I woke up this morning and immediately started cleaning my bedroom, which is one of the most neglected rooms in the house.  I also took that time to fold laundry that the Princesses needed to put away. 

After that, I had to turn in some nominations for awards the our local Chamber of Commerce is giving, and had to take Princess Melody to check on her work schedule. 

When I got home, Princess Abbey began working on her New Jersey unit.  We watched a video about Thomas Edison.  Until this unit study, I did not know that he was from New Jersey.  Princess Abbey and Princess Melody read an article about Bon Jovi, who is also from New Jersey, and how he has started a restaurant that operates on donations rather than on set prices for his menu.  This gave them the idea to start something similar here in town.  That will be a BIG project, for sure. 

Princess Tarja did a few reading exercises on Time4learning.com, and we read part of a Hans Christian Anderson story.  Then, Princess Tarja went with me to the stores to gather things that we need for our art association meeting that will take place tomorrow night.  It is my job to organize the making of Christmas ornaments for our little tree that we will have at the library, and to bring the snacks.  I plan on making sausage/cheese balls, little tuna sandwiches, and I bought some little Christmas cookies.  When I got home, I helped Princess Abbey make chili con carne for supper.  While the chili simmered, I read a chapter from Mere Christianity, and we discussed what we read about how if we focus on being friendly and nice to others, that we will discover that we like more people than we thought that we would. 

If you haven't read Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, then you are missing out.

Have a Great Day!
Laurel Santiago

I woke up this morning with a little issue with my tummy.  Colloidal silver seems to be knocking it out.  Princess Melody and the King aren't feeling so hot, either, so we're all on the colloidal silver, pepto bismol and alka seltzer. 

Princess Abbey ran my errands with me this morning.  We had to fax some papers to the Girl Scout council in regards to our troop account, considering that we can't sell cookies without an account.  Then, we had to go to the store to buy yarn to fill some crochet orders that have come in recently.  We also needed some colorful paper to make our giant New Jersey lapbook.  Then, we went to the bookstore to find some new books for Tarja.  To backtrack, we have stopped borrowing from the library because: 1) we NEVER manage to turn books in on time.  2)the librarians don't seem to like it when children come in and look at the books.  3)we found an assortment of books about "alternative lifestyles" rubbing elbows with books for preschoolers that we did not appreciate.  At any rate, I found The Complete Tales of Beatrix Potter and Tales From Hans Christian Anderson.  The clerk at the bookstore gave me a discount on the most expensive book, so I am a happy book shopper.  We also picked up a 1/2 pound of fudge, which is entirely too good, and has entirely too much sugar for me.  I emailed the book store owner and asked if she had considered making some sugar free items, and she said that she had not been able to find any good recipes.  Now, I might be on a mission to find some good sugar free treat recipes, because I KNOW that somewhere out there, probably online, is a goldmine of sugar free candy recipes that have not been discovered. 

After that, Abbey completed a Conservation test and got a 100.  Yay!  We watched part of a movie about the book of John while I got her Forestry Management unit ready.  Then, we read Mere Christianity, in the midst of our parrot squawking, Princess Tarja crying and insisting on having The Nutcracker turned up full blast on the TV, and the dryer apparently drying rocks or something, based on all of the noise that it's making.  I'm guessing that we may need to go over that chapter again at another, more peaceful time.   Princess Abbey asked to take a break from some of her daily work to work on her New Jersey unit for our State Fair.  Judging from all of the stuff that I printed out for her to do, I guess that I will have to allow that.  I did manage to call someone about letting us borrow a building for that State Fair.  The two ladies that I spoke to seemed very happy to help out, but will have to get back with me at another time.  Now, it's time to get ready for our Tuesday baton twirling lessons. 

