It takes two

My husband is the head of our household but don't let him find out that I said so. I like him to think that I am the one that is running the show. But, if I am to be truly honest, and what a better place to be honest, I have to admit that he will always have the last word. Not by force or coercion, don't get me wrong. But by choice, my choice to really value his opinion. And I think that I hold such a great value to his opinion because he values mine. When we disagree, points can be made and compromises can be met easily because we have such high regard for each other. Our marriage has been one of love, adoration, passion, laughter,trials, more laughter, some tears, calmness, and compromise. I can after almost 15 years of marriage count on one hand the fights that we have had. It's not that we don't disagree but we don't disagree on much. We allow each other to be individuals and pursue our individual passions. Sometimes finding the other's passion interesting and other times not. And by doing this, by allowing these things we become closer as a couple, and we are better parents. Having our kids brought up with a united front, that loves unconditionally, and that excepts each other for who they are not who someone wants them to be is a key point in our unschooling journey. That and not being afraid of change, not being afraid to admit that we can better ourselves, and not being afraid to admit that we aren't perfect but are taking risks and trying new things to promote growth within ourselves. That is why we love to be an unschooled family.

Lightning

Last night we had some lightning. So Mighty Girl took the camera outside and this is what she ended up with. Great photograph.

Off to the Tropicana

It isn't often that we decide to go down to the Las Vegas "strip" but today was an exception. After all we have lived here for almost 13 years now and both of my kids were born here. So the bright lights from the casinos and ringing of the slot machines has never lead me to fame nor fortune and only to a pounding headache and nausea. But today we were actually very excited to go.

We were going to the Tropicana to see a couple exhibits. Not only that, but we also were meeting up with some the the families that are in the same unschooling groups as we are. So we were doubly excited! There are two exhibits running right now. They are the Bodies Exhibition and the Titanic Exhibit. The girls had a great time checking out everything. I don't think that I have ever seen such an amazing exhibit as the bodies exhibition. And I didn't get to meet with the Life Learners (our unschooling group) last week and I could really feel the difference in myself. I really miss them when I don't see them. All the women in this group are so loving. They are really like our family. I know that the girls feel the same way. My sister in law made a comment while they were here that my girls got along and played with their little cousins so very well. I know it is because the girls have friends of all ages here in this group. They can appreciate what every child has to offer and age makes no difference to them. We are so happy that we found the Las Vegas Life Learners!!

Anyway, what was I talking about..... oh yes. The exhibits. So after we toured both of them Ice Princess and Mighty Girl bought a small human skeleton from the gift shop. There in the lobby they had a great time putting it together. Here are some pictures. It was a great day!!

The Half-Blood Prince or Eldest

I spent the day running errands. I found a new pair of shorts for me, I purchased the sixth book in the Harry Potter series (The Half-Blood Prince), and the second in the Eragon series (Eldest), I bought crickets to feed to the geckos, and brought home a little something for the kids to eat. My hubby had left them while I was out and they had not fixed themselves anything to eat.

It's sort of funny, I have a 20 percent off discount card at Barnes and Noble (anyone that is a teacher or parent to a home schooler can get one) but, every time I take it out to use it they say, "Is this book going to be used in the classroom?" And I feel the same way every time the cashier says these words in what is usually a semi condescending way. I feel as if I was being sucked into a large pit almost like a time warp of some sort. I am always rendered momentarily speechless. So I swallow hard and give her sideways smile. "Yes" I reply, "I home school my kids". How can I keep forgetting that our society says that only some books have educational value and others don't. Oh well, I know this isn't true and right now that's all that matters.
Anyway, I am very excited to read these two books with Mighty Girl but, Ice Princess shows no interest. I wonder if she would actually like to join us when we read together but says no just because it makes her feel powerful to say "no". I'm not sure that she really knows the adventure she is missing out on when we read together. She only likes to read on her own. When the mood strikes her just right she'll take a book and lock herself in a room (usually the bathroom, which as it turns out is one of her favorites rooms) and does not come out for hours. Not that I am complaining, mind you, I just find the differences between my children fascinating sometimes. I do have to admit however that I love our snuggle time when we read to each other. Isn't it great that my 12 year old still cuddles with me!?! Now to decide which one to read first. That will be the hard part.

