How to fall in love with winter. . .

I have a foolproof way to fall in love with winter.


Just grab three tween girls who aren't embarrassed to be seen with you.


Dress warmly! Winter is cold.


Find a hill, a tube, and someone who will give you a good push.


Zoom!

Repeat, over and over again, until you cannot feel your cheeks from cold, wind burn and smiling.


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Video taken at Amesbury Sports Park in Amesbury, MA. And, yes, this 44-year-old mama was the one with the camera. And the screech.

Swept clean by Irene

Not all that long ago, this was what the inside of my refrigerator looked like:

Since those days of plenty, we've replaced this refrigerator with a sleeker, stainless-steel version, which was just as packed as the one above.

Until Irene.

After 52 hours without power, we are back to a clean slate. But, other than a bunch of branches all over the yard, nothing was damaged.

And little jars of jams, sauces and chutneys can be replaced pretty easily.

Hope my East-coast peeps made it through Irene without losing too much as well.

When is a homeschooler not a homeschooler?

I live in Massachusetts which, in homeschooling terms, is an "approval state". This means that the calendar year your child turns six, you must send a "Letter of Intent to Homeschool" to your local school department. I then send my Lesson Plan for the year to the school district and, at the end of the year, send a Progress Report.

We now have a "new" way of doing things which has some people shook up a bit, while others are breathing a sigh of relief. It is a "Virtual Public School" and the first one just started up in this state this school year.

By joining this Virtual School, I would sign my kids up with the Greenfield (MA) School District which is actually more than two hours away on the other side of the state. My town would send this school a check for the amount in taxes they would use if he/she was in the town's school system (I've read it's about $3,000 per child, but don't quote me).

In exchange, I would receive a computer (don't get too excited; I've heard they are a bit old and creaky) and a complete curriculum from K-12. Oh and a teacher would be assigned to my child, and I would no longer call myself teacher but "Learning Coach" (oy, schoolspeak).

The other biggie is that my kids would be required to take the MCAS which is our mandatory standardized achievement tests.

Even with the evil MCAS, I have to admit my interest has been piqued. We now pay $20 a month for one of my children to do two subjects online. I have spent countless dollars on curriculum, some of it which I never use because I don't understand it, don't make time for it, or forget I have it (seriously).

But the initial reports I heard about the virtual public school were full of alarming details: Teachers will check your work daily! You can never miss a day! No flexibility! Six hours of busy work a day!!!!! (subtext: Your children will hate you, you will become a frumpy nervous mess and your house will start to smell!)

So, I've been asking around, reading the message boards, looking at the website. It's not like Massachusetts is doing something totally new: My very good friend does a virtual school in California and one of my fave online homeschoolers does it in Canada.

And what I'm hearing right now is pretty interesting. There seems to be some flexibility in curriculum if the school agrees that what you are using meets their standards. You can tweak your schedule around a bit so that you can take a field trip one day, or just have a needed "sanity day". The teachers are available but not hovering and checking every last thing.

The one thing that irks me is that there seems to be some quibbling over what to call these new Virtual School students. Are they homeschoolers? Public Schoolers? Traitors to the cause?

Really? Give me a break. I don't care if you teach your kid math by counting the chicken eggs they collect in the morning, or if they run off every Friday night to a paid Russian Math class for two hours, or if they are enrolled in a public school curriculum two hours away: A kid who does most of their work at home, is a homeschooler.

Agree? Disagree? Feel free to discuss, but if you get nasty in the comments, I'm coming after you with my metal ruler. I am still the teacher after all.

Let's go shopping!

(check out the giveaway at the end!)

I usually avoid taking the kids clothes shopping like the plague: Isn't that why online shopping exists?

But Thursday, I brought the three kids to check out the new OshKosh B'gosh store opening not too far from where I live.

Why? To see these people:

Woot for Boston-area bloggers!

I also went because my oldest has been lamenting she has nooooooo clothes. And when I switched her bureau from "warm-weather clothes" to "cold-weather clothes", I found out that she wasn't kidding. One shirt. No pajamas.

We call this "restocking"

I didn't forget my other bambinos. They got stuff too. Though they were too busy making faces in the fun-house mirror next to the changing room.

OK, so I did too:

Fun-house mirrors add 10 pounds to your hips. And to the top of your head.

Admittedly, I had no idea what OshKosh clothing looks like. . . it just hasn't been on my radar screen. I'd now described it as easy-going, every-dear wearable clothes for kids that are somewhere between affordable and "Oh-My-This-Is-Only-How-Much?Give-Me-Two."

