blog, so I'll ease back into it with an easy topic - bargain hunting! I'm trying to stick to a strict budget (or "spending plan" as some like to call it), so bargain hunting, couponing, etc., is all part of daily life for us. ;)

This week CVS had Purex laundry detergent for $2.99 a bottle (38 loads for the one I got), with $1 ECB on each bottle, so $1.99 a bottle. You could buy up to 5 bottles (i.e., get $5 in ECB). I found a coupon for $1 off 2 bottles, so picked up 2 bottles: 2x$2.99 = $5.98 - $1 coupon = $4.98 and got $2 in ECB so total cost was essentially $2.98 for 2 bottles, or $1.49 each for 38 loads (about 4 cents per load). I paid using a $4.99 ECB received from an item last week, so total OOP (out of pocket) cost was the tax, or 8 cents. :)

Not quite a good as my homemade laundry detergent I have been making but I'm having some trouble finding Borax locally lately, so these will get us through until I can find Borax and get a good deal on it. Ralphs here has Borax but at the price on it, it is cheaper to find sales on regular detergent!

Then the boys and I walked across to the 99 cent store. Prior to this month I don't think I had gone in there but maybe once in the past 10 years. I saw a post on a message board that people were finding some reasonably good deals in there on food and necessities so I decided to give it a try. Those posters were right! It is hit or miss on what exactly they have that day, but there are some great deals! Here is what I purchased today:
1 package of 8 of the bigger size Sara Lee whole wheat buns ($3.50+ at Vons!)
2 packages of 4 bagels each, better than Vons still
1 box of Nilla Wafers ... okay, so the kids and I were a little hungry ...
2 Lunchables at $1 each for the boys' lunches
1 HUGE loaf of the Sara Lee sheepherders bread, very fresh and soft ($3+ at Vons!)
1 bottle of organic chocolate soymilk to go with the kids' Lunchables
4 cans of cola (79 cents for 4 cans)
1 bag of Back to Nature almond and honey granola

Total cost: $9.xx ... lunch for today for the kids and me (I had PB&J on the new bread with the cola and some of the granola) plus a couple things for the house for the week, good deal for around here!

Again, I was pretty impressed and will be checking in there prior to the grocery store (they are in the same shopping center so no extra gas required). They also had Yoplait yogurt for 49 cents each, personal size watermelons for 99 cents, honeydew melons for 99 cents each, big bags of frozen French fries for 99 cents, really a great assortment. Too bad they didn't have my Borax ...

Joey

2008-08-21T08:26:00.001-07:00

Joey is our younger dog, pictured in the photo on the left. He is 100+ pounds of complete mut, and he has been with the family nearly 10 years now. He started limping on Monday. I thought it must be something in his paw or that he had developed hip problems given that he is huge and getting old. It wasn't. He has been diagnosed with bone cancer, osteosarcoma. His prognosis is pain medication and 6-8 weeks to live. We are struggling with that this week. Our older dog, Michael, on the right is much older and we honestly think probably doesn't have more than a year or so. I never never thought Joey would go first. So now we wait, keep him comfortable, give him extra pats and love and say our good-byes.

I'm calmer now ...

2008-08-06T10:26:00.000-07:00

After my ranting about Sonlight, I think we will stick with the curriculum but maybe not the forums as much. I sat down in preparation for the new year and looked over our books and ideas for next year, and it's going to be an exciting year! As usual, I have to keep our materials under lock and key as Zach usually wants to read through them all in the first two days. What could be a stronger indicator that the curriculum matches the child than when he wants to read it all immediately? So, we're continuing. I still don't have to like their forum policies though! Blech. I'll definitely be looking around at other homeschooling forums to talk curriculum and day to day stuff!

We got a little behind on the official schedule with a newborn in the house last year so we are still finishing up a bit of last year's core. We have core 1 here ready to go though, with a few books still yet to arrive through Dehesa (the charter school we are using this year). After the CHN Expo and the new books, I'm as excited as he is to get going.

Speaking of the California Homeschool Network Expo this year, I'll need to write more on that later because there was a LOT of good things this year as always.

My mind is a little scattered this week though as I prepare to go to a craft fair this weekend as a vendor. Woohoo but nervous and not ready. August is a busy month for us this year.

