Our 1st Homeschool Convention

Cody and I attended our first homeschool convention today! This is the first time we've lived close enough to one to attend, and I was pretty excited about it. Have to say, not what I expected. Don't get me wrong - I'm glad I went and I got something out of it, it just wasn't what I had envisioned it would be.

First, it was a secular convention...held in a church. The irony was not lost on the attendees. Sure, they tried to hide the 15 foot cross with the strategic placement of a small banner, but we weren't fooled ;)

Then after the keynote speaker opened the floor for questions, there was the man who let it be known that "they" weren't doing a very good job at getting the word out about homeschooling, because he didn't know anything about it. Forget the fact that when you type "homeschool" into Google you get 14,500,000 sites (really - I checked!), or that our county library system has 52 books that come up under the term "homeschooling". No, apparently that is not enough resources for this man. Seriously, if he can't even find resources for that, he shouldn't be homeschooling!

The first lecture I attended was on nutrition and the brain - very informative and I really enjoyed it. What I caught of it. The woman had a very thick Russian accent - and spoke extremely fast. I found I could follow what she was saying if I looked at her face while she was speaking. Unfortunately, she had a rather lengthy PowerPoint presentation that she had going simultaneously, and every time I looked at that, I missed what she said. Blame it on the blonde hair or the copious amounts of Dayquil I've consumed this past week, but it was just too much to handle.

Apparently I missed the "highlight" of this day, but a friend of mine had front row seats for it. During a break, he told his wife and I that his last lecture -on building positive family relationships - was given by an extremely bitter and hostile woman. He thought it was kinda funny, in a "waste of my time" kind of way. That may not sound like much, but it gets better. At the end of her presentation she offered up her DEAD DAUGHTERS ASHES and told people they were welcome to take a pinch home with them.

I'll let that last sentence settle for a minute.

Now, I have a pretty open dialog going with my family as to my wishes after I'm gone. I've had the talk (numerous times) with both of my parents, and my dad and I have often joked that he'd like me to sprinkle a little of his ashes in every state, but is afraid I'm going to leave him on the back of a toilet in some motel in Alabama. Having said that, I can honestly say I would NEVER, EVER think to offer a dead loved ones ashes to strangers, and especially not my child. And I can't even imagine why someone would think that a homeschool convention would be the appropriate place to do this (undertakers convention maybe, homeschool convention - no).

Other than that, it was pretty good. Mary Griffith (author of "The Unschooling Handbook") was the keynote speaker, and held several workshops. I also attended a homeschooling teen panel, which had homeschoolers and unschoolers who were now in college. They had a bunch of classes for kids, and Cody took a couple of science classes and a class on pioneer living. They had teen helpers in the kids classes, and Cody wants to volunteer as a helper for the next convention.

Oh, and the strawberry-blonde girl that he likes was there. He's only seen her at one other homeschool event, but he would like her to be his first girlfriend. Now if he can just work up the nerve to say "Hi" to her...

Nostalgia and Harrison Ford

Maybe it's the impending visit from my mother, the raft of other blogger's who seem to be talking about "the good ol' days" (which for us would be the 80's ;), or just my current mood. Whatever the reason, my childhood has been coming up for me in oh so many ways and Harrison Ford is at center stage.

It kind of started when I read Emma's post (http://memoirsofatvjunkie.blogspot.com/) about childhood toys she always wanted. On her list was the Millenium Falcon, which stands out not only as the favorite toy I ever received, but one that I actually still own. I was Star Wars obsessed as a child. Seriously, if there'd been a 12 step program, I'm sure my mom would have stuck me in it. I was Princess Leia for 7 years in a row for Halloween, for pete's sake. I have buttons, books, ships, action figures, lunch boxes, t-shirts, notebooks, pencils, stickers, stamps, posters, videos, and dvd's (because I actually *wore out* the videos. Do you know how many times you have to watch a video to wear it out? Me neither, but it's a lot!) And notice that I said "have" and not "had" - that's right, they're still in my posession ;)


My own child was started on a steady diet of Star Wars when he was still in diapers (they must be indoctrinated young!), and he and his friends will come to me to settle Star Wars related arguments. One of his friends' current goals is to know more about SW than I do. May the force be with you, my young padawan.

After the wave of nostalgia regarding Star Wars hit, it didn't take long for Indiana Jones to follow. As much as I love Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark stands out as the movie that I saw the most times in a theater. And just because I lived in a po-dunk town with nothing much else to do, or the fact that there was a record heat wave that year (and the theater was kept at 65 degrees) doesn't negate my love for that movie. This was another series that I started Cody on young. He even dressed up as Indiana Jones for Halloween 2006:



For years rumors swirled about a 4th Indiana Jones installment. When a decade passed after the 3rd one, I began to joke that they'd have to name the 4th one Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Nursing Home. Now that it's finally completed and on it's way (in 60 days!!) I have to admit that I'm excited. Really excited. I'm also worried that they'll screw it up (like Lucas did with Jar Jar Binks in the Phantom Menace. WHAT WAS HE THINKING??) I'll admit the trailer looks pretty good - if you been living in a cave and haven't seen it yet, here it is:






So May 22, you'll know where I'll be - munching popcorn in the back of the theater watching as Lucas, Spielberg, and Ford bring a large piece of my childhood back to the silver screen.

