2014 was an amazing year!

Here are a few (OK, more than a few) of my favorite photos from 2014.  After such a busy, eventful year, it was difficult to choose, so please forgive the photographic overload! 

What an amazing year!  We traveled to beautiful places, learned fascinating things, and had a lot of fun along the way!

Thanks for sharing 2014 with us.  We wish you and yours a wonderful 2015!

Enjoying some family time

We're still here! Got lots going on, most of it good: homeschooling, karate, piano and guitar lessons, Cub Scouts, working out and keeping the bills paid. Not to mention keeping everyone fed and in clean clothes.

In addition to the usual, we're working on a new project. Actually, we've been working on it for months, but I haven't mentioned it here because I was kind of superstitious, I guess.

But National Adoption Awareness Month seems like a good time to announce: we're adopting a little boy from South Korea!

We're finishing up the homestudy process now, and hoping to get a referral for our Little Guy early next year.

So...there's lots of paperwork, meetings, training, reading books, and shopping, not to mention dreaming about Little Guy and wondering how on earth we're going to do it all with a toddler in the family!

We're trying to do lots of fun stuff with Super and Dude now since it's hard to predict the initial impact that Little Guy will have on our daily lives.

We hope to be focusing on the bonding/attachment process by this time next year. Which probably means a little less freedom to spontaneously decide to take in a movie, go out to lunch, or toss school out the window and go for a hike.

Still, life with a toddler will bring its own joys. I can not wait to sit on the floor and do puzzles again! And build block towers, just to knock them down! And finger paint! And play Candy Land!

And laugh hysterically over nothing!

Oh, wait...we already do that!

Hope you're having a beautiful fall!

Versatile Blogger Award!

A GIANT thank-you to Anna-Marie at Life's Adventures for the Versatile Blogger Award! I really enjoy reading her posts about life in the U.K. (and I envy her for all the great places she gets to visit with her family!) So, I'm supposed to answer some questions and then tag some blogs that I've recently found. Here are the questions (I found some of them a bit odd!)

Why did you create this blog?

This blog started two years ago as a way for me to sort out my feelings about homeschooling our son, Dude. I was already lurking around on other homeschooling blogs, trying to get ideas and build up the confidence to take the plunge. So I decided to start my own. I never thought anyone other than my mother would want to read it!

A few months later, Super jumped on the homeschooling bandwagon, and we really started living the homeschooling lifestyle. I began using this blog as an online journal of our activities, at least the ones worth writing about. I'm SO grateful to homeschooling parents who take time out of their busy lives to share ideas and information! Those early days were overwhelming, but reading others' blogs gave me the courage I needed!

What kinds of blogs do you follow?

Homeschooling is my obsession, but I also like to read about cooking, gardening, travel, and politics. One of my favorite places to "goof off" is Awful Library Books. If you haven't been there, you need to check it out. Hilarious!

Favorite makeup brand?

Makeup has brands? Seriously, I've been buying the same maroon tube of mascara for years and I don't even remember what it's called! I have bought fancy department-store makeup maybe twice in my life. If I can't grab a new lipstick at the same place I get my groceries, it's not worth a special trip!

Favorite clothing brand?

I am SO not hip when it comes to clothing. To paraphrase the wonderful Gilda Radner, I make my clothing choices based on what doesn't itch. I usually wear jeans and crummy t-shirts when we're schooling and jeans and a less-crummy t-shirt when we're in public. If it's cold out, I wear a fleece over the t-shirt. I don't need a What Not To Wear intervention--I do own some Very Cute Outfits. It's just that when paper-mâché frescoes, cooking with kids, riding lessons, and pooper-scooping the yard are on your agenda, you tend to dress down.

OK, OK, I'll admit to loving shoes, Mom! (I swear, I can hear her ahem from three states away!) Let's just say that most of my Christmas presents (to myself) came from Zappo's last year.

Indispensible makeup product?

What is this, market research? ;)

Favorite color?

Yellow. I have a yellow kitchen (I actually matched the color to my favorite yellow serving bowl) and my dishes are yellow and blue Fiesta ware. My wedding bouquet was yellow roses and my bridesmaids wore adorable pastel yellow sundresses. To me, yellow is happy, kind, and sincere.

Favorite perfume?

Hanae Mori Butterfly.

Favorite film?

All time favorite: Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Runners up: Raising Arizona, Muriel's Wedding, and Milo and Otis.

What country would you like to visit and why?

Taking my kids to the Louvre is on my "aahh...someday" list. But if we're just talking about me, I'd have to say Japan because I've never been there, I love kawaii stuff, I've always wanted to see Tokyo, and I want to try real Japanese food.