Sonlight new stupidity

2008-08-04T13:46:00.000-07:00

Those of you who read my blog probably know we use Sonlight for our curriculum. To be honest, I'm really really rethinking that and it has very little to do with the actual curriculum. My hesitation began when when they changed their forums a couple years ago from being open to having to pay for them unless you bought X dollars in merchandise each year basically. I think they shot themselves directly in the foot on that one. I personally visited their forums because they were a vibrant community, full of advice and chatter regarding homeschooling. Um, let's just say they are not as active now, but still some decent threads so I visit periodically.

Oh, and let's not forget that even if you spend $150 or whatever it is for your curriculum and board access you have to pay if you want to sell used curriculum on their, a monthly fee. Nope, sorry. I'll sell anything I have locally or other (multiple) free sites.

Now you may say it costs them server usage, bandwidth and of course the used curriculum takes away from people buying new, right? That is true, there is a cost to them. However, I would have never started on Sonlight at all if I hadn't chatted with ladies on the forum (back when it was free), who encouraged me with their wonderful advice on how wonderful Sonlight was working for their families. Sonlight has lost a lot of word of mouth advertising by closing the forum to general population, and word of mouth advertising is hard to beat.

Then today I go to log in and change my board signature to update the ages of my kids and learn that nobody can put links in their signature that are clickable. Hell, let's just all go back to the dark ages and forget the internet!! On searching the boards I can see it is a new change but not why. I presume so people can't advertise or what?! I have my blog link in my sig, and I LOVED visiting other blogs of moms from the boards. If I read an interesting post, well thought out or just interesting, I would often check their sig to see if they had a blog in there and browse it. I seriously doubt I will be copying and pasting titles (you can still put text in your sig just not links) and hunting for blogs.

So, Sonlight, you just gave me a very very good reason to visit your forum even less now. I guess I should look on the bright side - I'll save lots of money because I won't be tempted by people raving about new IGs, new LAs, new products you offer and so forth!

As an aside, I also gave up on the Mothering.com forums too for a similar reason - so heavily policed and restricted in signatures and content. I just don't do well with Big Brother sites and prefer to spend my time on sites where free flow of ideas AND LINKS flourish. No renewing my subscription to their magazine either.

The attitude and business sense of companies means a whole lot to me. I buy handmade, support small business and look carefully at my choices. The restrictive "big brother" feeling sites really are a turnoff to me, and I will not use my money to support an attitude like that.

Ottobre romper

2008-07-15T09:42:00.001-07:00

Ottobre romper, originally uploaded by WeeBeaks.

I'm always at least one issue of Ottobre magazine behind. Just this week the new issue (fall things) arrived, and I sewed this up from the 3/08 edition. I did a 68 cm. The fit is good in width but just fits in length now with her cloth diapers so she will grow out of it quickly. That's okay though; we will enjoy it while it fits. No modeled shot this time as she is a little grumpy this morning and not into wearing it other than a quick fitting for snap placement prior to me completing the snaps.

My shop is participating in a contest

2008-07-12T20:38:00.000-07:00

My Etsy Shop donated a small item for a prize basket for a contest this month on MakeBabyStuff.com If you are pregnant or have a baby or small child, please head over there and enter this wonderful contest. There were lots of sponsors so the prize baskets are fantastic indeed. While you are there, browse around and enjoy the site! There are lots of crafts and fun things to make, an all around great site. They do have a newsletter in addition to their tutorials and fun stuff. Enjoy!

New Outfit for Lily

2008-07-02T15:49:00.001-07:00

New Outfit for Lily, originally uploaded by WeeBeaks.

I have been sewing a lot for my Etsy shop and not so much for the kids and husband so this week have been doing some more for them. This set is from Ottobre 2/2004 magazine, a simple little top and pants.

We have loads and loads of clothing for her, but honestly it is mostly pink. She looks great in more vivid colors. I feel bad sewing though when we have so much already for her given to us. It is pretty disappointing honestly. I looked forward to a baby girl for so many years and don't really get to sew for her. This is my compromise of sewing a tiny bit for her and using what was given to us. I'm too frugal to just donate what was given, but she may be my last baby and I will always regret not making things for her if I don't. So here she is in her mama made outfit today, my own little miss sunshine there.

Lily modeling a receiving blanket

2008-07-02T12:13:00.001-07:00

Bubbles receiving blanket plus an cute baby, originally uploaded by WeeBeaks.

I made the receiving blanket for my shop, which I like, but I LOVE how the photo of Lily came out so I'm showing off Lily. Sorry folks, she isn't for sale at any price!