The Lost Boys

No, not the part Cody just played in Peter Pan, but the 80's movie. Remember it? My friends and I watched it obsessively back in the day, and in my quest to acquaint my child with all of my childhood favorites, I requested it from Netflix. (And as much as I would love to say that I happened to choose this movie because the title went along with Cody's part in the play, I can't. Nope, it was the brain of the 12 year old that made the connection ;)


Ah yes, the clothes, the hair, the music. The Corey's. You know, the 70's gets a bad rap for those(well, not the Corey's), but we had our share of bad taste, too (parachute pants, anyone?) Which my son was very quick to point out while watching the movie. "Wow, who dressed like that?" "Um, I did. And my friends. And a number of the guys I went out with" ;) All in all, he liked the movie and was impressed with how many lines I remembered. I'm left wondering why I can remember "Death by stereo" but can't seem to recall to pick up butter at the grocery store.

To continue the nights theme, the boys popped in Ghostbusters for an 80's double feature. So I'm off to spend the evening with Dr.'s Venkman, Spengler, and Stantz and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.

The Final Curtain

After 10 weeks together and 7 shows, the final curtain came down on Peter Pan last night. Most of the cast and families went to a local all-you-can-eat pizza buffet between the matinee and evening shows and the kids had a blast (and pigged out). I'm sure they couldn't wait for us to leave ;) "Peter" ate 6 plates of food, one of the pirates had 5 bowls of ice cream, and we cut Cody off after 3 desserts. I was beginning to worry that everybody was going to get sick halfway thru the last play.

I managed to get the Lost Boys and Peter Pan (with Michael jumping in the background) to stay still long enough to snap a picture:



There were so many people at the final performance last night that several of the parents had to stand in the back. I'll admit that we were very tired these last few weeks, but last night alone was worth it! The kids were having so much fun with it, they were ad-libbing and they had the audience eating out of their hands! Cody's already talking about doing another play and several of the boys (including Cody) were talking about doing several upcoming acting camps together. A star is born!

I belong to a lot of Yahoo homeschool groups. Generally speaking, I don't read about 90% of it.

So why do I belong to them all? Because every once in a while a gem like this comes through. http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/index.shtml I have to say that I have been impressed with all of the British websites I've visited. I know - how many could that possibly be, you ask. Quite a few. You see, I have a child who's a WWII buff. Not just a "Oooh, that's pretty cool" thing, but a real honest-to-goodness passion for it. And he doesn't just want the American perspective, he want's it from E-V-E-R-Y-B-O-D-Y-S view - so basically, lots of foreign sites.

Anyway, back to the link. They have a lot of neat stuff, but his current favorite is a trench warfare game for WWI (he's starting to get into this now, too.) The beginning shows this guy in a gas mask - reminds me of the Dr. Who episode with the boy in the gas mask where the people - oh never mind, I'm probably the only one who knows what I'm talking about ;) So, you select your tactics and weaponry for 4 different missions and hope it works out.

This is Cody when he succeeds in battle:

This is Cody when his men are slaughtered:

We also had fun listening to the WWII audio clip library on BBC School Radio. Most of the clips are very short - between 30 - 45 seconds - but they're still fun to listen to. They had an air-raid (with the sirens and sounds of bombing in the background) and a rather creepy recording of a teacher getting her young students to put on their gas masks, and then having them do their knitting (with masks still on) and telling them if they were really good, she'd read to them, too. It kinda reminded me of those old "duck and cover" video's from my mom's generation, where the schools told the kids that if they ducked under their desks, they'd be completely safe from a nuclear explosion. Yep, and there was a lone gunman in Dallas and WMD's in Iraq (snort).

Want to see a homeschool mom cry?

All you have to do is be there when she arrives at the library and finds that it has inexplicably closed early. Without warning. Not even a note on the door. And there are 11 books and dvd's - her books and dvd's, waiting on the holds shelf for her. Calling to her. And all she can do is drive away. Sure, she thought about beating her fists against the door and screaming to be let in, but wisely decided against it. She doesn't want to have to explain to the nice policeman why she was acting like a crazy woman. If he doesn't homeschool, he'd never understand.

And so she'll return tomorrow (after calling first, of course ;)

Opening Night Jitters

Cody has spent the last 2 months preparing for tonight - Opening Night. The rehearsals for this thing have become all consuming - up to 15 hours a week (plus time spent by me trying to find props, helping with hair and makeup, etc.) And now it's here. He's a little nervous. OK, he's a lot nervous, but not for himself. He's worried about everyone else :)

He's learned a lot, both about the work involved in putting on a full-scale production and himself. He's enjoying many aspects of it - he is a performer at heart. But he misses his time off ;)

Here they are, getting some last minute instructions from the director:

A couple of hams:

Taking their bow, and basking in the applause!