Would you rather forget to put mascara on one eye or forget to put blush on one side of your face?

This would never happen. I may be a mountain mama now, but I'm still a Texas girl at heart, and we do not forget to put on our makeup.

Thanks, again, Anna-Marie! Now I'm supposed to tag some recently-found blogs. The problem is, I haven't done much exploring out there in the blogosphere lately. So, I'm listing some new (to me) and some old favorites:

Feet Off the Table

Adventures In Bento Making

Ramblings of a Dysfunctional Homeschooler

GeekMom

My Side of the Mountain

Enlightened Life

Wendolonia

I Capture the Rowhouse

These are all fantastic in their own way, so check them out!

Have Yourself a Messy Little Christmas

Back in October, when the first chill was in the air and the days were just beginning to get shorter, I started having my usual holiday fantasies...hot chocolate by the fire...cuddling up to read the Christmas story together...shiny new red-and-green pajamas for the kids to wear on Christmas Eve...a pile of beautifully wrapped gifts under a picture-perfect tree...


Has anyone seen my Kohl's gift card?

It didn't help that I picked up a couple of those "perfect-homemaker" magazines in the Vancouver airport for our flight back home. The Canadian versions are every bit as stress-inducing as their American companions: gorgeous tables set with homemade feasts, beautiful decorating ideas, and picture-perfect families posing in front of the designer themed Christmas tree.


The holidays can be exhausting.

I never found the heartwarming article about the son who has refused to get a haircut since Halloween, or the humorous column about the daughter who talked her grandparents into getting her rats for Christmas. No advice about where to stash a week's worth of undone laundry before the house fills with guests. And not one photo-spread of the exhausted, cranky mom and dad trying to sneak the presents in from the freezing garage at midnight.


Introducing Thor and Odin, newest members of our menagerie...

Every year I seem to lose touch with reality and create the same unattainable picture of Christmas in my mind. And every year I have to learn the same lesson: as a mother, wife, teacher, business-owner and middle-aged human being who needs sleep and downtime, I can't achieve a magazine-style Christmas. And you know what? It doesn't matter!


Wonder which one I'll step on tonight?

The truth is, I never got around to cleaning the bathrooms before our company showed up, the food was 90% store-bought, and I made the coffee too strong. At one point, Nana and Papa's two Yorkies escaped and we had to chase them outside and into a neighbor's yard. In spite of our efforts to coordinate, Dude got two of the same Lego set, and the cute boots I ordered for Super have yet to arrive. In short, we had a disorganized, messy, chaotic, fantastic, fun Christmas this year!


We bought a bakery bûche and improved it.

Here's the thing: no one noticed the bathrooms (or, at least, they didn't say anything!) The food got eaten, the coffee got creamed, and the Yorkies were caught. Dude is actually delighted to have two of the same set and Super will wear the boots whenever they arrive.


Dad made an elf bowling game for the Scouts.

During this month, we celebrated Hanukkah with dear friends. We went to a couple of holiday parties and hosted a Scout party. We decorated cookies, had a Secret Santa exchange with our employees, made crafts with the kids, watched movies together, and drove around looking at Christmas lights. Just for fun, we had our very first solstice celebration, complete with a Bûche de Noel. Last week we brought blankets outside, lay down on our front lawn, and watched the total lunar eclipse together. I suppose I could have been cleaning my house or making dinners from scratch. But this time with my family has been perfect.


I actually took this photo! Me!

I hope to get my Christmas cards mailed soon. I hope to catch up on laundry, cleaning, grocery shopping, and all that other stuff that all grownups, no matter how imperfect, eventually have to do. I need to organize lesson plans for the second half of our school year. There will always be bills to pay, dinners to prepare, and dogs to bathe.


Yikes! Kids and candles!

Christmas should be a time to put the mundane on hold and focus on what's truly important. And the holidays should definitely be free of perfectionist ideals that keep families from enjoying their time together. Maybe I should write a note to myself so I'll remember that next year. Or maybe I'll just keep Dude's note to Santa handy...


Dude left fruit salad and coffee for Santa this year.

Here's hoping you also had a perfect holiday...whatever perfect may mean to you!

Happy December!

Whoa, how did that happen? Every day I have to remind myself that it isn't August anymore. I feel like life has been on fast forward for the past few weeks! I'm pressed for time, so I'm just going to post some random photos that I took over Thanksgiving weekend...



On Wednesday, we celebrated at our business. Every year we have a party to thank the wonderful people that work there. Dad and I cooked 6 turkeys, 20 pounds of potatoes, gigantic pans of cornbread dressing, green bean casserole, and sweet potatoes, a gallon of gravy, and 8 pies!