And check out this little guy! If only my six year old wasn't past the age of letting his mother dress him in cartoon reindeer. Sigh.

Holy Overalls! Too cute for those little half-pints out there.

In the end, we left with four shirts, three sets of pajamas, a button-down shirt and a pair of gray boys' pants for about $120; OshKosh kindly gave us bloggers $50 gift cards* when we entered the store, surprise!, so my total was even lower.

The prices are great, just make sure you pay attention to the many signs that list what the discounts are (percentage off vs buy-one-get-one; if I had paid attention, my shopping bag could have included an additional set of pajamas for the same price). Most of the discounts I saw on the signs were upwards of 40% off, so get ready to do some calculating!

I was also given a $25 gift card to give away to one of you. It can be used at any OshKosh B'gosh store, or online, so no need to live in my area. I'll select one reader randomly to get the gift card---just leave a comment below and let me know the one thing you saw on the OshKosh B'Gosh website that you'd love to get for your child. (CONTEST IS CLOSED: Congratulations to Commenter #4, Mami2jcn, for winning the gift card!)

*OshKosh B'gosh gave all invited guests a $50 gift card for spending and a $25 gift card to give away, as a thank you for coming to the store. No post was promised, nor did I even know we were getting a gift card before we agreed to attend.

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Greater Boston area peeps, listen up! Visit the new OshKosh B'Gosh store opening event in Braintree's South Shore Plaza tomorrow, Saturday, October 9th between 11am - 2pm. Bring a pair of your child's outgrown, gently-worn jeans or overalls and get a new pair for only $7! This Denim Drive benefits Cradles to Crayons. And your wallet.

Window Shopping

This post originally ran on New England Mamas. I'm going to be pulling some of my favorite posts over here to keep them all under one "roof". Hope you don't mind the repeat if you've seen this before.

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Would you ever consider moving?

Fairly Odd Father (otherwise known as my husband) asked the question casually, having just returned from a week-long conference in North Carolina (really nice weather!, the people are so friendly!).

I paused before answering in the most passive-aggressive manner possible, saying: Only if it is for a year, and we don't have to sell the house.

In other words, nononononononononono!

I love this little corner of the world we have carved out for ourselves. Our house is neither grand, nor brand new, nor all that unique (colonials being a dime a dozen in New England). But we are surrounded by trees and have the kind of neighbors that make you banish the thought of a fence.

But, even more than our home or neighbors, I feel at home in New England. As autumn starts dipping its toe into our state, I get that familiar feeling of anticipation over the show of colors that will soon be everywhere. Leaves will fall so we can crunch them under our shoes. Apples will ripen so that we can eat them right off the tree. The nights will get cooler so that we can sleep with an extra blanket on the bed.

And, then, with any luck, we'll get snow. I'm not sure why I get so excited about snow, but school cancellations are thrilling to me. I hop on the computer to check the cancellation list like a 15-year-old; this practice is made more peculiar when you realize that I am neither 15, nor in school; in fact, we homeschool so are not affected by the weather.

Fairly Odd Father pointed out that North Carolina has four seasons. . .sort of. Well, no snow, he admitted. To which I said, and that is good because ? ? ?

(I'm fickle, though. By February, I'm done with the snow; by May, I'm done with rain; by August, I'm done with humidity; and by November, I'm done with all those leaves in our yard).

Name a place and I can tell you why I wouldn't want to leave here for there.

Friends new to Southern California gushed: We're finding that it's as nice here as everyone says it is! But, the lack of rain (less than an inch in the first half of the year) unnerves me, and there is that lack of snow to liven things up.

Other friends are in Kansas, and I have spent many fun days in Chicago; both may be lovely places to live, but I would need to be flown out to an ocean every few months. Plus, I once lived in the tornado belt and heard that siren enough for a lifetime.

After visiting Portland, Oregon, I thought it came pretty close to an ideal place to live, but it is r-e-a-l-l-y far from my mom and my sister's family, and it seems to rain an awful lot. Love snow, don't love rain.

I've also visited Austin, Seattle, Colorado ski country, San Diego, Washington DC, various parts of Florida and Arizona, New Orleans, New York City, the Jersey Shore, parts of Pennsylvania, Costa Rica, the coasts of Canada, and a bit of Europe. In every place, I see something that helps me to understand why someone would want to live there---either it is lovely weather, great culture, fun people or beautiful scenery (or any combination of these).