Have a Great Day!
Laurel Santiago

It certainly is Monday.  I actually enjoy Monday.  Monday is a day to start fresh, and Mondays after holidays seem to have an even fresher feel to them.  The Princesses may not agree, as I had a hard time getting them out of bed this morning.  All Princesses, including myself, picked up a stomach bug over the weekend.  With the help of colloidal silver and pepto bismol, we are all well, but I didn't want to risk exposing other people to us, so we cancelled Girl Scouts today.  Princess Tarja was furious.  However, I am happy to report that nobody has any more signs of illness as of this evening.  Princess Abbey will go to her archery lesson tonight.

This morning, it was my morning to turn in my Avon order.  That's always a little bit crazy, as I encourage and field last minute orders from customers.  I got that finished exactly by my noon deadline.  Princess Melody went with me to take an Avon catalog to a new customer.  We picked up bean and cheese burritos for brunch at a nearby burrito place.  Then, Tarja and I made some Huichol string art Christmas ornaments for our Christmas tree.  Abbey worked independently one some of her lessons and then we finished up her tenth lesson in Forestry and Wildlife Conservation.  We read Mere Christianity out loud, which brought forth a discussion of how loving our neighbor as ourselves, and forgiving others does not mean that we condone bad things that others do, but that we pray and hope that people that do bad things will be cured of their need to do them.  It was very interesting.  After that, we looked up and printed out a bunch of printables to assist with our unit study of New Jersey that we are doing for a state fair that we are having with our local homeschool group.  I believe that I have found all of the information that we need plus more.  This will become a very gigantic lapbook.

Have a Great Day!
Laurel Santiago

What do Native Americans Think About Thanksgiving

Our Princess Thanksgiving is going to be simple this year.  I'm only making the foods that everybody most loves, which will be the turkey, dressing (just a little bit, because only myself and the king like dressing), mashed potatoes, deviled eggs, gravy and sugar free chocolate cupcakes.  There will probably leftovers, but I will not force my family to eat them right away.  They can be frozen for future meals that can go in the microwave.

We won't be having school today.  Of course, Princess Abbey prefers to study independently, so if she decides to do some of her school work, I won't stop her.  I am really thankful for her willingness and desire to learn all that she can about everything that she can, including subjects that she really doesn't like.  Along those lines, I am thankful for Princess Melody's wonderful work ethic and her drive to always try to make things nice for her younger sisters.   She has held down the same job for over a year, and has even received a little promotion.  I can't be more proud.  I am thankful that Princess Tarja is a fighter, but gentle and sweet at the same time.  I am thankful for Princess Ivana, who has graced our home with her laughter and playfulness.

Now, I have always taught Thanksgiving to my children by using the living books method.  Abbey and Melody have already had these lessons so many times, that we're not going to do it this year, other than that I would like her to read this article that I am about to post for you here.  Tarja is too old to learn Thanksgiving the way that I would like for her to learn it.  I won't dumb it down, even though I do like to make it fun.  However, Native American history is a serious matter that isn't always taught in a serious manner.  I can remember being taught about the cartoony Pilgrims and Indians in school, and am well aware that I walked away from those fun lessons with the wrong idea about Thanksgiving.  As a child, I enjoyed the little craft projects and the funny songs, and the programs, because I didn't know any better.  For my homeschooled children, they have learned by watching movies about and reading biographies about Native Americans that were important to Thanksgiving such as Squanto: A Warrior's Tale.  They love the story of Squanto, and I think that your family will be blessed to learn it.  One great movie or series to watch is Into the West.  Also, there is a movie called Spirit Rider, and another called Bury my Heat at Wounded Knee, and Dreamkeeper (my personal favorite).  These movies aren't specifically about Thanksgiving, but they are wonderful for illustrating the Native American lifestyle, both past and present. 

Here is the article that I promised you.  It was posted this morning, by a Native American friend on facebook, who is very knowledgeable about Native American traditions.  Please read, think and pray about how you would have your children learn the truth about early America and giving thanks. Clicky

This morning started out with my needing to open up a bank account for our homeschooling Girl Scout troop, because the cookie sale will be upon us before we can get our Christmas decorations put away.  I am the cookie manager this year.  Imagine that!  A diabetic mama that is in charge of hundreds and hundreds and HUNDREDS.........of cookies.  Things like that are proof positive that God has a sense of humor.