My FP treasury

2008-06-24T15:18:00.001-07:00

On Etsy, the front page is a "treasury," meaning a collection of items essentially, that individual buyers or sellers can choose and put together. There are hundreds of treasuries at any one time, and the Etsy staff picks one every 1/2 hour or hour to be the front page. Today a treasury I created (or curated as Etsy calls it) was chosen and was up for a 1/2 hour or so. Woohoo!!!

Pirate Zach is 6!!

2008-06-23T14:48:00.001-07:00

Pirate Zach is 6!!, originally uploaded by WeeBeaks.

I haven't had many family photos up lately so we are long overdue for one. Here is a photo from Zach's birthday party. He wanted a pirate theme and got it, including grandma and papa dressing up as well. He was so happy. Here he is taking a short rest and browsing in one of his new books he received from Amy. He LOVES books so this particular gift was a huge hit.

P.S. The T-shirt is from an Etsy shop. It came out really cute. As I know Etsy sellers can use all the publicity they can get, here is the link to Stephanie's Boutique where I purchased it. :)

Byron in his new shirt

2008-06-17T10:35:00.001-07:00

Byron in his new shirt, originally uploaded by WeeBeaks.

Many thanks for the photo of Byron wearing a shirt I made for him through my shop. I loved making it, and hope he loves wearing it.

By the way, for more information about this family, their travels (WOW!) and their Etsy shop, please visit their blog Unkamen Gifts

Have fun on your travels!

Tutorial on creating a stenciled image on fabric

2008-06-10T12:40:00.000-07:00

If your kids are like mine, they LOVE designs on their clothing. No plain T-shirts for these boys! The plethora of fabulous fabric co-ops on yahoo gets me pretty far in terms of cute knit prints, but sometimes there are images and motifs I want to do that I can't even find there. Embroidery you say? True, but to be honest embroidery is not a huge love of mine. I do some embroidery, and generally enjoy it, but that isn't a huge passion of mine. It also leaves some things a bit stiff, especially if it is a large design. Lately, I have been dabbling in some fabric painting with stencils and wanted to show you that as a tutorial today.

My disclaimer is there are many, many other ways to do this. I've tried a few of them, and my personal opinion is this is the easiest I have found so far. So, I'm going to share how I do it with photos. If you have tips, comment and share! :)

First off, you need to have something to put a design on. Duh, right? So get a shirt, or do I like do and sew one. Or pants, pillowcase, whatever you want to put a design on. Make sure though it has been washed to remove the sizing from the fabric, and do not use fabric softener. You want the paint to stick to it well. Different fiber contents will have different results but most knits I have tried have had decent success.

You need some paint. You want stuff that can be used on fabric, and not wash out. Look for ones that specifically say fabric, and ideally not "puffy" types of paints ala the 1980s for this type of use. Try your local craft store. I am in this example using an acrylic, which works rather well. I found my particular brand and color for this project in the clearance bins at JoAnns for 75 cents.

Next you need a design. My design today comes from Ottobre Design which is a European pattern magazine. They have print for free designs on their site as well for personal use. If you want this exact one, go to the site, choose English and then "print for free" on the right side. You can scroll through, find it and print it. While you are there, check out their magazine, which has truly incredible sewing patterns, and often has a few stencil designs in every issue as well. I can't rave enough about their patterns though for kids. Okay, back to the topic, you have some design.

You need to trace this onto the material you are going to use as a stencil. I like freezer paper. This paper has a waxy type coating on one side and paper on the other. Other people use plastic sheeting or a variety of other things. My instructions from this point forward, and my photos, show the use of freezer paper.

I neglected to get a photo of the tracing step, but lay the paper, waxy side down, on top of your design. Trace it onto the paper side.

Now you need to cut out the areas of the design that are going to get paint. Think carefully on this and visualize it in your mind. You want to remove the paper from the areas that are going to be filled in with paint on the shirt. You might even want to color those in on the design to picture it better, and then cut out the colored parts to be sure you have it right. Use a very sharp Exacto type of knife. I got mine from the scrapbooking supplies area. They have some with swivel blades and all different types. You want it very sharp and small to do detailed cutting. Use only on a rubber mat or protective surface so you don't damage the surface underneath. Cut out carefully the areas to be painted. Here is mine partially cut out:

Then completely cut out. Note I didn't remove the excess paper around the design. This is important. Only cut out the parts that get paint.

Position your stencil template on your fabric exactly where you want it, with the waxy side towards the fabric. This is very important -- make sure the waxy side is against the fabric! Take it to your ironing board. With an iron set to a warm setting, carefully iron over the freezer paper. This will soften the wax part and make it stick to your shirt. You want to be sure the paper is completely stuck to the shirt in all areas.