But, I keep coming back to my home in Eastern Massachusetts, a place with its own version of lovely weather, plenty of culture and history, people I love, and scenery that can stop me in my tracks.

We have agreed, though, that we would consider moving to a new state if the opportunity arose.

What could get me to leave my town, my state?

Why, it could only be the land of Ben & Jerry's, maple syrup, Burlington, snow and rolling hills: Vermont.

For Vermont, I'd risk it all.

My pond

This originally ran on New England Mamas. I'm going to be pulling some of my favorite posts over here to keep them all under one "roof". Hope you don't mind the repeat if you've seen this before.

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It is a quiet place. The house is nestled in the pines, almost on top of the waterfront. The water is fresh, clean and teaming with sunfish who, upon hearing my feet on the dock, rush to me in the hopes that I will have some old bread for them. I might see an old turtle swimming in the waters or hear a duck quacking around the bend. Or, I might hear nothing at all.

I have been coming here my entire life.

It was my grandparents' place, then my bachelorette pad, and now the place my mother calls home. Before I was 18, there was a boys' camp across the way, and I'd wake to hear a voice on the loudspeaker telling the boys what their day held for them. I flirted shyly with them as they canoed on the pond, banging their metal boats into each other as if fighting some primitive war. If any came too close, my grandmother would yell from the second floor windows, Get away from my granddaughter!

My own personal body guard at 13.

When I lived there alone, I was never afraid. I'd come home late after working in the city, open the door of my car and hear a thud at my feet. Two shiny eyes would be looking at me. It was my neighbor's large black lab who had come to play catch in the darkness. I'd hold the drooly ball between my fingers and play catch for five or ten minutes in the heat of the summer or the freezing cold of winter.

When I swim, I feel the span of generations all around me. I remember swimming up to my grandmother and holding on to her sturdy wrinkled arm. I remember watching my dad diving off the end of the dock and swimming off into the center of the pond. I recall my sister doing bobs in the water. I think of the friends, family and my new husband all swimming in the dark waters after our wedding.

And, now, I see my own children playing in the waters that have soothed me my entire life.

This is a place so special to me, it must remain secret. However, that isn't to say that it is closed to you. Families now walk through the former boys' camp and ignore the "Do Not Enter" signs that lead to a quiet, sandy, no-frills beach area. For the determined, there is a way in. And, if you see me on the other side, wave.

Field Trip to The Big E!

Today, we made the almost-two-hour trek to Western Massachusetts to visit The Big E with friends. The Big E is not just a "fair", but a fair I attended year after year when I was growing up in that part of the state.


Not much has changed; except for maybe the increase of disgusting fried things (Fried BUTTER!?!?) and the number of people in motorized scooters.


I will never, ever understand the line that snakes back and forth at the "Maine Building" so that people can spend $5 on a baked potato. Don't they realize you can get a baked potato in one of those neon food carts and skip the line?

But, some things aren't meant to be understood, like a giant sculpture made of butter:

One of my favorite things about the day was seeing the people demonstrating old-time skills, like using a loom or spindle, or hammering tin into candle holders and decorative objects. And I am humbled at how time-consuming, yet beautiful, hand-made lace is.

The kids loved that they were even pulled into the demonstration. Here is Jilly with the loom:

And Belly with the tin man (Tin Maker?)

He showed them how to make a star ornament that is hanging in my kitchen right now:

It was weird to be back with the kids and to have such different feelings about the place now that I'm older. When I was young, The Big E was all about the food, the rides and hanging out.

Now, the food looked so much more expensive and unhealthy. I had made a "NO RIDES" rule ahead of time. And "hanging out" today mostly meant that one of the kids was too tired to walk anymore and needed to sit down, right there on the ground.

It was different. But it was still fun. Though I still don't understand the baked potatoes.

Mean girls and skates

I'm ranting about mean girls (while weeping for Phoebe Prince) and revealing my fear of ice skating (Thanks Damien!) over at New England Mamas today.

Would love for you to stop by and visit.

Never too late to start school over

Happy New Year!

I'm stirring things up over at New England Mamas, offering advice on how to pull your kids out of school mid-year for those who just can't face starting the whole thing up again on Monday.

Surprised that lightening did not strike me down

I went to a religious shrine and the earth didn't swallow me whole. Read about it here.

Getting ready for December crunch

Busy, busy, busy (as I know you all are too).

Want to see what we'll start doing tomorrow? I'm over here talking about it.

It's "Thank Your First Commenter Day"! Pass the wine!

