Just thought I'd share a cool Science site with other homeschoolers, and anyone who is interested!! They have some really great videos and a whole site of stuff!!
I chose this video to share because the hunting season IS upon us. In fact, in our state is has arrived. We are in the middle of bow hunting season as of now. Rick has already bagged a really nice 8 point buck this past Saturday. When I get the pics on the new laptop I will post some. :o)
Winter, it seems, is also upon us!! Temperatures here today are in the mid 30s and we have our first 'little' snow in this area. No accumulation, just flurries here and there. UGH!! I don't like snow so you might here me call snow a dirty word, you know it's sn**. Or s**w. :o) I think I was meant to move south for the winter, maybe I missed my calling and was meant to be a bird, I don't know. All I know is that cold weather and me don't get along! Brrrrr!!
Anyhow, I also added this Science link and some others today in the links over there!!
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Friday, October 3, 2008
Fayette County Homeschoolers meeting with BOE
In my personal opinion, the meeting between Fayette County homeschoolers and the BOE was unproductive for homeschoolers. This is pretty much how it went, and I'm sure I'm leaving out a ton, but bear with me.
I had never spoken to Judy Lively in person, therefore I didn't know what she looked like. When we got there we took our seats at desks, and a woman came around and handed out folders to everyone. That woman was Judy Lively, unbeknownst to me, and I'm sure a lot of others had no idea who she was. Now, first off, this perturbs me (new word for the week LOL), because IMHO I think she should have extended a hand as she did that and said "I'm Judy Lively, and you are...??" or something to that effect. I just think it would have been the professional thing to do. Instead, though, they passed around 'name tags'.....WHATEVER. *sigh*
Ms. Lively started the meeting by introducing herself, and Dr. Serena Starcher (asst. county super), and Dr. Karen Larry (asst. state super). It stated in the invitation to the meeting that Chris Perkins, county super, would be there but he wasn't. (??) Ms. Lively went on to say that this was a friendly meeting, and that they support homeschoolers 100% and that most homeschoolers are doing a great job and they applaud us for that and all this stuff. Then she went on to explain THEIR position on this issue, which is 'requesting a more detailed 'Outline for a Plan of Instruction' (POI)'. She directed us to our folders, which included examples of 'good' and 'bad' NOI's, and a copy of the law, and another letter of some sort from 1990-something and I can't even remember what that was, cause I threw mine away (sorry, I have no use for that stuff).
The bad examples had things like "same as Meadow Bridge High School" or something similar on them, and one had the wrong year. The GOOD examples (yep, there are a few who comply with their requests) were filled out nicely and had the curriculum's objectives or table of contents attached. These were actual NOI's that had the personal info blacked out. One of the good NOI owners was actually there, and she spoke up and pointed out that one of those was her's, but she was there to support the right to be able to choose how much info is given to the BOE.
Ms. Lively went on to tell stories as to why she needs this info. She said that there are cases where kids are missing, not in any school, and they have no idea where they are, and that these kinds of people fill out the NOI's like the bad examples were and it sends a red flag and all this stuff. Now, I agree that all children need to be accounted for in some way...otherwise abusive and evil people could just beat a child to death and bury them somewhere and no one would miss them. She said that some parents take their kids out of school, put them back in, take them out, and so forth and the kids are left alone with no teaching, and she's just trying to fix that I guess.
And I don't know what DOCTOR Starcher was on....but whatever it was it was apparently in her bubble gum, she seemed to enjoy it immensely. No joke. She sat there and chewed her gum like a cow chewing it's cud, mouth wide open and all, and she'd even blow a little bubble every once in a while. Yeah, it was an informal meeting, so why not?? LOL And before I get sued for defamation of character, just joking about wondering what she was on, I don't have a clue whether she was ON anything. LOL However, she never spoke, meaning she never addressed us like Ms. Lively did, except for later to close the meeting....more on that in a bit though. Dr. Larry hardly spoke either, usually to answer a question from Ms. Lively, and a few times she answered a homeschoolers question or comment.
The attorney who was present from HSLDA (Steve Schwartz) hardly got the chance to say anything, he tried to argue some points of the law and such, but was cut short by Dr. Larry. She said that it wasn't fair to address those points without THEM having an attorney present. He tried to get across that the law says what it says, and that it it vague for a reason and I don't know what all. Also present was John Carey, who is an advocate for homeschoolers in the legislature and all. He had a lot to say and he is great, he gets in there and speaks his mind, although I hardly heard a word he said cause he's soft spoken and this was a big room and I wish that anyone who spoke had stood up. Most didn't. Ms. Lively was the only one standing. Well, until this one homeschool Dad stood up and took the floor. LOL He's great. He's in our local homeschool group here. He was trying to speak and bring his points home, and he got a little irate. So much so that Ms. Lively looked at the other BOE members and said "I think we may need to call someone". Well, there was a guy in the National Guard sitting there, I assume he's a homeschool Dad also, and he was in fatigues. The other guy looks at Ms. Lively and says "what do you need to call someone for?" (as he points out the NG guy) he says "here's somebody who protects our COUNTRY, he can protect you." I thought I'd crack up.
So, finally Ms. Lively wrapped up her speech...and she asked if anyone had questions or comments. No one spoke at first, and she said "hmm, short meeting". Then someone spoke up and and that led to more and more discussion from the homeschoolers, and when they found out that they weren't going to get what they came to try to talk us into, Ms. Lively stated that they were going to take all this back to the state superintendent and the legislature. She said they would just have to go back and have the law clarified once and for all. They think the law is vague for their benefit apparently, so that they can tell us what to report. The homeschoolers, the attorney, and Mr. Carey all let them know that the law was left vague so homeschooling parents could discern and decide what they would teach. When the 'discussion' wasn't going in the direction they wanted it to Dr. Starcher decided to stand up and call the meeting to a close. All she did was chew her bubble gum the whole time and then she just says "I'm calling this meeting to a close, you can walk around and mingle if you want to". It didn't end there though...others kept commenting and bringing up points and it'd lead to more. When the one woman who had the GOOD NOI said what she had to say...Dr. Starcher asked how could we go about seeing how many homeschoolers want to send in more info. DUH. I was thinking "well, I think we've seen about that already, seeing as how those who WANT to comply with your requests already have, and those who don't, haven't."
