My Baby Boy is One! A Look at His First Year!

On June 22^nd, my sweet little boy turned 1!  Honestly, I can’t believe it has been a year since he entered the world.  Time has flown so quickly that I feel that I just blinked and a year went by.   Why can’t the baby years go a little slower so I can savor this time of cuddles and sweet baby cheeks?  Nothing is more precious than a sweet baby in my arms.

Caleb is my fourth child and my first son.  I honestly believed that I would never have a boy and I was okay with that so I was so shocked to find out we were having a boy!  I was very happy but scared to go into uncharted territories.  The pregnancy was rough and the toughest I have ever had.  I was high risk the whole pregnancy with high blood pressure (I had to take meds) and out of control gestational diabetes (I had to do 6 shots of insulin a day).  The pregnancy was so scary that even my doctor was nervous.  I was constantly at the doctors and never even knew what to expect day by day.  Thankfully, I had a great doctor who took great care of us and made sure my son came safely into the world. 

Labor was induced at 39 weeks due to the blood pressure and insulin issues that kept getting worse.  Labor was so tough because of the pitocin and I had to have an IV and insulin IV so I was trapped on the bed in horrible pain.  I ended up getting a spinal and that was so hard for me physically and emotionally.  It was my first time using meds in labor and it was the polar opposite of what I envisioned when I got pregnant (natural homebirth).  The doctor said my spine is super compacted and not easy to access the spinal cord (he said it wouldn’t have been able to do an epidural even if I wanted one) and after 10 minutes he nearly gave up but finally got it in.  It was only supposed to last 30-45 minutes (I was at the very end and that is all I wanted) but it lasted for hours.  While I didn’t like how I felt with the meds, I still have no regrets because in that moment, I felt like a caged animal dying of pain.  I was at the hospital for 7 hours (only 2 hours of hard labor) when my son arrived!  He was born weighing a heavy 10 pounds on the dot and 20 inches long.  He was also born posterior (My doctor calls it sunny side up – he was facing the wrong way) and had some facial bruising and swelling.  We had a whole team in there for his birth and they quickly checked him out and got him breathing.  He was healthy!  He stole my heart in that instant.

He is now 1 year old and my little prince.  He weighs 28 lbs and is 30 inches.   He is a very serious baby who is curious yet unsure about the big world around him.  Once he is comfortable though, he loves to climb, explore, laugh, and smile.  He still nurses around the clock and sleeps in bed with us (along with his 2 yr old sister).  Nothing is better than waking up to his handsome little face in the morning.  He absolutely loves getting dirty, hanging out in the pool, playing in the sand, being read too, being cuddled, climbing on top of anything he can get too, and playing with his sisters.  His all time favorite activity is scaring Juliet (his 2 yr old sister) by screaming and watching her react by crying or screaming.  Not momma’s favorite activity but he thinks it is all a game.  My little man is such a joy and makes me smile every day.  

Homeschooling and Socialization - How Does it Happen?

“But what about socialization?”  That is a question that I have been asked countless times when I say that I homeschool and I know that nearly every homeschooler encounters this question.  That one question causes the most stress for parents and has caused many to not homeschool or to quit homeschooling.  So, should homeschoolers really be this concerned about socialization?  I say NO!

When people ask this question, they have a picture of what socialization looks like.  They think socialization means sitting in a classroom with 30 other children of the exact same age as the only way to socialize.  This isn’t true socialization.  First, those kids in schools don’t have a lot of time or freedom to even socialize.  The school schedules are full and they are not allowed to talk in class.  Second, schools create cliques of kids who only hang out with kids exactly like them.  It is not a melting pot of children.  It is a bunch of small cliques within a building.  Third, in the “real world”, we do not socialize in large groups of people the exact age as ourselves.  We socialize with people of all types and all ages.  Life doesn’t group us based on our age; we all mix together based on where we are at (school, stores, groups, etc). 

Many homeschoolers though feel they have to defend this question by overcompensating in the socialization department.  They sign their kids up for billions of homeschool co-ops, homeschool sports, homeschool play groups, homeschool activities, and so on and so on.  So many homeschoolers are truly never home!  They are running activity to activity and never getting a break because they fear socialization.  They want to make sure they can prove their children are well socialized.  I am not saying that these activities are bad because I don’t think they are, however, it is too much.  Homeschooling moms need downtime.  Homeschooled kids (and all kids) need downtime.  They shouldn’t spend all day running around and wearing themselves out.  They need time to explore, relax, create, and imagine.  They need time with family.  They need to be kids and be free.  Another issue with all these activities is that the socialization is often the same as in school – the same age groups in a structured environment.  That isn’t real life socialization.