Take the shirt with stencil affixed to it to where you are painting. Put a protective layer inside the shirt so if paint bleeds through the front layer it doesn't stain the rest of the shirt. I used an old brown paper bag. Get your paint and start dabbing it on with a paintbrush or sponge into the areas cut out in the template.

Cover the whole area. It is likely you may need several coats as the paint soaks in a bit. The coats needed will depend on the fabric type, thickness and colors. I wait a few minutes and then recoat as it soaks in.

Here is my design all painted with several coats. Wait for it to dry a while like this.

You don't have to wait for it to completely dry, and I find it is better to remove the freezer paper when it is still a little damp. It works kind of like removing that blue tape when you are painting rooms. If you wait too long the edges of the tape stick to the painted surface too much. Carefully pull the template loose. Remember you stuck it there with the iron/wax, so it will be a bit stuck. Just carefully lift it loose, being careful not to smear the design. Then admire your new design!

Let the shirt dry completely (usually 24 hours or so) before wearing. Check your fabric paint bottle for specific instructions on your brand of paint. Have fun experimenting!

Have you been introduced to Shady Side Farm?

2008-06-05T17:55:00.000-07:00

Have you met Lona at Shady Side Farm? No? You are in for a treat! I'm going to let her tell you a little bit about herself and family, in her own words ...

Shady Side Farm is a small family-owned and operated farm in Western Michigan. Among other things, we raise sheep. Because of the abundance of wool (each sheep produces 5-10# of wool at each annual shearing), we're always looking for new things to make with the wool.

We produce roving for spinners and other crafters. Some of our wool is made into yarn at a mill right here in Michigan. This yarn is great for hand dyeing, knitting and crocheting. Recently, we started making greeting cards featuring sheep made from our wool.

Our whole family gets into the swing of things, from animal care to planning events at the farm, to creating items to sell. Mike is the spinner (he uses an Ashford Traveller wheel from New Zealand) and knits socks on an antique circular sock knitting machine. Lona has been weaving for 15 years or so, and produces primarily rag rugs made from recycled fabric. Ruth (17) is also a spinner, producing chunky novelty yarns on the Ashford Country wheel. She also designs and creates jewelry (see http://farmgirldesigns.etsy.com to see her work) and helps with the planning of events. Sara (14) is the visual artist of the family, preferring to work with pencils. She is also the animal lover, and is Mike's right hand man when it comes to sheep care. John (13) is our fix-it man, and only helps with creative pursuits if we make him. Our oldest daughter, Anne (19) is away at college and summer camp for most of the year, but also helps out when she's home.

Our etsy shop can be found at Shady Side Farm Details about our life on the farm are at our blog.

Our Patchy Dress Sold

2008-05-29T11:32:00.001-07:00

Well, our patchy dress sold. I'm almost sad, but Lily just doesn't need clothing. If/when we get to the point that she doesn't have a whole closet full of things given to her, I will sew for her. In the meantime, I'm happy that it is going to a little girl who maybe doesn't have so many dresses! :) I sure did enjoy making it, and that is really what is important. Some days now I do get a tiny bit tired of sewing, but then I back off a bit and the enthusiasm comes back. Also a trip to the fabric store usually brings back the enthusiasm as I look at all the gorgeous fabrics, touch the textures and dream what I could make with this fabric or that one. A trip to the fabric store is like going to the spa for me usually, unless the kids are with me that is, in which case it is get in there and get out as fast a possible! LOL

WeeBeaks has been featured

2008-05-26T12:49:00.000-07:00

We are thrilled to be featured today on the blog of Lola and Ruby

Many thanks to them for featuring our patchy dress, and please take a look at the rest of their blog too. They have an assortment of fine handmade and vintage goods featured throughout their blog.

The wonders of IKEA aka my storage solution

2008-05-25T16:44:00.001-07:00

So honestly I am trying very hard to have less plastic in my environment, such as less plastic toy items for the kids, less plastic wrap, plastic bags, plastic baggies, plastic dishes, on and on. However, I have to admit that this new plastic gizmo from IKEA is PERFECT for my new set of 1000 plastic snaps. So there we go again with plastic, true, but I would rather have a plastic snap on a bib than velcro that sticks all over to everything. So I have here 1000 various color plastic snaps. And now I have the absolutely perfect size container to store said plastic snaps. Woot!

The pocket bib!

2008-05-20T17:18:00.001-07:00

The pocket bib!, originally uploaded by WeeBeaks.

