Malware problem

It seems that this blog has been infected with some sort of Malware. I do not know when or if it will be solved. If you receive posts through email or a blog reader then you should receive posts, as I have had no trouble reading them via those routes. Something on the actual website will be picked up by your malware blocker, or, worse, infect you computer if you have no malware blocker...I think this is ONLY FROM THE SITE ITSELF, not the emails & readers.

I have begun another blog with a similar name. If you wish to continue reading our posts, please subscribe to the new site in a blog reader or by foloowing the site directly. I hope to have the site fully up and running by the end if the week.

Sorry for the inconvenience!

New site: taking the backroad: a family's adventure
URL: backroadfamilyadventure.blogspot.com

Hope to see you there!
Jeannie

The Artistic Mother Art Group: Post 1: Beginning

This is the first week of the 

The Artistic Mother Art Group. 

The book, The Artistic Mother, by Shona Cole, is written in a twelve week format. Because my daughter is very creative and artistic herself, and because my sons enjoy making a mess, I've decided to work my daily art time into our homeschool time. Why make them wait until they are adults to relearn how to carve out a little personal creative time? My plan is to invite them to join in the same projects I'm doing or to think of their own and perhaps create a habit in their younger years. We may not get all of the assigned parts done on a daily basis, nor may we stay on a strict twelve week schedule, but we will do something toward our goal each day.

I certainly won't be able to post my work each day, but will aim for a weekly post summarizing our progress. I thought I'd blog today, just to mark the beginning.

Week 1/Day 1 Assignment

Art: Background papers step 1 - check!

Baby Boy and I were up all night with his tummy bug, and I could have easily put off the beginning another day, but...I had an art teacher once who said that the hardest part of any piece is the first mark on the paper. So, I decided to make that mark...to get the pages gesso'd so that the project was begun. I used pages from the kids school recycling bin. Some have words showing through the gesso...thought that might add to the project since we are all about homeschooling around here!

Other things due on Day 1

Poetry: Read a poem - check!

The Rainbow 

by Walter de la Mare

I saw the lovely arch
Of Rainbow span the sky,
The gold sun burning
As the rain swept by

The bright-ringed solitude
The showery foliage shone
One lovely moment,
And the Bow was gone.

Photography: Make a list of the kids' 

activities - Check!

reading, writing, building fairy gardens, hunting sticks, timing each other's tooth brushing, xbox, sign language class, co-op classes, filed trips, sleeping, visiting the rabbits at Tractor 

Supply, washing the dog...endless possibilities.

OK...day 1 - Check!

It's a beginning!

Check out my fellow artistic moms and their beginnings!

100 photos: signs of spring 6: dinos in the sun

100 photos: signs of spring 5: testing the waters

100 photos: signs of spring 4: maple red

100 photos: signs of spring 3: lilac buds

Our Week...the first of March

We started the week off on Monday by spending a couple of hours at the library on a scavenger hunt to help the big kids learn to find their own resources. This hunt resulted in a very full library bag, including just about every dinosaur book available. That night they all piled into Reeves' bed to read their books together. After awhile things grew unusually quiet. Dad & I found this precious scene. Nothing like a sibling sleepover!

On Tuesday we spent most of the day in family dental appointments. These visits resulted in clean teeth...and...appointments for fillings, a crown, and some beginning orthodontia! Lovely!

On Wednesday, we actually completed all of our regular studies, plus some we'd missed on Tuesday. I went out with some friends for dinner and Dad and the kids played a little Xbox.

Thursday is Science & the Arts day here. We listened to Dvorak most of the day. It's amazing how many pieces the kids recognize from TV or NPR. We began our study of the human body and FINALLY got back outside in the sunshine for our weekly nature study for the first time on a month or more (though we did do some nature study at the beach). This week's assignment was to mark one small square of ground and record all living & nonliving items inside. We all enjoyed being outside so much that our study turned into stick hunting and fairy garden construction in no time!

ONE SMALL SQUARE

On Friday we had a great day at co-op...handmade mancala games, handmade paper, Jackson Pollock-style marble painting, Medieval African & India History, KY History Bingo, Snakes as visitors! Wow! A busy day. After co-op we made an impromptu stop at the park with our friends to enjoy the sun.

Saturday, I had auditions for the spring Stage Left production of Excalibur! The Story of Young King Arthur. Turn out was great and I' am looking forward to diving into rehearsals. Reeves will play a shepherd or beggar and Embree will, again, work as props mistress on the stage crew. 