Many thanks to Neil for coming up with this way of spreading a little thanksgiving before the actual holiday. His challenge? Find the first person who ever commented on your blog and thank them.

My very first commenter to that post I wrote back in October of 2006 is the barely known blogger (heh) who goes by Mom 101. In response to a post in which I recounted how a drunk boy told me I was "practical", she wrote:

Okay that is like the single worst thing I think any guy could ever say to a drunk woman in the bar. I mean, "wanna do it in my trailer?" would probably be better than that!

For what it's worth, practical is not the first thing I think of when I think of you. I think of you in that bleeding heart halloween costume in 92 (eek) and how I thought to myself, now THERE'S someone I could be friends with!

Thank you for this Liz.

I'd also like to send a big thank you to the first person I don't know outside of blogland who commented on my site: Daisy from Compost Happens who wrote this on my second post titled "Homeschooling Hiccups". She wrote:

The best way to raise a reader is to read. Keep reading to her, showing her that books are wonderful and fun and contain stories that rock. When she's developmentally ready, she'll go for the phonics lessons.

Two posts in, and I was already worrying about my abilities to homeschool. Sounds about right. And, heck, guess what! She was spot on with her advice.

To everyone who has ever visited this blog, who has taken the time to comment, or email, or send me a Tweet, thank you, thank you, thank you. You warm my heart.

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Know what else warms my heart? New England Mamas is back! Come and check us out! The digs look the same but we put out some tasty new treats for you all. Enjoy!

Scream: My Version

{{waving}}

I'm over at New England Mamas talking about how I willingly allowed myself to be scared silly last weekend. C'mon over and keep me company!

How do I like these apples?

Come see me over at New England Mamas if you want to find out. . .

Using the rhythm method

For me, the start of a new "school" year is all about finding a groove, or rhythm, to our day that feels natural. By natural, I mean that we need to all feel awake and ready to work when it's time to work.

So, mornings are good, but not too early. Afternoons aren't good because my brain stops working properly after 3pm.

But, I've hyperventilated more than once this week over the thought of trying to "do it all" this school year. What, pray tell, is "all"?

Two kids homeschooling this year;

An eager preschooler who wants to do some schoolwork too;

Writing for two cool sites; soon, three when this gets relaunched;

Exercising, something I need to do for my well being;

All the activities we have going on: soccer, girl scouts, dance, swimming, coop;

And, of course, fitting in playdates with homeschool and regular school friends.

We used to start doing school at 10am and finish by 1ish. But, with double the number of kids "in school", I need more time. Which means I need to dial back our start time to 9am which eats into my valuable work time, and/or my workout time.

Since I can't write at night (other than little quips on Twitter about whatever reality television show I happen to be watching), I have decided to try exercising after I put the kids to bed. Yes, Shred after Bed, or something like that.

So, tonight was to be Night #1. And instead of working out, I fell asleep on the couch.

I may need to think about this new schedule a little bit more.

The End of the Secrets

For you New Englanders, check out New England Mamas' series on Secret Spaces---we're just wrapping things up tonight and will be selecting one commenter to win some prizes from us women.

I've written about my favorite spot in the world, and also the place I go to get dirty.

I ate delicious lobster rolls on the Cape and then got my informant to tell all about where they were sold. She was fearful that the Cape Cod Mafia may come after her, but I scoffed. Cape Cod Mafia? What would they do? Slice her with a razor clam? Tie her up in whale-embroidered belt? She saw the light.

Finally, I also passed on info on a couple of playgrounds that another friend was also not afraid to share.

Hope you get a chance to visit.

(and, by the way, does my formatting look screwy to you? hope to get that fixed someday. . .)

Down On My Knees

Look what I was doing on Sunday morning. . .

Shhhhh. . .It's a Secret

Over at New England Mamas, we're sharing our Secret Spaces with the world. Check out my first revelation here and follow the entire series for the rest of July. One random commenter will even receive a prize.

What Have I Started?

My oldest daughter, Belly, now has a blog (sorry, private and by invite only). Fortunately, she is only seven and spells for crap. So, at least for now, I will be helping her as she sits and slowly types in her deepest thoughts. I'm sure at some point, she will be hiding in her room and typing all sorts of lies about me and what I have refused to let her do.

Payback is a bitch.

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I was feeling nostalgic on New England Mamas and decided to relive a few of my favorite New England Concert memories.

Status Report

Where have I been for the past week, or so? Well, here is part of the explanation, as told on New England Mamas.

Here is the other explanation:






Pop-Pop was in town, and the kids couldn't have been happier.