Thanksgiving Update

I made it. The first major holiday without my mom. *sigh* I think this was just the warm up for Christmas. lol So the eight of us went out to eat (see post below) and that was nice. The food was good and the owners were Italian and from, where else? Brooklyn!! I tell ya…we’re taking over Florida!! LOL I meet more New Yorkers here In Florida than when I lived in New York. lol So after that, we all went back to my...

Thanksgiving as a Vegetarian

Thanksgiving is my least favorite holiday. Always has been. Party because I don’t care for all the traditional “fall” foods. Seriously, there is nothing appealing to me at a Thanksgiving dinner. Also, as a long time vegetarian, any holiday that centers around killing an animal is not my idea of a celebration. So on this Thanksgiving, I offer my condolences to all the turkey families out there who lost a...

Holiday Grieving

Grief is such a weird rollercoaster. It brings many unexpected emotions to the surface, and even more unexpected are the ways that we deal with those emotions. This is my first holiday without my mother here. I hate it. After thinking about it for a while, I decided that the only way I would be able to get through the day in one piece, would be to do something that I never did with her. I feel like if I do something that is...

Getting Dressed Up

During our recent trip back home to Brooklyn, we attended a 50th wedding anniversary for my aunt (my mother’s youngest sister) and uncle. It was a fabulous party for two people that are just as much in love now, as they were on their wedding day. These are some pictures that we took after we got dressed (we’re in the condo that we rented for that week. We sold our house in Brooklyn a couple of years ago). I love...

Rollerblading

Billy and the girls went rollerblading a couple of weeks ago and I snapped a few pictures of them as then left, and then again as they came home. This sure beats gym class in school. LOL Daddy to the rescue. Share ...

The Unschooling Unmanual

I received a very nice e-mail from Jan Hunt asking me to pass along the following news about the upcoming book, The Unschooling Unmanual, which I’m really looking forward to reading. Hi Joanne,I love your blogs and would like to post some information about our new unschooling book on An Unschooling Life. I’ll attach the press release – you can read an excerpt at http://www.naturalchild.org/unmanual/ . Let me...

Halloween 2007

I just realised I hadn’t shared any pictures from Halloween. I posted some on Forever Parents, but not here so here’s a few of Jacqueline and Shawna. Share ...

Recipe For Slime

We’ve used this recipe several times to make slime and it’s GREAT! If you haven’t made some yet, try it today. Need:Borax (found in the laundry aisle)White glue Food coloring Ziploc bags 1. Take a cup of water and add to it 1 Tbs. of borax. Stir until completely dissolved.2. Make a 50% water 50% white glue solution. Take 1/4 cup of each and mix thoroughly.3. In a ziploc bag, add equal parts of the borax...

Soccer

Shawna & Jacqueline just finished their first season of soccer and they gave it a two thumbs up. It’s starting up again next month but we’ll skip that one and start again in April. (that’s Jacqueline’s two coaches in the photo) Share ...

Random Questions

What family traditions or customs would you most like to see preserved?In the last few years (because of moving to another state and also adopting three children) we’ve set aside some traditions, changed some to suit our current life and started some new ones. With my mother recently gone, we’re sure to be going though another change this year. What do you feel is the least sexy part of the body?I’m not into...