Home Renovations: Door Hardware

A homemake-over that's been long-overdue.... that's our previous home, now in the rental category. We put over 20 sets of hardware through-out the never ending renovation this week. Painting, yardwork, flooding clean-up. I actually rented a pressure washer to remove stains that had been there since we moved in. For now, here's the house after our first structural renovation.(2 trees, 2 storms & termites) It led to roof/paint & gutters. Interior structural changes & new floors. We also put a door in the basement, bottom left, with a driveway. It is now a small office/closet apartment. The best change we made was removing an entire interior brick facade along the fireplace wall. There was no door to the sunroom behind the fireplace & it was all brick. Very 70's- very un-cool. Now the fireplace is white & fresh. The sunroom is more of a study with a sunny nook with lots of potential.

What we did most recently, was clean up after a renter, a good renter, but needed cleaning. Paint, touch-up & change all remaining yucky mis-matched fixture. We went from brass to oil rubbed bronze finishes, & it's beginning to look almost complete.

We were blessed not to be hit as hard as so many in the Atlanta area, who took major hits from the recent storms that flooded the area for over a week.

We are contemplating a copper overhang for the basement entrance, need to have it fabricated, but will complete that project nicely.

So if I've been a little absentee on blog-world, you'll forgive me. We took a little fall break to visit family and check on house. Back to school, scouts & gymnastics next week!

The Snail's Trail: More favorite songs for learning

If you are looking for some catchy tunes with a purpose, there are some links at this post: The Snail's Trail: More favorite songs for learning. I particularly thought the links from learning to read were really helpful in their wording of how to make particular letters, but the days of the week song was very funny/catchy.

Read Aloud's - Looking for a new Read

In my previous post, Surprised by Joy by C.S. Lewis, I mentioned a discussion over at Simply Charlotte Mason about 'twaddle'. I'm working on refining our homeschool efforts to incorporate interesting and excellent literature for reading aloud. The kind where they say, 'what's gonna happen next?'. I'm going to start a list in my side-bar about books we're reading at some point, but I'm sure some of them are not 'the best'. Not the worst, just not the best. One book I did find to meet my criteria for adventure & imagination was 'The Black Stallion.' It was one of my favorites, and it's main character is a boy who is shipwrecked! Jack loved it. I know it's a series, & we have read sequels, but we need to branch out. So if you have a suggestion of one really exciting book your boy's enjoyed, or one that you think mine would like, please comment. I have several book lists, some from the bloggers in my favorite's list, but I'm still looking. And will be for many days ahead.

Raising Fine Young Men - 'A Better Man'

Real man, fine young man, good guy... these are all terms that hold serious weight in my family. Now that I have 2 boys of my own, these terms are coming home to roost. C-SPAN Book Channel has shared an interview(I can't remember what you call this type of format) which includes the author of 'A Better Man:True American Heroes Speak to Young Men on Love, Power, Pride, and What it Means to Be a Man' and includes in the panel some of the contributors to the book.
*** We are interrupted by this excellent joke from my eldest, Jack, "what kind of vegetable do you get when a dinosaur stomps on it?" ... "Squash!" ****** Don't you love inocence?
I am reminded of a book I recently loaned to a new friend with 3 boys of her own, 5/3/4mo. 'Boy's Adrift' If there is one thing that I do not appreciate from the women's liberation movement, it is the idea that men and women are the same and equal in their make-up. Boy's are unusual, special creatures, created by God as they are meant to be. They are sadly over-medicated and regularly over-dosed on that which would sub-due them, when they are wonderful, just as they are. Yes, an exausted mother just said this. But I refuse to buy into the ideas that so rampantly run our streets.

Something to think about. Motivation for being proactive, not reactive.

Why I chose to Homeschool, in someone elses words...

Sometimes folks say exactly what you want to say better than you can. That has happened. I found that Blue Yonder captured many of my thoughts, exactly, as if she'd been listening to me talking in my sleep. So nice to run into people who 'get you'. Even if they don't even know it. So when I think about the folks who may randomly pop into my blog, and wonder if I've lost my mind-- homeschooling--go here, whether you homeschool and just need to be inspired, or you want to know more about what I think, and why I'm 'going to all the trouble'. I don't have the time right now to write it down. I'm researching curriculum for kindergarten/first grade & keeping Henry off the roof. Really, go here, because there are only slight differences to what I would have written.

Ship Island

Ship Island, 11 miles off the Biloxi coast, is worth the boat fare. It is a raw undeveloped location, which requires an hour boat ride & specifies limited cargo. We loved it. We swam in amazing waves, and savored the simplicity. It was so windy, I couldn't even get a decent smile out of Jack. He's pointing to the boat! Let's go!