We raided McDonalds for lunch, then got busy on our school work.  Tarja and I sat outside for quite a long while, and she noticed that the leaves are different colors on the trees, there were bugs on some of the leaves, and she even spied a butterfly.  I would call that a pretty good science lesson for a four year old.  Charlotte Mason would approve.  Incidentally, you must know that in the area that we live, we sat outside sweating and I think that I may even have a mild sunburn on my face.  That is mid-late November in West Texas.

Our day isn't nearly through. Melody still has to go to work.  I have an Avon book to deliver to a new customer, and we have twirling lessons.  As soon as twirling lessons are over, I need to drive to the next town to pick up a cool Christmas present for Princess Ivana.  As I write this blog post, Princess Abbey is showing me that Princess Tarja used one of my lip glosses to paint the lips of each member of Family Force Five on her poster.  Umm.....should we consider that to be art work? 



Have a Great Day!
Laurel Santiago

I actually needed to make myself a things-to-do list to get me through this morning.  I had two packages to mail to out of town Avon customers.  There were videos to return that we rented over the weekend, which were Brave and RENT.  I had to take Avon books to a new customer.  Then, I had to go to the bank to make deposits for both Avon and twirling.  Then, I needed a few things from the store.  THEN, I needed something to drink, because all of that running around made me thirsty.

  As soon as I got home, we got ready for our homeschool Girl Scout meeting.  At Girl Scouts, we worked some more on our magazine page bowls, and had a little planning session about the children's magazine that the girls want to start.  When we got home from Girl Scouts, I took Melody to work and then we worked on Abbey's conservation course.  In the process, we discovered that Abbey only needs to pass 5 more lessons and then she will be finished with this.  She said that she wants to take the veterinary assistant course next.  We read out loud from Mere Christianity, which opened up a great discussion about the birds and the bees. After that, Abbey worked on some of her other lessons independently.  Then, it was time for Abbey to go to archery.  While Abbey was at archery, Tarja watched Peter and the Wolf on youtube, and I heated up smoked sausage for supper.

While I fixed supper, Ivana had to be confined to her high chair, because she has figured out how to climb up on, out of, into, and on top of just about everything.  None of her baby furniture keeps her safe except for the high chair, and I caught her as she nearly tipped THAT over.  I know that it's not nice to compare, but my other children all could talk quite clearly by the time that they were as old as Ivana.  None were as physically active as she has been.  The only word that Ivana says is, "Num!" when she is eating something that she likes.  The rest of her day is spent getting into, onto, out of, on top of, and under, everything that she can find.  Needless to say, we have had some crazy days around here.

Have a Great Day!
Laurel Santiago

Wednesdays, fortunately, are kind of an easy day for us.  We don't have any scheduled activities.  After doing our usual routine of running errands, I helped Abbey with her Forestry course, read a chapter aloud from Mere Christianity, and then read from a book that contains two minute Charlie Brown stories for Tarja.  Do you remember Charlie Brown?  I LOVE Charlie Brown.  Tarja did time4learning.com, which we refer to as "Ed Mouse."  Tarja has a love/hate relationship with Ed Mouse right now, because he gets to be more of a challenge as we go along.  Later, Tarja and I read some fairy tales together, and THEN, we watched Tubby the Tuba and Peter and the Wolf on youtube.  She thought that was completely amazing. 

Quite a few blog posts ago, I had started the grapefruit diet, and then the baby ended up in the hospital for a week, and that ended that.  I'm back in the saddle, and have enlisted the help of ACE, the dietary supplement that everybody is advertising on facebook.  So far, everything is going great. 

Have a Great Day!
Laurel Santiago