The woman with the good NOI brought up a great point...she said that when she prepared her NOI she just went to the Internet and printed off the stuff she sent. She said anybody can do that, and what if everyone did and then didn't follow that plan? Ms. Lively made it clear that she just needs to know we have a PLAN. The woman said something like "yeah, but what if somebody just prints something off just to satisfy you, and it's not accurate and the don't plan to follow that plan at all, then what's the use in spending time sending in information that is not accurate? Again, Ms. Lively said "I just need to know you have a plan." So, it does not matter whether you actually plan to teach the plan you send.....interesting. I agree, what's the use in sending one? For one thing, it's dishonest, and that's one thing that most homeschoolers are not.
I didn't say anything, I wouldn't have been heard anyhow. I'm soft spoken myself so I knew better. So that pretty much ended that. I'm sure I'm leaving out a lot of valid stuff that was said, but I wrote it all here and then lost it earlier. Maybe someone else can tell more of what I left out, just ask questions in the group.
But yes....this is affecting us all in the state. They did say they were going to pursue this in the legislature...again. So keep your eyes open and be ready to head to Charleston...again.
As for what happened to me last week, (the truancy letter?), I never spoke to Ms. Lively. My daughter asked me why, and that she might have apologized to me in person. I told her that she apologized on the phone, and if she wanted to aplogize to me face to face she should have sought me out and done so. She had opportunity to do so. As for me, I didn't want to get chummy with her after being all nicey nice and acting as if she wanted this because she cares about all kids and it's her job and she's just trying to do her job to the best of her ability. Yeah, she's trying to cover her butt is all. I know she has cases that are questionable, but she needs to go after THEM, not us. She says if she requests information from one, she has to request it from all. We all know that she could focus on the 'red flag' NOI's.
At any rate...just be on the alert!! Nothing was resolved at this meeting. And I'm not sure about the number of homeschoolers who turned out...if I had to guess I'd say about 45-50 families were represented.
I had never spoken to Judy Lively in person, therefore I didn't know what she looked like. When we got there we took our seats at desks, and a woman came around and handed out folders to everyone. That woman was Judy Lively, unbeknownst to me, and I'm sure a lot of others had no idea who she was. Now, first off, this perturbs me (new word for the week LOL), because IMHO I think she should have extended a hand as she did that and said "I'm Judy Lively, and you are...??" or something to that effect. I just think it would have been the professional thing to do. Instead, though, they passed around 'name tags'.....WHATEVER. *sigh*
Ms. Lively started the meeting by introducing herself, and Dr. Serena Starcher (asst. county super), and Dr. Karen Larry (asst. state super). It stated in the invitation to the meeting that Chris Perkins, county super, would be there but he wasn't. (??) Ms. Lively went on to say that this was a friendly meeting, and that they support homeschoolers 100% and that most homeschoolers are doing a great job and they applaud us for that and all this stuff. Then she went on to explain THEIR position on this issue, which is 'requesting a more detailed 'Outline for a Plan of Instruction' (POI)'. She directed us to our folders, which included examples of 'good' and 'bad' NOI's, and a copy of the law, and another letter of some sort from 1990-something and I can't even remember what that was, cause I threw mine away (sorry, I have no use for that stuff).
The bad examples had things like "same as Meadow Bridge High School" or something similar on them, and one had the wrong year. The GOOD examples (yep, there are a few who comply with their requests) were filled out nicely and had the curriculum's objectives or table of contents attached. These were actual NOI's that had the personal info blacked out. One of the good NOI owners was actually there, and she spoke up and pointed out that one of those was her's, but she was there to support the right to be able to choose how much info is given to the BOE.
Ms. Lively went on to tell stories as to why she needs this info. She said that there are cases where kids are missing, not in any school, and they have no idea where they are, and that these kinds of people fill out the NOI's like the bad examples were and it sends a red flag and all this stuff. Now, I agree that all children need to be accounted for in some way...otherwise abusive and evil people could just beat a child to death and bury them somewhere and no one would miss them. She said that some parents take their kids out of school, put them back in, take them out, and so forth and the kids are left alone with no teaching, and she's just trying to fix that I guess.
And I don't know what DOCTOR Starcher was on....but whatever it was it was apparently in her bubble gum, she seemed to enjoy it immensely. No joke. She sat there and chewed her gum like a cow chewing it's cud, mouth wide open and all, and she'd even blow a little bubble every once in a while. Yeah, it was an informal meeting, so why not?? LOL And before I get sued for defamation of character, just joking about wondering what she was on, I don't have a clue whether she was ON anything. LOL However, she never spoke, meaning she never addressed us like Ms. Lively did, except for later to close the meeting....more on that in a bit though. Dr. Larry hardly spoke either, usually to answer a question from Ms. Lively, and a few times she answered a homeschoolers question or comment.
The attorney who was present from HSLDA (Steve Schwartz) hardly got the chance to say anything, he tried to argue some points of the law and such, but was cut short by Dr. Larry. She said that it wasn't fair to address those points without THEM having an attorney present. He tried to get across that the law says what it says, and that it it vague for a reason and I don't know what all. Also present was John Carey, who is an advocate for homeschoolers in the legislature and all. He had a lot to say and he is great, he gets in there and speaks his mind, although I hardly heard a word he said cause he's soft spoken and this was a big room and I wish that anyone who spoke had stood up. Most didn't. Ms. Lively was the only one standing. Well, until this one homeschool Dad stood up and took the floor. LOL He's great. He's in our local homeschool group here. He was trying to speak and bring his points home, and he got a little irate. So much so that Ms. Lively looked at the other BOE members and said "I think we may need to call someone". Well, there was a guy in the National Guard sitting there, I assume he's a homeschool Dad also, and he was in fatigues. The other guy looks at Ms. Lively and says "what do you need to call someone for?" (as he points out the NG guy) he says "here's somebody who protects our COUNTRY, he can protect you." I thought I'd crack up.