So I was poking around my recycled fabric bin today and cutting out jean squares for the quilt I'm working on when I pause to look at the pockets left over. They don't make good quilt squares, and I hate to throw them out, when I decided to try this. I trimmed out the pocket, left a little at the top, attached a ribbon and snaps and voila -- baby bib.

After posting a picture and asking some people what they thought, I have decided to offer it for sale in my Etsy shop, with a matching little size wipe/napkin to coordinate. It is the dinner to go pocket bib.

I have been feeling a little burned out lately, but this was fun to make and I have plenty more pockets should I want to make more!

Pirate skull and crossbones T-shirt

2008-05-20T11:32:00.001-07:00

Pirate skull and crossbones T-shirt, originally uploaded by WeeBeaks.

This is Zach's new shirt I made for him. In light of my recent post on Etsy custom made, I decided to list a custom listing for this shirt, meaning that the buyer chooses the size and I make it custom for the child. That is a little bit harder for me as it disrupts my flow of work honestly, but we will see if that would be a hit. Kids are a lot easier to fit than adults, especially women, but certainly there are fitting challenges for children too so I'm offering custom work with photos of one already completed.

The fabric by the way is a reversible knit. The sleeves with the black and white print are the backside of the skull/crossbones. What a fun fabric to work with. I see Sewzanne has this fabric by the way if anyone is interested. I'll give her a plug as she has fantastic customer service: http://www.sewzannesfabrics.com/Sewzanne's Fabrics

A tardy "thank you" and show

2008-05-13T14:04:00.000-07:00

Last month I entered a drawing on a blog for a gorgeous handmade purse as a prize from Armstrong Industries.

It arrived not only with the purse but filled with goodies! You see it below. I have received so many compliments since I started using this bag. Now, how can you too get one of these bags? Well, maybe not one identical, but she has some gorgeous things in her Etsy shop, so take a look:
Armstrong Industries

I can personally vouch for the fact that they are well made, and gorgeous! Happy shopping.

Lizard on my window

2008-05-08T13:51:00.001-07:00

Lizard on my window, originally uploaded by WeeBeaks.

This weekend I was working in the and looked up to see this fellow on my window screen, the outside of the screen thank goodness. Rich and Zach ran to get the camera and go outside and have a look at him (or her I guess). They were able to get a good look at him and get this photograph. Very pretty huh?

No need to go to the zoo for homeschooling. There is enough right at your own window. haha.

Handmade? Why not go custom made?

2008-05-07T09:17:00.000-07:00

I'm going to ruminate a bit about an interesting forum thread yesterday at Etsy. It was not unique as I have seen a couple other similar posts. The originator of the post was a plus sized lady who was lamenting that more shops don't offer plus sizing in their clothing. While that is a very valid concern, it is my strong belief that she should order custom, and in fact we all should! Buying handmade is fantastic in the general sense, but you are not really utilizing that to its fullest potential if you are buying standard sized clothing from a seamstress on Etsy. You have at your fingertips talented clothing designers and seamstresses that can customize the fit to your unique body! That is the real value of handmade clothing, and I don't see it proclaimed to the world when it should be. Yes, you can get regular standard sizing clothing on Etsy too, and it certainly has its place if you need it immediately obviously. But, aside from the handmade aspect (true, a big plus), you are getting the shape and size you can get in the mall anyway, which for most of us has it's problems. Consider it. You can get something sized to your measurements, guaranteed to fit pretty much. Next time you are buying clothing on Etsy, try out public alchemy, private alchemy from a seller whose clothing you admire or convo a few people and ask if they would do a custom listing and see what a wonderful fit you really can get with something sewn just for you.

Patchy fabric reversible baby dress

2008-05-05T20:39:00.001-07:00

Patchy fabric reversible baby dress, originally uploaded by WeeBeaks.

Okay, so this is the new item in my shop and probably will become part of Lily's wardrobe in some form or another. I did some deconstructing and altering to create this pattern, and this dress is the first one. It is a completely reversible little dress and can be worn alone in the summer and with a turtleneck and leggings in the winter. As I look at Lily's closet and see things that don't match, etc., etc., the more reversible and versatile garments appeal to me. This particular one is in size 9-12 months and is up for grabs in my Etsy shop, with more sizes and colors to choose from in the months ahead, and also some other new stuff still in my head. :)

Winner winner

2008-04-26T16:36:00.000-07:00

My bloggy carnival is over and a winner has been drawn, The Angel Forever

If our winner should fail to answer my email another will be drawn.

A big thank you to everyone who entered!