It was so funny, our friends came to support Cody, and their daughter Jaci had been practicing beforehand asking Cody for his autograph and telling him that she's his biggest fan. Mind you, these are kids that we know very well (and Cody had played with earlier in the day). Jaci was so cute when she finally did it (though she ended up telling Cody that *he* was *her* biggest fan ;) - and he happily obliged her request. Then she and her brother ran around trying to get everybody's autograph (a first for most of the cast, I'm sure!)

I'm Famous!

It's official - I have been mentioned in somebody else's blog (a first for me)! And since she lives "accross the pond" - I'm World Famous! (snort)

So "thanks" to Emma at http://www.memoirsofatvjunkie.blogspot.com/ (who has wonderful ideas about chocolate - and Jensen Ackles - together ;) And a great pic of David Hewlett. And speaking of SGA, scroll down to her Wolf Pegasus Three convention write-up to see some nice pix of Paul McGillion in a kilt. Gotta love that!


(BREAKING NEWS - Thursday, March 8 - Now I've been mentioned on 2 blogs! Lori over at http://not-so-superwoman.blogspot.com/ has mentioned me, too ;) *Love* her favorite movie!!

"Our" mushers

I'll admit that we didn't get around to doing half of the Iditarod/Alaska themed stuff we'd planned. OK, we maybe did a quarter of it ;) Anyway, the race has begun and we're excitedly following "our" mushers. In case you missed my last post on it, Cody's following Paul Gephardt, Mike's following Rachel Scdoris (who's from Oregon, and also happens to be blind), and we're also tracking the other 2 Oregonians: Cliff Roberson and Liz Parrish.

As of our last check (on http://www.iditarod.com/race/race/currentstandings.html)
Paul's in: 4th
Rachel's in: 81st
Cliff's in: 79th
Liz's in: 80th

Funny how the Oregonian's are stickin' together! Cody's tickled that his guy is doing so well (he didn't know that Paul came in second last year until *after* he'd picked him).

My Photobucket quiz

OK, another blogger suggested I take this quiz, so here goes...

1) Answer the questions below
2) Take each answer and type it into Photobucket
3) Take a picture from the first page of results and post.

1. The age you will be on your next birthday: Thirty-six


2. A place you’d like to travel: Great Britain



3. A place you'd like to live: besides here, I'd have to say somewhere near the northern Mediterranean


4. Your favorite place: the bathtub! It's my daily quiet *me* time! (BTW, wish I could spend some time in this tub ;)


5. Your favorite object: books, books, and more books.


6. Your favorite food: raspberries!


7. Your favorite animal: I don't have just one, but I'll say bears.


8. Your favorite color: Again, I don't have just one, but for the sake of this quiz I'll pick green.


9. The town in which you were born: Whittier, CA


10.The town in which you live: near Portland, OR (that's Mt. Hood in the background)


11. The name of a past pet: my dog Bambi


12. A favorite celebrity: Current faves are Paul McGillion and David Hewlett. Yes, I know I was only supposed to pick one, but there was a picture with both of them in it so I couldn't help myself!


13. Your name/nickname/screen name: Firefly Mom - wow, how appropriate that the ONLY photo that comes up is Jayne (from Firefly) in his very fine hat!



14. A favorite song: It so totally depends on my mood and the day. So I guess I'll go with the last song I listened to, which was "Makes Me Wonder" by Maroon 5.



15. Your middle name: Ann


16. A bad habit of yours: hating - abhoring - washing dirty dishes. What makes this an especially bad habit is that I love to cook (and the 2 don't go together very well ;)


17. How you feel about your Life: supremely happy


18. One word to describe you: Hi-larious!


19. Favorite TV show: Well, since I actually have links to my current faves listed on the side of my blog, I'll put one of my favorites that's no longer on the air.



20. Favorite movie: Star Wars (and yes, I have almost all these action figures - and then some! Plus ships, notebooks, buttons, pencils, posters, t-shirts, and on and on and on ;)



Hope you enjoyed this. Do it yourself! Its loads of fun.

New Blooms and Noxious Fumes

I had grand plans for our Sunday, but as John Lennon said: "Life is what happens to you when you're busy making other plans."

Cody woke up sick as a dog. I don't think he caught something, I just think he's wore out because we've been so busy lately. Whatever it is, he spent the entire day curled up in my bed watching movies. Sometimes we just need a day to do that (and I was awfully tempted to curl up with him. Probably would have if that half of the bed wasn't covered in a pile of laundry that needed to be folded ;)

I took advantage of the 60 degree weather and worked around the the house and yard. I forgot how nice the weather can be here in February! Just when you want to rip your hair out from the grey days, you're rewarded with a month of fairly decent weather. Of course, we usually get crappy weather most of March, but we're enjoying the sunshine while we have it ;)

I even found our first daffodil of the season:



Mike's big project for this weekend was to get into the bank safe that he just *had* to haul up here ;) Something went wonky when they were moving it, and we haven't been able to open it since. He spent several hours Sunday sawing through the 1" thick steel top.



He'd stuffed his rain gear inside (along with a few other things) before we moved, and the rain gear caught on fire from the flying sparks. Noxious fumes followed, and trying to pour water through the already cut areas put out the flames but did nothing for the smoke. Made for an interesting (and smelly) afternoon!