A Visit From Family

Ice Princess and Mighty Girl only get to see their cousins once or twice a year. They had such a good time catching up. My brother and his family were in town for a week and it never seems like it is long enough. I wish that they lived closer. Here are some picture of his boys and my girls having fun.

The Seed

On a day like today,

no colder than this,

a slight breeze came blowing,

and with it a small, innocent,

seed came flowing.

Over the tall pine trees,

that covered the summit,

drifting by a swift flowing brook,

this is the path that the tiny,

seed took.

There it settled,

in the warm, moist earth,

just like every seed knows,

it will use this rich soil,

as the seed grows.

The sky then covered,

by dense gray clouds,

plump drops fell and as they pressed,

this seed was buried further,

before it came to rest.

Now who will tell,

who will be the one,

to teach this new little seed,

how to grow big and strong,

and keep it from becoming a weed.

Now day turned to night,

and weeks into months,

but no one filled this big task,

no rules were laid down,

I know I did ask.

It was left all alone,

with no textbooks to study,

so do I dare go and see,

should I take a look at what

this helpless seed became to be?

Over the hill I did climb,

through the deep forest pine,

and along that rushing brook,

I sought out that little seed,

following the path that it took.

Finally I arrived,

to my great delight,

it was not an ugly weed that I found,

but a lovely yellow wildflower,

planted firmly in the soft ground.

How will they ever learn math???

I have to admit that the most frequently asked question regarding the way that my children are being raised is, "How will they EVER learn math?". I guess that people can't imagine that math could possibly take place without workbooks and lessons. So here is just one of many accounts on how my girls are "teaching" themselves math.

Ice Princess loves those police shows, animal cop shows and really anything that has to do with the law and it's enforcement. So, one afternoon she was watching the program called Speeders. It is a show that lets you see people's reactions when they are caught speeding. When someone is pulled over, the frame is frozen and information about the driver is revealed. Such as his or her name, the state that he/she is in, his/her occupation and how many years they have been driving. So Ice Princess is sitting on the couch still in her pajamas clutching tightly to her tivo remote control. I was in the kitchen working on my budget (uggghhhh). I notice that she keeps pausing the show as this information about the driver comes up. Finally, I take a break and see that she is deep in thought and the tv is paused once again. So I asked her what she was doing. She then rewound the show to the beginning and forwarded to all the parts of the show that told about the speeder. Each time she told me how old the drivers were at the time they received their tickets for speeding. Now this was one piece of information that was not given about these offenders. So I asked her how she knew their ages. She came back quickly with, "That's easy mom, people get their driver's licence when they are 16 and then the show tells me how long they have been driving for." She had decided to make up a story problem, something that her peers were made to sit and do at a desk in school. But she was happily doing the same thing in her home, in her pjs, and with one of her favorite mediums (the tv). And she was doing it because it was important to her and not to someone else. She was applying it directly to her life and in that way she will remember how to use this same tool over and over again with no trouble or difficulty.

Yum Yum Dim Sum

If you are feeling adventurous and want something a little different for breakfast or lunch, how about going out for some dim sum? In Chinese the term dim sum means "touch the heart" and refers to the lovely little dishes that make up the dim sum experience. This traditional Cantonese meal is brought right to your table via little push carts. The waitresses stroll up to the table with their carts full of steaming small dishes and with one or two points your table is full of new foods that will delight your taste buds. Now, if you frequent a authentic dim sum restaurant, as we did in china town you may not know what is in the uniquely prepared dishes. But, that is part of the adventure. Just point at whatever looks good and give it a try. My brother who frequents China introduced me and my family to dim sum and he has been in town visiting this week so decided go to the Cathay House together. My girls always love the adventure that dim sum brings.

Here are examples of the different carts.

Here is a dish that is cooked by wrapping it in a lotus leaf.

This is my brother's youngest, X man, enjoying the food.

Mighty Girl and Ice Princess are getting better with the chopsticks.

YES, lets spoil our children!!!

