LIVE BLOGGING- Welcome to the Zoo w/Lorrie Flem

 
For details about this LIVE BLOGGING event (The Inland Northwest Homeschool Conference), see this post!

Welcome to the Zoo

multi-level homeschooling made easy

w/ Lorrie Flem 

of Teach Magazine

What a fantastic kick off to the conference- complete with a few comical mix-ups to keep things interesting!  To begin with, there were some problems getting Lorrie’s powerpoint to work, which they eventually did get resolved!  Then she actually began her diligence seminar (which sounds great!), but none the less, the wrong one!  Too funny- what great character she has!  She simply laughed at herself, picked up the right set of notes and began again!  Then, someone turned all the lights off!  Once again, she was incredibly good humored!

All that aside, what a great seminar!  Lorrie covered, from the broad to the specific, ways that you can easily eliminate stress from your homeschooling day while teaching many children at different levels.

The two major things that Lorrie focused on were Obedience and Responsibility, noting that if you have done a thorough job of teaching obedience before the age of 7, then from that age on you can better teach responsibility and a love to obey.  These are the most important ways to teach your children and in turn help yourself!

I had heard something similar before, but Lorrie hit on the four principles that George Washington’s mother taught him to help him obey:

• Completely
• Respectfully
• Immediately
• Joyfully

Aren’t those telling?  I know that isn’t how obedience looks in my house a lot of the time!  What great tools to keep in mind (I feel a craft project coming on... these words need to be displayed prominently in my home!)!

I think one of the biggest things Lorrie said that stuck with me is that often times things we are having to work on in our children are things the Lord is actually working on in us!  How true is that?!!  She said that, possibly, if you are dealing with obedience issues in one of your children, you are actually having trouble obeying the Lord as well.  The same goes for dawdling and a whole host of other issues!

I love Lorrie’s spirit, attitude and fresh perspective and am very much looking forward to the upcoming sessions she is teaching!  Until then...

Want to follow more LIVE BLOGGING about the Inland Northwest Homeschool Conference?  Be sure to visit Dawn @ 5 Kids and Dog and Katey @ Crazy Homeschool Mama!

So Excited! Homeschooling conference starts tomorrow!

So, I have known for a while now that I would be attending the Inland Northwest Homeschool Conference.  That in and of itself was enough to thrill me beyond all understanding!  I mean, nearly two full days to myself, spent just listening to adults, with no interruptions, and even having the ability to pee without company... anytime I please?!  Shear Bliss!

But it get's better!  Today, a fellow blogging, homeschooling and Bible in 90 Days online friend, Dawn from 5 Kids and A Dog, contacted me about live blogging the conference with her and Katey from Crazy Homeschool Mama.  How cool is that?!

Basically, Dawn has it all worked out so that we can get access to the wifi network of the church hosting the conference, so we will be posting about each workshop we go to and linking between our blogs!  There are some awesome sounding workshops and speakers scheduled that I am just so pumped to hear, and EVEN BETTER (is that even possible?) I get to meet, in the flesh, these two wonderful ladies!

The conference starts tomorrow (Friday) at 2:00 PST, so you can be expecting my first post around 3:45 PST!  Be sure to stop by and check out all the awesome stuff we are learning throughout the rest of the day and all day on Saturday!  It should be a great time of fellowship and learning!!

Things to come...

I feel like I have been doing a lot of behind the scenes preparation the last couple of weeks for things that are coming on my little blog- so hang tight, just a little longer!  One of the things, among many that I am gearing up for will be none other than:

During which I plan to have book reviews and finally take the plunge and introduce you all to the blog I have been talking about kicking off since... well, since October (how sad!).  So yeah- get ready for the goodness!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Here is R-Man enjoying a little cereal with green milk!  He got a total kick out of it and it was so easy to make!  I just stuck a permanent marker into the milk for a few minutes and let it bleed to turn the milk a sufficient shade, and viola'!  Green milk!

Alright, just seeing if you're paying attention!  Of COURSE I didn't stick a permanent marker in my son's milk this morning!  I used washable!  ;-)

Anyway!  We seem to be on the mend.  The boys are doing much better and my husband went and had a hole drilled in his ear drum this morning so they could unplug his eustation tube (ooooo- I'm getting all fancy on ya now!) and suck the fluid out!  Doesn't that just sound horrible?!  He said the worst part was the anesthetic and the weird thing is that now he can hold his nose and blow, and air comes out his ear!  Freaky!  All should be better in a couple of days which we are very thankful for!

So, with the overall improvement of our life I am beginning to feel re-inspired and re-motivated!  I am planning lots of wonderful posts that I am sure you just can't barely stand to wait for, but you're gonna have to!  They are coming though! 

In the mean time- 

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Sick is the word!

Okay, seriously!  This is ridiculous!  In the past two weeks we have had:

• our first visit to minor emergency for an injury (Lion Cub banging his face resulting in copious amounts of blood from impacted teeth and a busted frenulum- ya know that piece of skin between your upper lip and front teeth!?  Erg- a squirm just thinking about it!), 
• our first visit to the doctor for an illness with the kids (R-Man had croop), 
• our first visit to the ER (from 2:00am- 5:00am last Friday- Lion Cub had been screaming for hours and ended up having a double ear infection), 
• our second visit to the doctor for an illness (horrible fevers for both boys and R-Man got the double ear infection as well!), 
• my husband's first ear infection (and plugged ear) of his life, 
• our third visit to the doctor for an illness (Lion Cub's ear infection was not improving and his cough was becoming worse), 
• and one of our children receiving a shot for the first time (antibiotics for Lion Cub since the first round have apparently not been working and he sprays them all over us when we try to give them to him!).  

(pant, pant, pant)

Oh, and I am sick as well, but that is nothing new!

Needless to say, I have had my hands a little full!  Every now and again, between screams, whines, snot and cold baths, I have shot a longing glance at my computer, wishing I could escape the madness and fully enter my virtual life, but clearly that is not a viable option. 

I'm a mom.  

At one point Lion Cub upchucked his last meal (just breastmilk) all over him and myself and I managed to get him stripped down but hadn't changed myself- it was honestly the last thing on my mind (see related post here).  When R-Man spotted the drying spot he asked what it was, and after I told him, this is what he said, "Well, maybe you should just get something like a rag to clean that off."

Thank you son, I'll get right on that.

But honestly, with the current state of our family, really, what's the point?

So yeah, that is why I haven't been around.  But I'm coming back!  In our sickness I have managed to get some really great reading done and watched a Charlotte Mason seminar on DVD that was absolutely fantastic and I will definitely be sharing about that with you all!  It just might take a couple of days! 

But I love you all- and miss you!  Desperately!