So, finally Ms. Lively wrapped up her speech...and she asked if anyone had questions or comments. No one spoke at first, and she said "hmm, short meeting". Then someone spoke up and and that led to more and more discussion from the homeschoolers, and when they found out that they weren't going to get what they came to try to talk us into, Ms. Lively stated that they were going to take all this back to the state superintendent and the legislature. She said they would just have to go back and have the law clarified once and for all. They think the law is vague for their benefit apparently, so that they can tell us what to report. The homeschoolers, the attorney, and Mr. Carey all let them know that the law was left vague so homeschooling parents could discern and decide what they would teach. When the 'discussion' wasn't going in the direction they wanted it to Dr. Starcher decided to stand up and call the meeting to a close. All she did was chew her bubble gum the whole time and then she just says "I'm calling this meeting to a close, you can walk around and mingle if you want to". It didn't end there though...others kept commenting and bringing up points and it'd lead to more. When the one woman who had the GOOD NOI said what she had to say...Dr. Starcher asked how could we go about seeing how many homeschoolers want to send in more info. DUH. I was thinking "well, I think we've seen about that already, seeing as how those who WANT to comply with your requests already have, and those who don't, haven't."
The woman with the good NOI brought up a great point...she said that when she prepared her NOI she just went to the Internet and printed off the stuff she sent. She said anybody can do that, and what if everyone did and then didn't follow that plan? Ms. Lively made it clear that she just needs to know we have a PLAN. The woman said something like "yeah, but what if somebody just prints something off just to satisfy you, and it's not accurate and the don't plan to follow that plan at all, then what's the use in spending time sending in information that is not accurate? Again, Ms. Lively said "I just need to know you have a plan." So, it does not matter whether you actually plan to teach the plan you send.....interesting. I agree, what's the use in sending one? For one thing, it's dishonest, and that's one thing that most homeschoolers are not.
I didn't say anything, I wouldn't have been heard anyhow. I'm soft spoken myself so I knew better. So that pretty much ended that. I'm sure I'm leaving out a lot of valid stuff that was said, but I wrote it all here and then lost it earlier. Maybe someone else can tell more of what I left out, just ask questions in the group.
But yes....this is affecting us all in the state. They did say they were going to pursue this in the legislature...again. So keep your eyes open and be ready to head to Charleston...again.
As for what happened to me last week, (the truancy letter?), I never spoke to Ms. Lively. My daughter asked me why, and that she might have apologized to me in person. I told her that she apologized on the phone, and if she wanted to aplogize to me face to face she should have sought me out and done so. She had opportunity to do so. As for me, I didn't want to get chummy with her after being all nicey nice and acting as if she wanted this because she cares about all kids and it's her job and she's just trying to do her job to the best of her ability. Yeah, she's trying to cover her butt is all. I know she has cases that are questionable, but she needs to go after THEM, not us. She says if she requests information from one, she has to request it from all. We all know that she could focus on the 'red flag' NOI's.
At any rate...just be on the alert!! Nothing was resolved at this meeting. And I'm not sure about the number of homeschoolers who turned out...if I had to guess I'd say about 45-50 families were represented.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Homeschool Portfolio-Finished!
For the past couple of weeks I have been spending a lot of off-time trying to put together and complete our homeschool portfolio. For those of you who don't know, us homeschoolers are required to turn in some form of assessment to the Board of Education by June 30th of each year. We choose (for now) to use a Portfolio Review for our assessment. This requires putting together samples of the child's work from the year for a certified teacher to review, then a form is signed by the teacher and she adds her certification number, and then you send it in.
This year I decided to let a teacher who is in one of our homeschool groups to do our review.....online. A new experience for me, although I'm very much used to 'online' anything, I had to choose some of their work for each subject, scan each page, and upload to another blog I made especially for our review. Also added into this is my input, goals, weaknesses, and I'm sure I got a twinge of 'pride' in there somewhere. LOL But before I started the portfolio I was very nervous, as homeschooling mothers (or fathers, in some cases), you worry that you're not doing enough work, covering enough material or topics, and you just basically second guess your own teaching abilities. After several hours of work put into this though, I put those fears aside! Once I started compiling their work, adding in the 'extras, that we do, and putting it all down on paper (well, not paper, on the blog LOL) then I really saw just how much we've done and how far we've come. We could stop homeschooling for the year right now and we'd still have way more work than public school does....but....our year will end on or about May 30 (God willing). I am so relieved to have the Portfolio completed this early.
Oh, and a note on that......yes, we have until June 30th to turn in the reviewers form, but these things need to be done early enough that time is given for compiling the review, the reviewer needs to have time to really review what you put together for them so that an honest assessment can be made, and time enough to get the form filled in by both the reviewer and the parents, then sent in with time to spare so that you're butt is covered in case the mail is slow or something. I will send mine by certified mail so I will have a reciept in case anything happens. I also send in the NOI at the same time. This is our Notice of Intent to homeschool for next year, that lets the BOE know they will be homeschooled again next year. That doesn't have to be sent in until a couple of weeks before school starts, but I go ahead and 'kill two birds with one stone', as they say. Our reviewer teaches public school AND homeschools her own kids, so she is only reviewing from April 1 - May 15, because she has to get her own assessments done and reviewed (not sure what kind of assessment she uses though), but she still has to wrap up her own year end stuff, both at her job and at home, so it's totally understandable that she'd have a cut-off date. BUT, I do know (from last year's observations) that she will more than likely be doing reviews right on up til the last minute for people who suddenly realize they are out of time or something.....LOL, because that's how she is, she will help in any way she can.
Enough of that I guess....sorry if that was boring. I'm just excited to be finished with something that is so important (have to be totally legal) so early! Now I can move on to other things....like starting the ball rolling on a little business venture I want to start into. I designed and put together the most awesome homeschool yearbook for my kids, it turned out so well that I want to offer to do them for other homeschoolers. When the thought came to me about doing our own, I checked online to see what was available to us. Not a whole lot at all! Josten's offers a 'kit', not very appealing at all, you put your pics on their templates and send it back to them and they send you a book, at a cost that is not worth the results, if you ask me. I also found another place that offers a kit that is 'cute', but it's more of an art project for the kids or something, a true scrapbooking project. A nice keepsake to have that the kids have made....but not a real 'true' professional looking yearbook.
