Our family is really fortunate to live right up against a state park. Tons of benefits: really quiet neighborhood, lots of opportunities to observe wildlife, go for hikes, teach the kids about nature… Can’t say enough good things about living here.
Usually.
Then there’s the one day of the year during which we shake angry fists at the local flora.
Leaf Raking Day.
It’s become a tradition in our house to put in one huge leaf-raking effort on Black Friday. Mainly because a) both Fred and I hate shopping Read the rest of this entry
A few good reads from this week. As always, I don’t necessarily agree with all the opinions expressed but do appreciate that they were expressed and provided perspectives worth considering.
“Other Mothers” from Our Little Tongginator – adoptive mom on being the 3rd mom (chronologically) in her daughter’s life.
“Adoption: When Your Kids Grow” from Welcome to my Brain – what adoption means to kids as they pass through different developmental stages and into adulthood.
“‘My Grandmother’ by Jackie Kay” – Lisa at A Birth Project reflects on growing up “other” in a white family, especially when the oldest generation still holds racist views (while not realizing that they do).
“Young Moms and Coercion in Adoption” at From the Past into the Future – hard to read, but important to be aware of, how agencies sometimes strong-arm first moms into signing away their rights (in the name of avoiding “a failed adoption”).
Our two blogs rarely intersect – Home Improvement with Adoption and Family. But in case any of you readers are likely to be out shopping this weekend and could benefit from them, we’ve accumulated lists of some of the best deals from some of the more common retailers over at One Project Closer, and I thought I’d share them with you all, too: Read the rest of this entry
There was a pleasant surprise for OUR family in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade lineup this year: the parade’s first-ever Latin American band to participate. And Guatemalan at that!
The band, “Pedro Molina,” hails from the town of Coatepeque in the department of Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. The 270 members – musicians and dancers – range from 12 to 25 years of age and are either current students or graduates of the school for which the band is named. They’ve won four Central American championships since their founding in 1982, and this is their second appearance here in the U.S. They performed in the Rose Bowl parade back in January.
In February, following their Rose Bowl appearance, the band applied to be in the 2011 Macy’s parade, since Macy’s requires application submission one year in advance. Read the rest of this entry
Reason # 4,357,921,934 I home school: we’re DONE for the semester! Our co-op wrapped up our Fall with a Medieval feast this afternoon, and while I will of course do some reviewing over the break to make sure the boys don’t lose their new knowledge, we’re OFF for the holidays! Looking forward to field tripping, celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas, spending time with family and friends, and just enjoying one another’s company without having lessons to accomplish or Mama “being picky about handwriting.”
Ahhhh….
Right. BACK to the feast. The kids (and some of the adults) came dressed for the event, and our class (I sit in class every week with all the other moms, so yes it is “our” class) presented what they’re thankful for. Each kid had a letter.
A few good reads from this week. As always, I don’t necessarily agree with all the opinions expressed but do appreciate that they were expressed and provided perspectives worth considering.
“It’s Been a Year” over at My Fascinating Life – on the one-year anniversary of adopting their twins… and how different the experience was the children, versus the new parents. (I always appreciate reading parents who are able to step back and examine themselves as they may be coming across to their kids, so they get a big thumbs up from me for that!)
Was reading over at Latina-ish that her family has a favorite YouTube video for learning the Spanish alphabet. Went to comment on her post with the link to ours, and now the boys are begging me to keep playing it. So with the music playing over and over in the background, I thought I’d share it with you all, too!
El alfabeto español, compliments of YouTube:
I’m sure our family is responsible for about 52,000 of the 352,809 visits currently listed on their site.
Spent some time learning how to fiddle with my html code (Thanks, Fred!), so THIS week’s links features my new Blog Roll, organized by category. (Lower right sidebar.)
I’ll go back to individual post-links next week. Only so many hours in the day, and I’m looking forward to regaining one with this night’s sleep!