Over the years, we've perfected our methods. We cook and freeze the turkeys and pies several days ahead. Dad makes mashed potatoes (with help from the kids) and I make several batches of gravy and cornbread the day before. On Wednesday morning, all I have to do is bake the dressing and heat up the green bean casserole and sweet potatoes. Dad thaws the turkey in an electric oven and pours broth over it to keep it moist.

I was so busy chatting and eating during the party, I didn't take a single picture! So here are some photos of the prep. Step one: pumpkin pie factory. This year I baked at a friend's house because she has two ovens. Besides, it's more fun to bake with a buddy!



Got some great help from a very cute assistant.



Step two: cornbread. I LOVE my giant iron skillet! This was one of 3 batches of cornbread I made for the dressing.



My kids went "veggie" last February, and this was my first attempt at making dressing without chicken broth or fat. A good, buttery batch of cornbread and milk thinned with vegetable broth did the trick. Not one person at the party noticed the difference.



This is what twenty pounds of potatoes look like peeled, cooked, and mashed. They had almost a pound of butter in them and they were sooooo good!



This was our first year to celebrate with friends on Thursday instead of traveling to see family. We had so much fun! We ate another great meal, the kids played together, and we shared some silly family stories. Late in the evening, we played the rowdiest game of chicken foot I have ever seen! Don't check my math--wine was involved!



We traced our handprints and wrote something we were thankful for...





Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

I Miss Coffee Crisp Bars!

Just got home from ten exciting days in British Columbia! What an amazing place! It has everything: beautiful mountains, gorgeous beaches, peaceful forests, and fun cities.



We saw totem poles in Stanley Park and in Victoria, visited the aquarium, Science World, and several museums, and took an amazing wildlife tour. (I guess it's clear now why Super and Dude completed a Canadian unit study in October!)

It was fun to watch the sea planes take off and land.



We got to feed Schoona, the green sea turtle. She was rescued in the chilly waters near Prince Rupert. She probably rode a warm current that took her way off course on her way to Hawaii! Luckily, the Canadian Coast Guard spotted her and brought her to the aquarium.



And here's Izzy, the Stellar sea lion. Look at those cute whiskers! Izzy is part of a fascinating scientific study. The Stellar sea lion population is dropping dramatically, and marine biologists at the aquarium are studying the problem. We learned that the sea lions need lots calories to survive and reproduce, and salmon is the most nutritious food for them. Unfortunately, salmon populations are also declining.



Speaking of calories, we treated ourselves to lots of candy bars that they don't sell in the States. (Hey, it's important to experience the culture when you're traveling, right?) Super and Dude prefer Aero Bars. Dad liked Maltesers and Mr. Big. I liked Maltesers, too. And Coffee Crisp!



Here's the sunset at English Bay...



...and the Sun Yat Sen Garden.



The Beaty Biodiversity Museum at UBC has a blue whale skeleton! It's so big, the building had to be specially designed with a huge room and tall ceiling just to display it!



The Beaty museum also has lots of Victorian nature collections. Apparently, doing amateur nature studies was all the rage in Victorian times. These bird eggs were part of someone's living room display. Good thing we can just take pictures today!



Did you know people can use different lichens to dye yarn?



The Anthropology Museum displays amazing art from Coastal First Nations.



This is a giant three-car rolling sugar bowl! It's big enough for a person to sit in. It was used at potlatches to bring gifts of sugar to esteemed guests. The tongue is a giant wooden spoon!



We took a wildlife tour and saw sinister-looking jellies floating by.



Look at the creepy tentacles on this one!



We passed a rowdy gang of Stellar sea lions. We didn't feed these--but they look pretty well fed already!



And we saw humpbacks!!!!! Two of them, swimming together, surfacing every 5 or 6 minutes. They were so massive--by the time you see the little dorsal fin sticking up, most of the whale has already gone by!









We would have enjoyed the boat ride anyway, but seeing whales was definitely a highlight!



This was my third trip to Canada, and I can't wait to go back. There are so many beautiful places to see and fun things to do! Also, at least in my experience, Canadians display the kind of civility and politeness that America is so often missing these days.

Maybe it's just too cold there, but I have to say that I didn't see a single person, male or female, wearing their pants in a way that showed their underwear. I watched the CBC news several times and never heard anyone yell at anyone else. People still bother to say "Excuse me," or "Sorry," when they bump into you, and they kindly offer directions to lost tourists. Most of all, Canadians will actually ALLOW YOU TO MERGE INTO TRAFFIC WHEN YOUR LANE IS ENDING. I'm not kidding! This didn't happen just once or twice, but every single time I needed to change lanes. Here's a big thank-you wave, Canada!