My yearbooks will have the homeschool's name, logo (designed by me if one is not provided) with mascot and school name, pages will include:
This year I decided to let a teacher who is in one of our homeschool groups to do our review.....online. A new experience for me, although I'm very much used to 'online' anything, I had to choose some of their work for each subject, scan each page, and upload to another blog I made especially for our review. Also added into this is my input, goals, weaknesses, and I'm sure I got a twinge of 'pride' in there somewhere. LOL But before I started the portfolio I was very nervous, as homeschooling mothers (or fathers, in some cases), you worry that you're not doing enough work, covering enough material or topics, and you just basically second guess your own teaching abilities. After several hours of work put into this though, I put those fears aside! Once I started compiling their work, adding in the 'extras, that we do, and putting it all down on paper (well, not paper, on the blog LOL) then I really saw just how much we've done and how far we've come. We could stop homeschooling for the year right now and we'd still have way more work than public school does....but....our year will end on or about May 30 (God willing). I am so relieved to have the Portfolio completed this early.
Oh, and a note on that......yes, we have until June 30th to turn in the reviewers form, but these things need to be done early enough that time is given for compiling the review, the reviewer needs to have time to really review what you put together for them so that an honest assessment can be made, and time enough to get the form filled in by both the reviewer and the parents, then sent in with time to spare so that you're butt is covered in case the mail is slow or something. I will send mine by certified mail so I will have a reciept in case anything happens. I also send in the NOI at the same time. This is our Notice of Intent to homeschool for next year, that lets the BOE know they will be homeschooled again next year. That doesn't have to be sent in until a couple of weeks before school starts, but I go ahead and 'kill two birds with one stone', as they say. Our reviewer teaches public school AND homeschools her own kids, so she is only reviewing from April 1 - May 15, because she has to get her own assessments done and reviewed (not sure what kind of assessment she uses though), but she still has to wrap up her own year end stuff, both at her job and at home, so it's totally understandable that she'd have a cut-off date. BUT, I do know (from last year's observations) that she will more than likely be doing reviews right on up til the last minute for people who suddenly realize they are out of time or something.....LOL, because that's how she is, she will help in any way she can.
Enough of that I guess....sorry if that was boring. I'm just excited to be finished with something that is so important (have to be totally legal) so early! Now I can move on to other things....like starting the ball rolling on a little business venture I want to start into. I designed and put together the most awesome homeschool yearbook for my kids, it turned out so well that I want to offer to do them for other homeschoolers. When the thought came to me about doing our own, I checked online to see what was available to us. Not a whole lot at all! Josten's offers a 'kit', not very appealing at all, you put your pics on their templates and send it back to them and they send you a book, at a cost that is not worth the results, if you ask me. I also found another place that offers a kit that is 'cute', but it's more of an art project for the kids or something, a true scrapbooking project. A nice keepsake to have that the kids have made....but not a real 'true' professional looking yearbook.
My yearbooks will have the homeschool's name, logo (designed by me if one is not provided) with mascot and school name, pages will include:
- student introduction page (student pic, name, age, grade)
- student's interests page (with pics)
- curriculum page (description and/or pics of some books and/or work, to show family and friends what homeschoolers do
- field trip pages (with pics taken of or at different locations)
- special projects page (with pics and info on any projects)
- school activities pages (additional things not considered as bigger projects, i.e. science experiments, finished art projects, etc.)
- family page (with pics taken throughout the year, family gatherings, etc.)
- family activites page (pics and descriptions of activities the whole family participates in
- sports page (pics and descriptions of student playing, or team pic)
- music page (pics and descriptions of any musical activity, lessons, favorite music, music class, etc.)
- friends page (with pics of the students and a few friends)
- student comment page (student's own opinion/feelings about homeschooling
- autograph pages (for family and friends to sign)
I can't wait to get started on a site or blog to offer these books. I will be using our yearbook as an example, but I also want to do a few more sample pages that our's does not include, and add different designs, to show a customer what is available and what can be done. If you're a homeschooler reading this and you are interested, let me know in email or by posting here and I'll put you on a list to let you know when the site for ordering is ready.
I'm off here now.....time to get back to life around here!
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Waxing 101
I received this e-mail today from my sister-in-law (thanks Tammy!), and it is probably THE funniest thing I've ever read, mainly because I can relate some. LOL I do not know who wrote this, (understandingly so) but if anyone comes forward I will give credit where credit is due, just let me know and I will either remove at your request or add your name with your permission. Read on for a great laugh, here is the e-mail as I received it:
WAXING 101
Hair Removal....This is funny. (I don't have a clue as to who wrote this, but...WHAT A HOOT!)
..................All hair removal methods have tricked women with their promises of easy, painless removal - The Epilady, scissors, razors, Nair and now...the wax. Read on .........
My night began as any other normal weeknight. Come home, fix dinner, play with the kids. I then had the thought that would ring painfully in my mind for the next few hours: "Maybe I should pull the waxing kit out of the medicine cabinet.
"So I headed to the site of my demise: the bathroom. It was one of those "cold wax" kits. No melting a clump of hot wax, you just rub the strips together in your hand, they get warm and you peel them apart and press them to your leg (or wherever else) and you pull the hair right off.
No muss, no fuss. How hard can it be? I mean, I'm not a genius, but I am mechanically inclined enough to figure this out. (YA THINK!?!)So I pull one of the thin strips out. Its two strips facing each other stuck together. Instead of rubbing them together, my genius kicks in so I get out the hair dryer and heat it to 1000 degrees. ("Cold wax," yeah...right!) I lay the strip across my thigh. Hold the skin around it tight and pull. It works!
OK, so it wasn't the best feeling, but it wasn't too bad. I can do this! Hair removal no longer eludes me! I am She-rah, fighter of all wayward body hair and maker of smooth skin extraordinaire.
With my next wax strip I move north. After checking on the kids, I sneak back into the bathroom, for the ultimate hair fighting championship. I drop my panties and place one foot on the toilet.Using the same procedure, I apply the wax strip across the right side of my bikini line, covering the right half of my hoo-ha and stretching down to the inside of my butt cheek (it was a long strip).
I inhale deeply and brace myself....RRRRIIIPPP!!!!