So how do I address socialization?  Well, I don’t.  My kids are not locked up in some castle never around other people.  However, they don’t do a lot of structured activities either.  They get their socialization the same way I do – in real life.  They get socialized though everyday activities at home, Church, stores, appointments, parks, museums, festivals, libraries, online, and around the neighborhood.  They socialize with neighbors, strangers, friends, and family of all ages.  They don’t know about cliques and they like to be around all types of people.  They are in small groups and large groups.  They are in Christian groups and non-Christian groups.  They socialize just fine without structured activities and without school.  When I think of socialization, I don’t worry about how much they are socializing; I think about what skills they have that will help them be great at real life socializing.  Are they kind, respectable, honest, friendly, play well with others, work as a team, can lead, confident in themselves, accepting, nonjudgmental, and compassionate?  That is what I think about when I think socialization.

Homeschoolers shouldn’t stress about socialization unless they are truly isolated and never around a variety of people.   Most homeschoolers don’t fall into that category.  Structured activities can be great but they can also be overused.  Take time to live life and avoid over scheduling.  Let your kids meet people of all ages and cultures.  Teach them to be kind, compassionate, and to respect others.  Lead by example and be the person that you want your children to be.  Teach them to stay strong to their values but never put down others.  Lastly, learn to ignore other people’s ignorant comments about homeschooling and socialization.  Trust me, your children will be just fine and plenty socialized!

Making Handmade Cold-Process Soap - Complete with Recipe and Pictures

Today we made our 3^rd (and 4^th) batch of handmade cold-process soap!  Soap making is new hobby of ours and we love making it.  Our first two batches came out great and we were ready for some variety so we decided to make another two batches.  We made a soap scented with energy scent (uplifting and fresh) and an unscented goat’s milk soap.  Our camera died so I am only able to show the energy soap recipe.  This recipe would work for any scent!  I don’t list the supplies we use but if you are interested, you can ask us.  You want to make sure you use stainless steel or glass pans/pots/measuring cups. 

EASY RECIPE TO MAKE ABOUT 4.5 LBS OF HOMEMADE SOAP

Ingredients

16 oz. Coconut Oil

16 oz. Palm Oil

16 oz. Canola Oil

6.9 oz. Lye (this makes it 5% superfatted)

15.8 oz. Distilled Water

OPTIONAL - 3.2 oz. Energy fragrance oil from Brambleberry

1)     Measure out the proper lye, water, and oils and set aside. Make sure all supplies are set out, your molds are lined, newspaper is down, kids are safely away, and your safety gear is on (safety gear should be put on prior to even opening up your lye container – it is very dangerous!). 

2) Using your premeasured water, CAREFULLY add your premeasured lye to the water.  Do this slowly and carefully.  Do not add water to lye, you must add the lye to the water!  Also, make sure your area is well ventilated (we have the door and window opened and we wear masks). 

3)  Stir the lye and water mixture very well (it is super hot).  Once the lye is melted, put aside to cool.  You want the lye to be between 95 and 110 degrees (we did 110 degrees). 

4) While the lye is cooling, add all your premeasured oils together in a pot and heat to 110 degrees (or within 5 degrees of your lye).

5) Once your lye and oils are 110 degrees (or between 95-110 degrees and no more than 5 degrees difference between them), CAREFULLY pour the lye water mixture into the melted oils. 

6) Now is time to mix like crazy!  We use a hand blender and do one minute on and one minute hand stirring (we do this because the first day soaping we ruined a blender by doing 3 minutes at a time).  You just keep stirring until you hit trace.  Trace will look like a thin pudding.  For this recipe, it took us less than 10 minutes to hit trace (the goat’s milk recipe took over 30 to trace though). 

7)  At trace, add your additives.  This time we just added the energy fragrance.  We used 3.2 oz of the fragrance oil.  If you are doing an unscented bar and not adding anything, don’t worry about this step. Mix your colors, scents, or additives well.  This will thicken up your recipe but make sure it doesn’t get too thick (keep it at trace and mix just enough to properly mix in your additives).

8) Carefully pour your mixture into your chosen mold (or molds).  We use handmade wood molds but you can use milk cartons, cardboard milk containers, plastic totes, etc.  Look online for great creative ideas for cold-process soap molds.  Gently press plastic wrap on the mixture to help prevent soda ash (it’s not harmful but it isn’t super pretty either).  Then cover your mold with a towel or blanket and put it somewhere safe and away from everyone. 

