Holiday movies and traditions

This is the start of the holiday season for us. It gets crazy and busy until January when it will all suddenly seem to stop and I'll come up for air and celebrate with a Pajama Day spent knitting and vegging out.

This morning we celebrated Dia de los Muertos at church. Tonight was pumpkin carving night at church. Tomorrow is Halloween. Tue is election day and starts the official Thanksgiving season. FLL season ends for us mid November (unless we go to state, which, thank goodness, is unlikely. How bad is it that I'm grateful for that?) Then it's only a weekend until Thanksgiving week, and Christmas is a month after that... Good Grief! I need time to slow down.

A good friend has a family tradition I'd like to adopt. She takes the month of December off as far as homeschooling goes and does baking and crafts all month. She has a pile of Christmas movies the family goes through, and piles of Christmas and winter books to read. Oooh! Doesn't that sound nice?

So now I'm starting a list. Tonight we came up with a few movies, but I'd love your suggestions for movies, videos, books, or anything else that pops into your mind when thinking of Holiday Traditions.

Our half started list:

The Nightmare Before Christmas ( a twofer!)
The Hogfather
Christmas Story
Miracle on 34th Street
It's a Wonderful Like
Holiday Inn
White Christmas
Home Alone (? haven't seen this in a long time - is it appropriate for my youngers?)

What video version of "A Christmas Carol" is best? For audio, last year we enjoyed a recording with Patrick Stewart reading/acting.

and books... I don't even know where to start (after Luke 2 1-20, which my grandfather read to us every Christmas Eve.) Well there is "Snowflake Bently". ...


What are your favorites and why?

Your Child is More Important than Your Ideals.

Do you remember the story of Abraham and Isaac from the Bible? How Abraham was told by God to bring his beloved son to the top of a mountain and then offer him as a blood sacrifice to God? Thankfully, God took it back at the last moment. "Just testing you, Abraham!" Ya. That was close. Um... God? NOT FUNNY. What do you think Isaac and Abraham talked about on the way down that mountain? You think anyone told Sarah what Abraham almost did? That's what I thought.

See, if God told me to sacrifice my children, I think we'd be having a very long talk. If I was told that my children had to do anything that I believed was contrary to their best interest, I would do all in my power to defend them from that. And that includes things that other people don't seem to mind exposing their kids to, or expecting from their kids. I suppose it helps that I have have not only sensitive kids that let me know when their boundaries have been crossed, but have kids that are also stubborn (sorry, strong) enough to challenge those who cross them.

It doesn't really matter if you homeschool or send your kids to public school. It doesn't really matter what curriculum you use. It doesn't really matter what philosophy you follow. Your child is so much bigger than that. And you. You're so much bigger than that. Your job is to do what is best for your child, as best you can, with what you've got right now. If what you're doing isn't working - do something else. You can change your approach. You are not married to an ideal. I don't care if what you need to do doesn't fit into a school or a curriculum, an ideal or a religion. Do what you need to do, right now. Take care of your child.

There is no award for parenting. It'd be cool if there was. Wouldn't it be nice to be recognized for all the sweat and tears? Wouldn't it be amazing if you could be the BEST? But you can't.

You will get no acknowledgement for doing what you need to do, especially if what you need to do flies in the face of convention. But do it anyway. Your child is that important.

September's Books

• Deconstructing Penguins, by Lawrence & Nancy Goldstone
• The Nine, by Jeffrey Toobin
• Now You See It, by Cathy N. Davidson
• Bones that Float, by Kari Grady Grossman
  

An Introvert Venting

How are you dear reader? How is your health? What have you been doing recently? Pray do tell.

Me? Why, thank you for asking. I'm feeling sorry for myself. The last few days I've been sick. Well, actually sick off and on for a couple of weeks, an initial cold followed by a creeping crud. Blech. When I'm sick I revert to form - a grumpy introvert. Unfortunately this is a busy time for us and the world has not let me hole up for days on end to indulge in rest and Jane Austen, so my grumpy introvert has been on public display. Apparently grumpy introverts are not popular people. I have not solicited much concern or sympathy. Bah. Humbug.

Usually I don't have extrovert envy. Usually I can fake it. I honestly care about people, and appreciate how extroverts are treated in society, and I can use that to make myself behave differently. I work to not feel, as Darcy does in Austen's Pride and Prejudice - "ill qualified to recommend myself to strangers." As Elizabeth Bennet says to Darcy regarding manners and socializing "My fingers do not move over this instrument [piano] in the masterly manner which I see so many women's do. ... But I have always supposed it to be my own fault- because I would not take the trouble of practicing." Thus I practice at being social, enough so that some people apparently have no idea that I'm an introvert who would rather on most days be reading a book with a cat on my lap, or puttering in the garden with my dog by my side than chit chatting with a group. And that's ok, because mostly I want people to feel I enjoy their company, and mostly, when I put myself out, I find I do enjoy their company.

But, when I'm sick, and tired, and over worked, I am vulnerable. I do not have the energy to be social. I feel unappreciated. When I see people I usually ask how they are and then really listen to what they say. When I'm not making an effort to be social I notice that they rarely do the same for me. That's really irritating. How dare they not reciprocate?!? Do they not know how much effort I have made over the years to seem interested in their petty concerns? Do they not know how hard it is to act as if it is effortless to put my energy into being with people? Do they not know I need something back now and then? No, apparently, they don't know. And I don't know how to ask. Which is why I usually just hole up when I'm sick, to spare us all the irritation of being together.

Since I can't hole up, I have been comforting myself with many cups of herbal honey-laced tea, late night binges of the BBC's Pride and Prejudice, and venting to you, poor dear reader.

Aren't you sorry you asked?

Something's Bugging Us

We've been enjoying the end of summer, tasting fall on the crisp morning air. One thing about these cooler days is that the insects are easier to catch. But of course then the kids want to identify them. What's a mom to do? Well, honestly I call my favorite entomologist, who is also another homeschooling mom. But sometimes she's not available, so sites like What's that Bug, and Insect Identification.org can help a bit.


Here's a beauty we haven't identified.This spider was HUGE, the abdomen longer than 1" and a leg span of ~ 3 inches.

On the underside she had dark stripes going the other way.


I've got tens of pictures of unidentified critters. Any suggestions about how to identify them, websites, real life resources, old fashioned books,... would be much appreciated!