I'm blind!!! Blinded from pain!!!!....OH MY GAWD!!!!!!!!!
Vision returning, I notice that I've only managed to pull off half the strip. CRAP! Another deep breath and RIPP! Everything is spinning and spotted.
I think I may pass out...must stay conscious...must stay conscious. Do I hear crashing drums??? Breathe, breathe...OK, back to normal.
I want to see my trophy - a wax covered strip, the one that has caused me so much pain, with my hairy pelt sticking to it. I want to revel in the glory that is my triumph over body hair. I hold up the strip!
There's no hair on it. Where is the hair??? WHERE IS THE WAX???
Slowly I ease my head down, foot still perched on the toilet. I see the hair. The hair that should be on the strip...it's not! I touch...
I am touching wax!!I run my fingers over the most sensitive part of my body, which is now covered in cold wax and matted hair. Then I make the next BIG mistake...remember my foot is still propped upon the toilet? I know I need to do something. So I put my foot down.
Sealed shut! My butt is sealed shut. Sealed shut!I penguin walk around the bathroom trying to figure out what to do and think to myself "Please don't let me get the urge to poop. My head may pop off!" What can I do to melt the wax?
Hot water!! Hot water melts wax!! I'll run the hottest water I can stand into the bathtub, get in, immerse the wax-covered bits and the wax should melt and I can gently wipe it off, right???
*WRONG!!!!!!!*
I get in the tub - the water is slightly hotter than that used to torture prisoners of war or sterilize surgical equipment - I sit.
Now, the only thing worse than having your nether regions glued together, is having them glued together and then glued to the bottom of the tub...in scalding hot water. Which, by the way, doesn't melt cold wax.
So, now I'm stuck to the bottom of the tub as though I had cemented myself to the porcelain!! God bless the man who had convinced me a few months ago to have a phone put in the bathroom!!!!!
I call my friend, thinking surely she has waxed before and has some secret of how to get me undone. It's a very good conversation starter "So, my butt and hoo-ha are glued together to the bottom of the tub!
"There is a slight pause. She doesn't know any secret tricks for removal but she does try to hide her laughter from me. She wants to know exactly where the wax is located, "Are we talking cheeks or hole or hoo-ha?"
She's laughing out loud by now...I can hear her. I give her the rundown and she suggests I call the number on the side of the box.
YEAH!!!!! Right!! I should be the joke of someone else's night. While we go through various solutions. I resort to trying to scrape the wax off with a razor Nothing feels better than to have your girlie goodies covered in hot wax, glued shut, stuck to the tub in super hot water and then dry-shaving the sticky wax off!! By now the brain is not working, dignity has taken a major hike and I'm pretty sure I'm going to need Post-Traumatic Stress counseling for this event.
My friend is still talking with me when I finally see my saving grace....the lotion they give you to remove the excess wax.
What do I really have to lose at this point? I rub some on and... OH MY GAWD!!!!!!! The scream probably woke the kids and scared the dickens out of my friend It's sooo painful, but I really don't care. "IT WORKS!!"
"It works!!" I get a hearty congratulation from my friend and she hangs up. I successfully remove the remainder of the wax and then notice to my grief and despair...THE HAIR IS STILL HERE.......ALL OF IT!
So I recklessly shave it off. Heck, I'm numb by now. Nothing hurts.I could have amputated my own leg at this point.
Next week I'm going to try hair color...
___________________________________________________________________
WAXING 101
Hair Removal....This is funny. (I don't have a clue as to who wrote this, but...WHAT A HOOT!)
..................All hair removal methods have tricked women with their promises of easy, painless removal - The Epilady, scissors, razors, Nair and now...the wax. Read on .........
My night began as any other normal weeknight. Come home, fix dinner, play with the kids. I then had the thought that would ring painfully in my mind for the next few hours: "Maybe I should pull the waxing kit out of the medicine cabinet.
"So I headed to the site of my demise: the bathroom. It was one of those "cold wax" kits. No melting a clump of hot wax, you just rub the strips together in your hand, they get warm and you peel them apart and press them to your leg (or wherever else) and you pull the hair right off.
No muss, no fuss. How hard can it be? I mean, I'm not a genius, but I am mechanically inclined enough to figure this out. (YA THINK!?!)So I pull one of the thin strips out. Its two strips facing each other stuck together. Instead of rubbing them together, my genius kicks in so I get out the hair dryer and heat it to 1000 degrees. ("Cold wax," yeah...right!) I lay the strip across my thigh. Hold the skin around it tight and pull. It works!
OK, so it wasn't the best feeling, but it wasn't too bad. I can do this! Hair removal no longer eludes me! I am She-rah, fighter of all wayward body hair and maker of smooth skin extraordinaire.
With my next wax strip I move north. After checking on the kids, I sneak back into the bathroom, for the ultimate hair fighting championship. I drop my panties and place one foot on the toilet.Using the same procedure, I apply the wax strip across the right side of my bikini line, covering the right half of my hoo-ha and stretching down to the inside of my butt cheek (it was a long strip).
I inhale deeply and brace myself....RRRRIIIPPP!!!!
I'm blind!!! Blinded from pain!!!!....OH MY GAWD!!!!!!!!!
Vision returning, I notice that I've only managed to pull off half the strip. CRAP! Another deep breath and RIPP! Everything is spinning and spotted.
I think I may pass out...must stay conscious...must stay conscious. Do I hear crashing drums??? Breathe, breathe...OK, back to normal.
I want to see my trophy - a wax covered strip, the one that has caused me so much pain, with my hairy pelt sticking to it. I want to revel in the glory that is my triumph over body hair. I hold up the strip!
There's no hair on it. Where is the hair??? WHERE IS THE WAX???
Slowly I ease my head down, foot still perched on the toilet. I see the hair. The hair that should be on the strip...it's not! I touch...
I am touching wax!!I run my fingers over the most sensitive part of my body, which is now covered in cold wax and matted hair. Then I make the next BIG mistake...remember my foot is still propped upon the toilet? I know I need to do something. So I put my foot down.
Sealed shut! My butt is sealed shut. Sealed shut!I penguin walk around the bathroom trying to figure out what to do and think to myself "Please don't let me get the urge to poop. My head may pop off!" What can I do to melt the wax?
