25 years later and I still love this book

Man, I love this book!  I first read this book when I was 11 years old.  Coincidentally, the movie came out around that same time.  And yes, I was a bit obsessed with all of the actors in the movie. Ralph Macchio was my favorite.

I just finished reading it again because I am having my almost 12 year old read it for school. I am pretty sure I love it more now than I did then.  I intended to read one chapter and go to sleep, but I ended up reading the rest of the book.

It is just such a timeless book.  It was written over 40 years ago and it is still applicable today. I just want to gather up all the boys from the wrong side of the track and tell them that there is still good in the world and make them watch the sunset.

*update:  apparently the picture from Amazon doesn't show up in google reader.  I guess you will just have to click through to the site to see what book I am talking about  ;)

My Trial

OK, so I feel a little embarrassed sharing this. It is really such a little thing. And it really doesn't matter that much. It is not a serious trial like losing a baby or being in a plane crash, but it is my trial so I am going to claim it. I will probably never buy a house of my own.

When we decided to move to Hawaii, I knew that not being able to buy a house was part of the deal. But I was getting to move to Hawaii, so I figured it was a good trade. But every once in a while that little girl who used to look through the JcPenney's catalog and decide how she wanted her house to look feels a bit sad.

It's not that I don't get to decorate. I have had lots of practice decorating all of our rental houses, but it has always been temporary, so I never wanted to put that much time and money into it. Maybe I am thinking about this right now because we are stuck in temporary housing until some faculty housing opens up.

I have to admit that it is more than a little frustrating not to know when or where we will be moving. I mean, it is one thing to accept that we will never buy a house, but not to be able to choose what the house looks like or where it is located! It has taken every ounce of my patience to continue waiting for housing to come available and even more inner strength to give up control over what and where our housing will be.

I know in my mind that we are probably better off not buying a house. There are lots of other things I would rather spend money on than a new water heater. And once we move into more permanent housing, I will feel more settled in and will once again be OK with never buying a house. I think the waiting and wondering are just getting the best of me.

Speaking of Geeky Homeschoolers

I mentioned the other day that I was a geeky homeschooling mama. Well, it seems that my kids have not been spared the geekiness that comes with homeschooling. It appears that some of the...um... downsides to homeschooling include your kids developing their own sense of style and your kids doing things that public schooled kids their age would probably find babyish.

I took the following pictures when we were hiking up Diamond Head last month.

Here is 7 year old. She insisted on wearing the flowered top with the green plaid pants. I have pretty much given up on trying to get her to wear a matching outfit on regular days, but I do try to get her to not totally clash when we go out in public. This particular day, I wasn't in the mood to argue and when she added the purple socks, blue plaid, aqua socks, I laughed and decided that I must have photographic evidence of her unique style.




This is my 9 year old. Grandma was visiting and had brought her this doll carrier as a gift. She really, really, really wanted to carry her doll up Diamond Head in the carrier. " Sure, why not?"

You know, I joked at the beginning of this post that it was a downside that my girls are not self conscience about what they wear and the things they do, but honestly, I think it is great. Having never been in an environment where they are made fun of, they have no reason not to do or wear whatever makes them happy. Now if this formerly public schooled mama could get over her embarrassment.

"I'll just be hiking a few feet behind you. OK, kids?" Just kidding ;)

Things We Like: Snap Circuits

I bought this Snap Circuit set for Christmas one year. It wasn't something that my kids asked for, but I'm a geeky homeschooling mama and I like to sneak in educational gifts.

I love it even more when my girls end up enjoying the gift!

I've returned from the dead

Yes, really. I was a zombie last week. Here's the story:

Last week I got my wisdom teeth taken out. As I left the oral surgeon's office, I caught a look at myself in a mirror. Both sides of my face were puffy and numb. One side of my lip was hanging down lower than the other. I knew I looked a bit ridiculous, but bravely made my way to the elevator and down to the street. After all, I had just let the dentist rip 4 teeth out of my mouth. I could be brave.

I had to wait a few minutes for Rand to pick me up (he and the girls were hanging out in Waikiki during the procedure - nice huh?) So, I put on my sunglasses and tried to act casual as I waited on the downtown Honolulu street. Eventually, Rand picked me up. Little did I know, while I was waiting, some blood had started dripping down my lip.

I got into the car and the girls took one look at me and screamed. I looked in the mirror and saw the blood. I was so numb I couldn't even feel it. It must have been there for a while because it had started to dry. Rand told me I looked like a zombie with my glassy eyes, puffy face, and blood dripping out of my mouth. The fact that I started laughing hysterically added to the zombieness. And my tongue was numb, so I couldn't talk. I tried, but the garbled sound just made it all more horrific.

Unfortunately (or fortunately), there is no picture evidence of this event. Rand tried to take a picture, but it didn't work for some reason. By the time we realized it, I had already wiped the blood off, so the effect wouldn't have been the same. So you will all just have to visualize how I looked on... The Day I was a Zombie.

Full Disclosure Friday

Here's the truth: I never get around to playing math games with my kids.

Yes, I have done math clubs and I am currently helping to find some ideas for math games for a co-op, but at home with just my kids and me. It doesn't happen. I have these grand plans. I put math games on the schedule. I own Games for Math, Family Math, I Hates Mathematics, Mega-Fun Card-Game Math, Number Jugglers... I have taken detailed notes on some of the books. Others I haven't even looked at.

Oh, there was a time that I played Go Fish to 10 with Sierra and Kali pretty regularly and we enjoy Zeus on the Loose, but as a consistent part of our homeschool, math games just don't seem to get priority.

I don't know. Maybe I just lack motivation. I am sitting here with all of these math game resources and I have only found 5 games that seem interesting enough for the co-op. I am finding many of the games to be too complicated. I think my problem at home is that I am trying to find games that we can all play and that is tricky with a 4 1/2 year age gap.

Ok, I just looked through the Number Juggler Book (one of the ones I hadn't looked at before) and found 8 interesting games including one that might work for the co-op. BUT I bought that book used and it is missing the cards. Anyone know how many cards and the amount of each number in the deck?? Maybe, just maybe, I will get motivated to actually play the games with my kids. But in keeping with the theme of full disclosure, I will admit that I am not going to count on that happening.


*I got the idea for Full Disclosure Friday here. Oh and by the way (full disclosure again), I will not be posting one of these every Friday...

They're reading me out of house and home!

My older girls have been reading so much lately that I am having trouble getting enough books from the library to keep them stocked with reading material.

Sierra has been obsessed with the Companions Quartet series. Kali has been working her way through the Magic Tree House series and is up to book #32.

Help! I need suggestions of books for 9 - 12 year old girls. They like books with magic, mythical creatures, princesses, etc. and most important an element of excitement or suspense.