Saturday night and Sunday morning Brice fought a nasty stomach/intestinal thing and he and I have just been taking it easy on the couch today!! He's much better this afternoon. I'm always amazed at the resilience of kids after a tummy bug!

The most fun of the week was definitely had by Brice! 

As I posted earlier in the week, he has discovered that he loves cracking eggs and that he came upon a treasure trove of eggs to his liking...

Yesterday, while I was at auditions, he decided that he needed a dirt track for his train set (notice he enjoys the spot right in front of the fridge for all of his creative work!). I guess it's true that blogger dads get the camera too! :-) The kitchen still smells of chocolate!

See you for next week's update. 

Have a great week!

A quick Tour of Our Beach Trip

For those of you just logging in to taking the backroad...my grandparents rented a house at Emerald Isle, NC for the month of February and invited the entire family to visit. Though it was a fourteen hour drive, the kids and I had so much fun the four days we were there. It was beautiful, sunny weather mixed with the laughter of cousins and hugs from those we really love so much. Thanks Granddaddy & Mama Jean! (And Mom, Aunt Evelyn, & Aunt Martha!)

I have already posted about the first day's knitting lesson.

On the second day, we piled into five cars and drove the half hour to Fort Macon, near Morehead, NC. The visitor's center there is fantastic and the fort well preserved. It was utilized during the Civil War, Spanish American War, and World War II. My Grandfather is 94 and a WWII vet. It was a pleasure being there with him and my grandmother to hear their stories and see their reactions to the exhibits.

INSIDE FORT MACON

OUTSIDE FORT MACON

LOOKING FOR SHELLS ON THE POINT AT FORT MACON

Day Three: More relatives arrive.

THE NC AQUARIUM AT PINE KNOLL SHORES

THE NC MARITIME MUSEUM IN BEAUFORT

ROLL YOUR OWN SUSHI NIGHT! 

Everyone made and ate their own under the tutelage of my sister and her son. Thanks Jules!

and my favorite photo of the week...I call it

WORDS OF WISDOM

Heads up! Lots of posts coming to an inbox near you!

I have a sick little guy who wants me by his side today, so I'm taking the to opportunity to slow down and catch up on a little reading and a great deal of posts that have fallen by the wayside. Stay tuned for our beach trip, our week, some signs of spring photos ('cause I think it's finally peeping around the corner), and my first post for the Artistic Mom's workshop!

In the meantime...I LOVE this photo. Looks like an album cover!

Blogger moms don't get mad...they get the camera!

Brice has begun to really exert his independence. Insisting on using chopsticks when the rest of us do...getting himself a snack and water from the dispenser in the fridge. Yesterday, he walked in from the kitchen soaking wet and I thought he'd just been having a little fun with the water....then I noticed his face was yellow...and remembered his current quest...squeezing eggs until they burst! While I'm cooking I have to guard them as the crown jewels in the Tower of London. So, while I was busy in another part of the house he decided to continue his search for his grail and, boy, was he successful! 

All twelve eggs...obliterated! 

Where will I hide them now that he can get into the fridge? Guess that's my cue to complete my conversion to veganism!

Artistic Moms (and Grandmothers) Group

I ran across this new group starting up soon to encourage moms with artistic tendencies to take a little time each day to pursue their own creativity. The group will work on two-week-long projects from Shona Cole's new book The Artistic Mother.

We'll each link our own blogs to Artistic Creations with Trudy (http://artisticcreationswithtrudy.blogspot.com/) and post our progress each week. No pressure to finish...no one gets kicked out of the group for not completing a project...just a supportive community of like-minded moms who need encouragement to take a few minutes each day for themselves. 


Interested in joining us? Go to the blog above and sign up. Order your book  and we'll get started March 6!


For more info on the book...Shona Cole of An Artful Life, 


List of participants so far. Is your name on this list?

1. Trudy Callan of Artistic Creations With Trudy, group organizer
2. Linn of Peace Living
3. Jenny of All Roads Lead Home
4. Nicole Austin of Life is Beautiful
5. Shannon of Blu-Bambu
6. Cindy of Yapping Cat Studio. She is featured in the book on Page 22. Good going, Cindy.
7. Deb Robertson of Works in Progress
8. Lindsay of Banter
9. Debra of Florentine Lily
10. Joyce of Nanas Little Hobby
11. Stampelot Sue of Stamp Art-o-Rama
12. Marissa Bowers of Art * Design * Photo. Marisa is the book's designer! Didn't she do a beautiful job? 
13. Dani of And a Sprinkle of Fairy Dust
14. Kathryn of Flexie Smit
15. Crafter of Creatively Chaotic Days
16. Kathy Smith of Laughable Life
17. Mandy of Eight Is Enough
18. Jennifer of Coplings Hobbit Hole
19. Angelique of Grace and Space.
20. Lynn Toomey of Let's Gogh Art.
21. Kathryn of KV Creative Designs.
22. bitowhimsey of The Road to Whimsey.blogspot.com
23. Beth of Acorn Pies
24. Diva Kreszl of Diva's Musings
25. Nicks of Nicks Arty Stuff
26. Jeannie of Taking the Backroad

Now we just need you!