Hot water!! Hot water melts wax!! I'll run the hottest water I can stand into the bathtub, get in, immerse the wax-covered bits and the wax should melt and I can gently wipe it off, right???
*WRONG!!!!!!!*
I get in the tub - the water is slightly hotter than that used to torture prisoners of war or sterilize surgical equipment - I sit.
Now, the only thing worse than having your nether regions glued together, is having them glued together and then glued to the bottom of the tub...in scalding hot water. Which, by the way, doesn't melt cold wax.
So, now I'm stuck to the bottom of the tub as though I had cemented myself to the porcelain!! God bless the man who had convinced me a few months ago to have a phone put in the bathroom!!!!!
I call my friend, thinking surely she has waxed before and has some secret of how to get me undone. It's a very good conversation starter "So, my butt and hoo-ha are glued together to the bottom of the tub!
"There is a slight pause. She doesn't know any secret tricks for removal but she does try to hide her laughter from me. She wants to know exactly where the wax is located, "Are we talking cheeks or hole or hoo-ha?"
She's laughing out loud by now...I can hear her. I give her the rundown and she suggests I call the number on the side of the box.
YEAH!!!!! Right!! I should be the joke of someone else's night. While we go through various solutions. I resort to trying to scrape the wax off with a razor Nothing feels better than to have your girlie goodies covered in hot wax, glued shut, stuck to the tub in super hot water and then dry-shaving the sticky wax off!! By now the brain is not working, dignity has taken a major hike and I'm pretty sure I'm going to need Post-Traumatic Stress counseling for this event.
My friend is still talking with me when I finally see my saving grace....the lotion they give you to remove the excess wax.
What do I really have to lose at this point? I rub some on and... OH MY GAWD!!!!!!! The scream probably woke the kids and scared the dickens out of my friend It's sooo painful, but I really don't care. "IT WORKS!!"
"It works!!" I get a hearty congratulation from my friend and she hangs up. I successfully remove the remainder of the wax and then notice to my grief and despair...THE HAIR IS STILL HERE.......ALL OF IT!
So I recklessly shave it off. Heck, I'm numb by now. Nothing hurts.I could have amputated my own leg at this point.
Next week I'm going to try hair color...
___________________________________________________________________
Answering Question about Letter to my Family
After I posted my "letter to my family" yesterday, someone in one of my homeschool groups that I shared the link with gave me a compliment on it (thanks Erin!) and she asked, "one question-how did it work?" When I tried to answer her question, I, of course, ran on as I usually do. LOL I didn't want to take up space there with my long answer (as a lot of you know, I can write a book, and some say I need to LOL). So I moved my answer over here where anyone can choose to come and read it if they were interested, and if not, they don't have to be trying to scroll through my 'book' to get to info they might need.
So.....in answer to this question, here is what I started posting there, and then continued here:
Q. "One question-how did it work?"
A. It worked wonderful here! I wrote that letter at the beginning of this school year. I think it made my kids realize that, just because I'm Mom, it's NOT my job to continue cleaning up their messes and that it's not fair for me to stand in the kitchen preparing and cooking and then have to take care of the leftovers and the dishes. As I stated in the letter, I am a 'clean-as-I-cook' person, so nobody ever has to wipe down the stove from grease splatters or boil overs or anything like that, and any cutting boards or mixing bowls I use get washed while I wait for something to cook or boil. My husband, on the other hand, pulls a bar stool up to the stove and sits there while he cooks, grease flying, dripping stuff across my stove and counter, you get the picture. LOL So, one Sunday (he usually just cooks breakfast on Sundays, soooo, bacon, fried eggs, you get the jist) I made the kids get in there to clean up after HIM.....they were more than happy to clean up the kitchen after I'd cooked then, and they still comment almost every time they do that they'd rather clean up after me than their Dad. LOL
It does work, life may not be perfect but they have a better awareness of who and what MOM is, and they understand that being a part of a family means that we all have to carry our fair share in our home. I recently told them that a house is just a house, the people who live there are what makes it a home, and we all agree that we want our's to be peaceful and loving, and with this stuff in mind, they DO make an honest effort in helping each other out. I thought I'd fall out the first time I saw the two younger one's working together to clean the kitchen up, and I even asked why BOTH of them were cleaning it up. All I got was shrugged shoulders and they kept working. Like I said though, life isn't perfect, THEY aren't perfect, I'M not perfect, and we don't have the "Father Know's Best" household. Who does? We all keep learning, we all keep messing up.
But since that letter, and some other talks since then, it seems to have spilled over into other areas here....they are just nicer to each other, and to me. And they even offer to help other people, when they don't have anything to do here they sometimes (at least one of them does) go up the road to my Mom's house to ask if they can do anything for her. They EARN their allowance now, they don't just get money or stuff cause Mom and Dad feel sorry for them, and they don't even have a 'set allowance'. We told them that there is no limit to what they can earn around here. Of course, there is....LOL. But you know what I mean. We could set it at $10 for doing all of their assigned chores....and if they just do the basics that's about what they get. But if they do extra things without being told to do them, they can earn more. They know that their attitude has a lot to do with it, and they know that if they have to be TOLD to do the basics they won't even get the $10. One of them NEVER has to be told to do anything, and he takes on other jobs you don't even know he's doing until he comes and says "I cleaned the stall so Dad won't have to", or "I washed your car", or whatever. The other one almost always had to be told to do her basic chores, much less to do anything extra, and when she saw her allowance be handed to her brother because he not only did HIS, but picked up her slack too, she had a whole different attitude. He didn't know he was getting her allowance, and neither did she. I kept that little idea to myself until payday and it worked like a charm for them BOTH. He doesn't hesitate to do anything she hasn't done, and she knows she has to get it done NOW so HE doesn't do it. LOL He knows to give her due time to get her stuff done, that was an issue, I had to talk to him and tell him that he couldn't just run ahead of her and do it, that it doesn't work that way. Cause he tried that. LOL They know we pay attention to what they do, we don't just have a set price for certain chores and so on. If they have treated each other well this week, and done their chores and schoolwork and haven't been in trouble for anything serious (getting grounded kind of serious) and do extra stuff without being told, they can get $20-25 cash. HE usually makes that much, she usually gets her $10. LOL She isn't nearly as motivated on chores as he is, and she is such a socialite that she doesn't 'have time' for such trivial stuff you know. And sometimes she decides she doesn't 'need' anything this week, so she tries to be lazy and let HIM do her part. She found out it doesn't work that way either, not only does she lose her allowance but she is in trouble too then, for not doing HER part.