I figured since I am already here and I have already changed how I raise and "educate" my children my next step is to redefine some ugly words in our society. The first word that I'd like to attack is "spoiled". What type of picture comes to mind when you hear that someone has a spoiled child? I know, some whiny brat that wants everything he sees and some week minded mother or father that just can't say no. Was I right?? Well, I am here to give you an entirely different image. You see I teach my girls that they can always be happy in this life. Sure there are going to be situations that arise where there will be sadness, anger, frustration, pain, jealousy, boredom, and and just plain stagnation. But, I think all of those things are good because without out them you cannot know how to seek the opposite. If you don't have contrast in your life how can you know what will bring you joy? So I want my kids to be happy, to find whatever brings them bliss. I also want them to be able to do this for themselves and not depend on others for their happiness. So following that train of thought I want my kids to have everything that they want that brings them to their joy, their bliss. The difference here is that my girls live in an environment that doesn't judge their actions. Let me give you an example, they can study something to what ever extent they desire. Mighty Girl went through a phase where she had to rent, buy, record, film, draw, paint, document, and in all other ways learn about birds. It went on for weeks. Many hours a day, mostly in the middle of the night. But, she was free to do so. And, I was excited for her. I didn't place limits or judgments on her. I never said, "Don't you think that is quite enough?" or, "Isn't it too late to study?". I never said this mostly because I never felt that way but also because I would have hated those things to have been said to me when I have a passion for something. Even if this means that they have to have every video game system out there or that they only want to read about Pokemon everyday. My girls are passionate about a great many things. I feel it is my job as their mother to introduce new material into their tiny worlds but it is okay for them to tell me no, that that is not interesting to them. I love that they know what they like and don't like. So to that end, they always get what they want. They never feel as though they "need" something that is unattainable. For them everything is within reach. They can and will get everything that they want. And because they know who they are, they know how to follow their bliss. They just don't want to have everything! So please, lets spoil our children.

Here they are studying a beetle they found near the pool. Mighty Girl wanted to know everything about it. So she dissected it so that she was able to completely understand it. I would not have chosen to do that but it was something that brought her happiness.

Sydney

Gone the day, with my arms full.

Soft, warm, cherry lips.

Peering over handmade blankets.

With apple cheeks and slate eyes.

Drifting lavender and powder.



Gone the morning, not quite awake.

Her back against my breast.

Shallow breath, white t-shirt.

Her crown snug under my chin.

Golden rays begin to break in.



Gone the afternoon, gazing down.

Watching contented, giving life.

Perfect rocking in time to every breath.

Tiny feet lost in my palm.

Minutes that last forever.



Gone the nights, pained.

Reaching in her barred trundle.

Dancing with her this midnight dance.

Desperate to ebb the strike on my ears.

Attempting to barter with patting and bouncing.



Here is the moment, radiant.

Healthy, biting in to life.

A delicious ripe melon, juicy and sweet.

Sweeping electricity and water.

The best has just begun.

Zoom, Graffiti, and Sweets

Well it was a relaxing day. The girls worked hard on one of their favorite games, Graffiti Kingdom. In this game you create and draw in three dimensions your own characters. You have a to consider all three dimensional planes when creating. Then you have to decide on it's powers and abilities. When this is all done the game animates the character and you can play as the character you created. Today, Ice Princess took the time to take pictures with her own camera of the villain and then take this picture to try and create her own character to look just like the boss on the game. She was so excited when she succeeded and it looked as if the boss was fighting itself. Here is a picture of Mighty Girl putting on the finishing touches.

Ice Princess is just beaming. Now to create a my little pony.

My hubby came home with a movie and sweets. So we all snuggled down on the couch. It was a pretty cute family flick called Zoom.

Yup, he is quite a dork. But, he's my dork.

It was a great day. Here is Mighty Girl saying see ya later...

Getting to know us

I thought it would be fun to throw together some random pictures of our family so that you can know what it is really like to be a Mighty Walton. All of these pictures were taken over the last four or five months. These first few ones are from a trip we took to California in March.









Ice Princess and Mighty Girl really enjoyed the aquarium.

And now for some face painting...









Here the girls and I are at Spring Mountain ranch just hanging out with all of their Life Learner friends. It was such a beautiful day.









And what is life without a little mud???





Here we are at the butterfly habitat in Grand Junction, Colorado.








Ice Princess is standing in front of the Colorado River. She was so excited to know where her drinking water comes from.

Now we are on Mount Charleston in Nevada. Can you see how proud they are after building their first fire?



I hope you had fun sneaking a small peak at life as a Mighty Walton.