Our trip to Emerald Isle, NC - THE KNITTING LESSON

My grandparents, my mother, and her sisters have been together at Emerald Isle, NC for the entire month of February. Early in the their stay, my mom and Aunt Evelyn found a sweet little place called the Salty Sheep Yarn Shop where they began learning to knit. When my Aunt Martha joined them, she, too, took up the habit. They've all been crafty and creative as long as I've known them, often spending hours teaching one of us kids to bake, embroider, paint, decorate cakes...you name it. The three of them have named themselves THE KNIT WITS! 

On the first day of our visit here, they took the youngest girls for their own knitting lesson at the yarn shop. Reeves and I accompanied them but didn't knit. I thought I might be inspired to learn once we got there...I've always loved the hand-knit things offered by my grandmother and at art fairs...but knitting is beyond me at the moment. I just don't have the focus and patience to spare at this point in my life...at least not for counting stitches and casting chores. Maybe someday. I was, however, inspired by all the gorgeous yarns and colors...inspired to encourage my mother to keep knitting her beautiful gifts! Embree and her cousins were happy to sit at the knee of the lovely Knit Wits and enjoy a nice afternoon.

The owner of the shop, actually in Swansboro, NC, began the lesson with each of the girls.

Embree enjoyed casting on. She did a great job listening, asking questions, giving the whole affair a great deal of effort.

After the teacher wandered away to help other customers, the Knit Wits took over the lesson.

Aunt Martha helped her granddaughter, Charley, who learned very quickly and raced through her first few rows.

Aunt Evelyn (know as Effie) helped Embree with her casting on.

Mom (Also known as Nana) helped my niece Emma.

Reeves enjoying the lesson...

A day well spent!

Headed to the beach...

My grandparents, mom, and aunts are spending the month of February at the beach...Emerald Isle, NC. The kids and I have been looking forward to getting away from the snow; to slogging through the sand hunting shells; to sitting in the sun on the front porch looking out to sea. We are headed down this week.

My cousins went this past weekend and sent pictures...WHAT????

No words necessary

Why, oh why, do they grow up so fast?

Brice got his first real haircut yesterday...and went from baby to big boy in a few quick snips. Time to move on and enjoy this stage of his childhood. 

Who do you love?

A comment on the word of the year...

At the beginning of the year, along with many other bloggers, I chose a word to represent my goal for living this year. The word? ENOUGH. I have been trying to look at my life, my family, my commitments, and my stuff and find the parts that are satisfying and enjoy them. I've been looking at the parts that are stressful or unproductive and planning ways to finish the commitment I have to that thing, that organization, that person and move on. In other words...trying to find enough in what I have and what is enjoyable.

In doing so, I have been trying to break free of this need that I have that my house appear perfect before I allow anyone from outside our little family circle to visit. I'm not obsessed with cleaning. I keep too much stuff. On a day when it's just us, I am perfectly content to leave dishes in the sink all day, walk past dust bunnies, and step over a pile of dirty clothes because I'd rather be playing a game with the kids, blogging, cooking, or creating...anything but housekeeping! BUT...if there's the slightest chance someone might be coming over, I race through the house tidying up...putting on a good face! Remember, I am a theatre geek...I'm great at a fantastic outward appearance while backstage is a shambles...in so many ways!

So my goal has been to try to take the middle ground. Keep toys picked up unless they are actively being played with...keep our school materials in some sort of order, even if they are covering the dining room table...picking up the dust bunny the FIRST time I see it. I'm trying to just relax and invite friends in when I've had no notice that they'll visit, invite the kids' friends even when the upstairs isn't picked up...trying  not to stress about my mother-in-law visiting the day we return from a week at the beach. I'm just trying to remember that these people don't come here to see my house...they come because they love us...and our dust bunnies!

So...in looking around, trying to take stock of the beauty that is enough in my home I have rediscovered some of the lovely details of living in a 100 year old house! No matter what we throw on the floor, these beauties are here to enjoy... and they are more than enough. Hope you enjoy them too!