At any rate, I almost never see a dish or glass sitting anywhere, and each one does most of their own laundry now. The laundry was a hard one with our middle child....he'd let stuff pile up in his room until he'd yell "Mom, I don't have any clean pants!" and I simply said "wonder why?" and I'd go on about my business and he'd have to deal with it. The time before that he brought his basket to the laundry room, but he just left it there, no sorting or anything, so I left it there too. When he asked if his clothes were done, I said " you carried them in there, WHY didn't you go ahead and WASH them?" He said there were clothes in the washer. I'd washed some clothes. So I asked him why didn't he put them into the dryer and THEN wash his stuff? He just said "oh". And went and did it. I purposefully left things the way they were so he'd see. And he did. Now they know if they don't do their laundry, they won't have what they want to wear. I do help them out though, just as I expect them to help ME out. I will put their laundry in the dryer, and even get them out and fold them if they are not available to take care of it right then, to show them that I am willing to work alongside them in this thing if they are willing to work alongside ME.
I don't tolerate laziness anymore. There is no sense in it. My preacher said something in a sermon years ago that made my lightbulb go on....he said "we raise our kids to leave home", and I knew that he meant that we are training our children to live independently, so that when we are gone or they are out away from us, they will know what to do. Simple concept.....but as a young mother I never thought about it and the fact that, the more we DO for them, the more we teach them that it is ok to sit back and let others DO. It's so much easier sometimes to just do something ourselves, too, and we will, to make sure it's done right the first time, and so we don't cause a fuss, and so they can go off and 'be kids'. The thing is, if we don't tell them to do it, show them how to do it, and sometimes cause that fuss, they are going to go off and 'be kids' when they leave the nest, and then where's that gonna get them?
Although that letter was written to older kids, you can apply the same principles in it by sitting younger kids down (family meeting) and just adapt it for them, as well as adding to it or skipping what you don't need. I put off doing something like that because I just didn't have time to get my thoughts on paper. I am the type of person who communicates better in writing, when I try to talk to someone about something, maybe, for instance, when I make an important phone call and try to explain something, I forget what I need to say or meant to say, unless I write down my main points or questions first to have in front of me. I am that way with my family too, my oldest son has many letters from me that I've written him over the years. He was a handful at times, and we'd have a quarrel or he'd end up in big trouble and I'd sit down and write to him to let him know I loved him anyway, and to explain why he couldn't continue that particular behavior, and he'd understand that much better than just saying "because I said so", and fighting with him over it. I'd also write to him to let him know how proud I was of any accomplishments, and also when he'd be really disappointed over big things, like when his first girlfriend dumped him, or when his PaPa wouldn't trade his 4-wheeler in for a bigger one (big disappointment to an 10 year old) I had to let him know his PaPa loved him more than life itself and that was why he wouldn't get him something bigger and that bigger means bigger chance of injury. AND when he couldn't get the job he wanted, it was easier for me to explain that sometimes the answer is "No", whether we tell him 'no' or God tells him 'no', the reasons are the same. He's very impatient and wants what he wants NOW, no matter what it is, and he can be hard to deal with sometimes when he isn't the least bit open to hearing what you have to say to him, so sometimes a letter would do the trick for me. He usually always came out of things with a better attitude then, knowing the world wasn't against him but that we have to roll with the punches, walk around the mountain, and sometimes wait on the Lord.
So.....in answer to this question, here is what I started posting there, and then continued here:
Q. "One question-how did it work?"
A. It worked wonderful here! I wrote that letter at the beginning of this school year. I think it made my kids realize that, just because I'm Mom, it's NOT my job to continue cleaning up their messes and that it's not fair for me to stand in the kitchen preparing and cooking and then have to take care of the leftovers and the dishes. As I stated in the letter, I am a 'clean-as-I-cook' person, so nobody ever has to wipe down the stove from grease splatters or boil overs or anything like that, and any cutting boards or mixing bowls I use get washed while I wait for something to cook or boil. My husband, on the other hand, pulls a bar stool up to the stove and sits there while he cooks, grease flying, dripping stuff across my stove and counter, you get the picture. LOL So, one Sunday (he usually just cooks breakfast on Sundays, soooo, bacon, fried eggs, you get the jist) I made the kids get in there to clean up after HIM.....they were more than happy to clean up the kitchen after I'd cooked then, and they still comment almost every time they do that they'd rather clean up after me than their Dad. LOL
It does work, life may not be perfect but they have a better awareness of who and what MOM is, and they understand that being a part of a family means that we all have to carry our fair share in our home. I recently told them that a house is just a house, the people who live there are what makes it a home, and we all agree that we want our's to be peaceful and loving, and with this stuff in mind, they DO make an honest effort in helping each other out. I thought I'd fall out the first time I saw the two younger one's working together to clean the kitchen up, and I even asked why BOTH of them were cleaning it up. All I got was shrugged shoulders and they kept working. Like I said though, life isn't perfect, THEY aren't perfect, I'M not perfect, and we don't have the "Father Know's Best" household. Who does? We all keep learning, we all keep messing up.