It was stormy, overcast, but that meant great waves. There was a fantastic fort ruin, which the boy's all explored with great excitement! I even went up the tower, which is no small thing-- I'm terrified of heights/open spaces-- but I made it and enjoyed the view. I took limited photos tho, as I was crawling & hanging on. You get this if you are afraid of too.

Lunchtime with Daddy

We live close enough to Eric's work that he rides his bike when it's not 100% humidity. He came home today, and attempted to read the paper. He wound up reading the comics. The stuff on Jack's face is 'dried blood' from the great sofa battle that had come earlier in the day. They used brown washable markers(because we couldn't find the red) and bandaged themselves with toilet paper. Forts, explosions, dramatic death... boys.

New Dishes & Chores: What Works and What Doesn’t.

7 Motivations to get Kids to Do Their Chores: What Works and What Doesn’t.
I found this post through WeAreTHAT Family's Works for Me Wednesday list. I can't remember if this was today's, but it's really, really good. She spells it out. What works in the long run, not the immediate, quick-fix, keep them quiet moment. Today my son was doing his most well-known chore. He empties the dishwasher in much the same fashion as described in '7's' post. I pull the breakables/sharps that I don't want him to handle, and then tell him to have at it. Most everything is breakable, but somethings are more likely to just snap at his touch. Sometimes I leave the sharps, if I can be closer by to supervise. The plates were $1.99 each & everything can be replaced. (I shop sets that have gone on sale at places like Pier 1 or Target) However, the opportunity to demonstrate his value in this family is priceless. I consider it the best win/win/win situation of parenting. He gains in character, I have an opportunity for new dishes, & I don't have to empty the dishwasher! I really like the way '7' explains the realities of motivators for chores. I'm just sharing the designing parenting scheme for new, cute dishes. Works for me!

Craft Hope

When you get a chance skip over to Craft Hope for a little inspiration.
It reminded me of a quote from Mother Teresa, I paraphrase, 'One at a time...' as she was asked about the overwhelming needs she saw everyday. Share love 'one at a time', as you can. Sometimes it will snowball, as it has at Craft Hope.
ps. If you're a 'button gal', be sure to add their buton to your site. You never know who might want to help out!

Surprised by Joy by C.S. Lewis

As Jack has become interested in the Narnia series, I picked up a read I've long been familiar with. Do you have a stack of books that you are so familiar with but never read? Well, it's time for me to start reading those, filling my mind with excellence as I prod my own kids on to read & enjoy higher quality literature. So I jumped into 'Surprised by Joy' by C.S. Lewis. He is well-known for his numerous works of literature, of varied styles & profound contributions to faith building thought. 'Joy' is just that. He chronicles his early childhood experiences, as well as his education to present the stage for the establishment of his adult faith. Never like before has it been made more clear to me how profound early education & experience can be for a child's perspective on the world & the Creator of it.

Over at Simply Charlotte Mason, the discussion of 'twaddle' was adressed this morning. One might call it baby-talk, to an infant, but when it continues into literature presented to children, or conversation with a child of a certain age, it really seems pathetic. It is condescending & crippling. We call it 'jello' -- the kind of information that makes jello of your brain. Kids tv shows are at the top of that heap, but kids books can quickly grow that stack if one is less selective in what is presented to a child. The philosophy has been in the recent past, & I'm sure still exists,"read, read anything, just read!" Said with ardent intentions but missing the mark of excellence, this philosophy allows drivel to become the mainstay of a child's reading material-- a constant diet of 'twinkies' as one commenter said. Ever feel like that?

One blogger that has a voracious reader in her home is over at Mt. Hope Academy. He has the 18yo linebacker of readers when it comes to his appetite for books! I won't even try to start a list. I have my isolated favorites at this point that I know are quality lit, but her list in this post as well as the current reading list in the side bar are definitely worth considering.

I can't recommend 'Surprised by Joy' more, which I originally thought was about the Joy that came into his life in the movie 'Shadowlands'. Perhaps she'll appear in the end of the book, however, this book is about a much deeper Joy not personified in one idividual, but a deeper more profound sense of feeling, longing, & satisfaction. It is tied into a faith that is grounded in God and the understanding & appreciation of excellence. The references to literature & the collective effect on him as a person are rich with clarity showing how important it is to discern between the banal & the excellent.

Lewis tells in his own words how profound his exposure to literature, formal education, family life, as well as outside persons, influenced his faith, for the better & for the worse. But how he identified 'authentic Joy' is the beauty of this book. Lewis is a endearing writer, and this book has made it more clear to me why I have loved reading & referencing him for years. I wonder what other books are waiting to be discovered on my nightstand?