9) In 3-5 days you can take your soap out of the mold and cut it.  Then put it in a safe place and let it air dry (we use wire racks and rotate the soap every few days).  In 4-6 weeks it will be ready to use!  We also test the Ph using Phenolphthalein to make sure the Ph is between 7-10.   You don’t need to test but it is recommended to make sure nothing went wrong with your soap and it is not lye heavy and dangerous.  Some people tongue test and see if they get a zap.  Whatever works best for you.   

Come check back with us later for more pictures and information as we show the whole soaping process from cutting the soap, testing Ph, and the finished product.  

* We got all of the ingredients from Brambleberry.  I highly recommend them.

Our Barefoot Kit Came! Here is our Video!

We are super excited because today our Barefoot Books ambassador start-up kit came!  We have been longtime Barefoot Books fans and have a big library of the books already but it was very exciting to get the kit and see so many new books and titles I have wanted to read!  Hooray for book day!  Here is a video we took to show what came in the kit.  Please come check it out!

PS - Please don't mind the clutter, mess, or the occasional cry from our daughter.  Our house is chaotic and a bit crazy and there is no perfect time to do a video.  It is just a part of who we are!

The 2012-2013 Year Coming to a Close

Our school year is coming to an end in less than two weeks!  This year has been a bit strange for us school-wise but also very rewarding.  It started with both of my older kids getting enrolled in the public school.  I was burnt out, overwhelmed, and suffering bad postpartum depression after the birth of our fourth child.  I just couldn’t manage so I thought public school would be best for a year. 

Well, that didn’t last one.  Long story short, my oldest, Ashlee, was moved from the elementary school to the middle school and then back to homeschooling all in less than a month!  She tested well above average in school and academically she did great.  However, we weren’t a fan of what was going on in school and neither was she.  So, we pulled her out and got a lot of independent curriculum so she could homeschool without a lot of work on my end.  Katie stayed in school (part time in a regular classroom and part time in the special education classroom – she has high functioning autism).  Things were going pretty good until she came home for Christmas and said she didn’t want to go back.  She was upset with how some kids were treating her (a boy kept trying to kiss her and she was being teased) and she just wasn’t happy.  So, we pulled her out and got some cheap homeschool curriculum since I wasn’t expecting to homeschool her yet. 

Since pulling them both out, I am so happy and so are the kids.  My kids love being home and I love them being home.  My depression is gone and I am back to my old self.  I love teaching them and watching them grow.  Both the kids have done great with their school work and love having more time to do the things they love.  Ashlee has really blossomed as a creative writer and writes wonderful stories!  Katie has really blossomed academically and is quickly learning how to read (she is now at her level!) and loves math.  Life is great and homeschooling is great.  I couldn’t ask for more. 

This year met all the goals we set academically but it was a bit boring because it was workbook heavy.  I am an unschooler at heart (I was an complete unschooler for several years) and I find curriculum so restricting and just flat out boring.  Thankfully though, we keep our school days short and always had time for long hikes, nature walks, exploration, reading, cuddling, and just enjoying life and learning together.  Next year however, we will be doing less workbooks and more hands-on, creative learning together.  I want more fun and freedom in our homeschool for this upcoming year.  We wanted a change badly so we already started most of our curriculum for next year and got rid of the workbooks.  The changes were needed and help boost the fun factor in our house!

Introducing the Green Family!

Hello!  For those of you who do not know us, we are the Green family.  My husband, Garrett, and I are happily married high school sweethearts.  We have 4 beautiful children - Ashlee (12), Katie (8), Juliet (2), and Caleb (nearly 1).  We live near Spokane, WA and really love our small quiet town.  We are a Christian family who practices AP (attachment parenting) and is considered a bit "crunchy".  

We are a homeschooling family who is inspired by unschooling, Charlotte Mason, and classical teaching.  Our homeschool is very relaxed, child-led, full of great books, exciting writing lessons, hands-on math, and plenty of fun!  Ashlee will be starting 8th grade in August and Katie will be in 2nd grade.  I can't believe how fast time is going!

Our family enjoys reading, spending time out in nature, hiking, photography, writing, making soap, music, spending time together, serving, exploring, and giving back to the community.  We love curling up with the kids and reading great books, exploring the woods looking for animals and unique plants, and sharing ideas together for new stories or new soap!

My husband and I work at home together as Barefoot Books ambassadors.  We truly love working together and selling Barefoot Books!  It fits our family and our beliefs.  We celebrate cultural diversity, environmental awareness, and imagination!  If you don't know what Barefoot books is, please check out our website.  :-)

We created this blog so we can share our adventures, accomplishments, struggles, ideas, and life with others.    It is like a personal journal that isn't private.  My husband and I will both be writers on this blog sharing our life from different perspectives.  I hope you enjoy a look into our life!