But since that letter, and some other talks since then, it seems to have spilled over into other areas here....they are just nicer to each other, and to me. And they even offer to help other people, when they don't have anything to do here they sometimes (at least one of them does) go up the road to my Mom's house to ask if they can do anything for her. They EARN their allowance now, they don't just get money or stuff cause Mom and Dad feel sorry for them, and they don't even have a 'set allowance'. We told them that there is no limit to what they can earn around here. Of course, there is....LOL. But you know what I mean. We could set it at $10 for doing all of their assigned chores....and if they just do the basics that's about what they get. But if they do extra things without being told to do them, they can earn more. They know that their attitude has a lot to do with it, and they know that if they have to be TOLD to do the basics they won't even get the $10. One of them NEVER has to be told to do anything, and he takes on other jobs you don't even know he's doing until he comes and says "I cleaned the stall so Dad won't have to", or "I washed your car", or whatever. The other one almost always had to be told to do her basic chores, much less to do anything extra, and when she saw her allowance be handed to her brother because he not only did HIS, but picked up her slack too, she had a whole different attitude. He didn't know he was getting her allowance, and neither did she. I kept that little idea to myself until payday and it worked like a charm for them BOTH. He doesn't hesitate to do anything she hasn't done, and she knows she has to get it done NOW so HE doesn't do it. LOL He knows to give her due time to get her stuff done, that was an issue, I had to talk to him and tell him that he couldn't just run ahead of her and do it, that it doesn't work that way. Cause he tried that. LOL They know we pay attention to what they do, we don't just have a set price for certain chores and so on. If they have treated each other well this week, and done their chores and schoolwork and haven't been in trouble for anything serious (getting grounded kind of serious) and do extra stuff without being told, they can get $20-25 cash. HE usually makes that much, she usually gets her $10. LOL She isn't nearly as motivated on chores as he is, and she is such a socialite that she doesn't 'have time' for such trivial stuff you know. And sometimes she decides she doesn't 'need' anything this week, so she tries to be lazy and let HIM do her part. She found out it doesn't work that way either, not only does she lose her allowance but she is in trouble too then, for not doing HER part.
At any rate, I almost never see a dish or glass sitting anywhere, and each one does most of their own laundry now. The laundry was a hard one with our middle child....he'd let stuff pile up in his room until he'd yell "Mom, I don't have any clean pants!" and I simply said "wonder why?" and I'd go on about my business and he'd have to deal with it. The time before that he brought his basket to the laundry room, but he just left it there, no sorting or anything, so I left it there too. When he asked if his clothes were done, I said " you carried them in there, WHY didn't you go ahead and WASH them?" He said there were clothes in the washer. I'd washed some clothes. So I asked him why didn't he put them into the dryer and THEN wash his stuff? He just said "oh". And went and did it. I purposefully left things the way they were so he'd see. And he did. Now they know if they don't do their laundry, they won't have what they want to wear. I do help them out though, just as I expect them to help ME out. I will put their laundry in the dryer, and even get them out and fold them if they are not available to take care of it right then, to show them that I am willing to work alongside them in this thing if they are willing to work alongside ME.
I don't tolerate laziness anymore. There is no sense in it. My preacher said something in a sermon years ago that made my lightbulb go on....he said "we raise our kids to leave home", and I knew that he meant that we are training our children to live independently, so that when we are gone or they are out away from us, they will know what to do. Simple concept.....but as a young mother I never thought about it and the fact that, the more we DO for them, the more we teach them that it is ok to sit back and let others DO. It's so much easier sometimes to just do something ourselves, too, and we will, to make sure it's done right the first time, and so we don't cause a fuss, and so they can go off and 'be kids'. The thing is, if we don't tell them to do it, show them how to do it, and sometimes cause that fuss, they are going to go off and 'be kids' when they leave the nest, and then where's that gonna get them?
Although that letter was written to older kids, you can apply the same principles in it by sitting younger kids down (family meeting) and just adapt it for them, as well as adding to it or skipping what you don't need. I put off doing something like that because I just didn't have time to get my thoughts on paper. I am the type of person who communicates better in writing, when I try to talk to someone about something, maybe, for instance, when I make an important phone call and try to explain something, I forget what I need to say or meant to say, unless I write down my main points or questions first to have in front of me. I am that way with my family too, my oldest son has many letters from me that I've written him over the years. He was a handful at times, and we'd have a quarrel or he'd end up in big trouble and I'd sit down and write to him to let him know I loved him anyway, and to explain why he couldn't continue that particular behavior, and he'd understand that much better than just saying "because I said so", and fighting with him over it. I'd also write to him to let him know how proud I was of any accomplishments, and also when he'd be really disappointed over big things, like when his first girlfriend dumped him, or when his PaPa wouldn't trade his 4-wheeler in for a bigger one (big disappointment to an 10 year old) I had to let him know his PaPa loved him more than life itself and that was why he wouldn't get him something bigger and that bigger means bigger chance of injury. AND when he couldn't get the job he wanted, it was easier for me to explain that sometimes the answer is "No", whether we tell him 'no' or God tells him 'no', the reasons are the same. He's very impatient and wants what he wants NOW, no matter what it is, and he can be hard to deal with sometimes when he isn't the least bit open to hearing what you have to say to him, so sometimes a letter would do the trick for me. He usually always came out of things with a better attitude then, knowing the world wasn't against him but that we have to roll with the punches, walk around the mountain, and sometimes wait on the Lord.
I haven't written that many letters to the other two kids, I've always been able to really talk to my youngest son, we have similar personalities (although different enough to get along) and he is more open to listening to us. He's very easy to talk to and he usually takes advice and 'life lectures' to heart. He can get hurt easily, but he doesn't get mad easily, so he doesn't take on the attitude that he doesn't care or doesn't want to hear it when you have to deal with him or his issues. He takes your words to heart, and goes on. The youngest, on the other hand, can get angered easily, and she definately has an attitude at times, but she knows the oldest of our three is very similar to her, and that we have been there and done that, and bought the t-shirt, (poor Randy, had to be our guinea pig) so she doesn't get by with stuff like storming out when you try to talk to her, or sitting there trying her best to focus on something other than YOU when talking to her. Plus, I learned long ago that I have to let her be for a while, give her a cooling off period (as well as my own cooling off period), and THEN we deal with her and the issue. If it is a case of them being hurt or disappointed, they are both open to us and we are able to discuss things with them, or if it's accomplishments, we do something like tell them our regular Friday night dinner out is for THEM and we tell everyone, in front of them, about the accomplishment and they are proud of themselves then.
So, basically, my letter writing to my kids (as well as other family members) is my way of getting things across to them that I KNOW I'll mess up somewhere between my brain and my mouth!!
Somehow I turned this into a novel, sorry for that. I only meant to write a short book. LOL
And now.....I must get some work done on my homeschool portfolio today, so my parenting advice column must come to an end for today. LOL (I'm an expert you know.....NOT).
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