Stuck in the Middle of Titus 2

Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine.  They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.  ~Titus 2: 3 - 5

I feel like I've entered a somewhat strange season of life.

On one hand, I have two young children (oldest is 6), I'm still essentially brand new to homeschooling, and most of the time I don't feel like I have a clue when it comes to being a Mom.  Or a wife.  Or a daughter, aunt, neighbor, friend.

On the other hand, I'm not a newlywed (we just celebrated our 14th anniversary), we've lived lots of different places, I've worked full-time outside the home and as a full-time homemaker plus combinations in-between, and we've dealt with life together for a while now - the good, the bad, and the ugly.  I can now cook more than just Hamburger Helper and Hungry Jack Casserole.

So does this make me one of the "older women" or one of the "younger women" in the passage above?

I think our Sunday school class is to blame (or should take the credit) for my confusion.  I am learning so much from our teachers. (Kathy, Debbie, and Susan, I would never call you "older women," but you are certainly training me in all the ways mentioned in that Scripture.)  At the same time, though, many fellow classmates are significantly younger than me - as in, 80s music is to them what the Beach Boys are to me.  I nearly fell out of my chair when I realized that at least one of them was born in 1990.  1990!?!

Instead of getting all depressed about this, eating too much, and shopping for wrinkle cream, I'm going to try to embrace it.  No promises, but I'm considering a (somewhat) regular blog section related to topics that are either (a) things I so wish someone had bothered to tell me years ago, or (b) things I so wish someone would explain to me now.  I think I'll call it Titus 2.5 (the halfway point of Titus 2).

So without further ado, here's the first installment (and no, I don't intend for all of this to be about homemaking, but that's what's on my mind tonight):

My burning question: How can I get my hardwood floors to shine?  I have tried various products.  I have tried using my Shark Steam Mop (which, by the way, I LOVE for my tile floors).  Some people say diluted vinegar, others say avoid all liquids at all costs.  For one glorious month, I had professionals come to clean my house bi-weekly.  Whatever they did worked wonders, but in spite of my pleading in a note left for them, I still don't know what they did.  Help!!

My burning answer: I used to avoid all recipes that included cooked chicken as one of the ingredients.  I didn't want to have to completely cook one thing before I could even start cooking our actual meal.  As a result, most of our meals involved ground beef or ground turkey except when I broke down and bought the canned, cooked chicken.  Enter my new very best friend: my crockpot.  Now when I need a couple of uncooked chicken breasts for a meal, I buy the big package of chicken, put the rest into the crockpot with a bit of water, and let it cook on low all day (or all night).  Then I just shred it up, put it into lots of zip-loc bags, and toss them in the freezer so I'm all ready to go when it's time to make something like Chicken Spaghetti.  Why, oh why, did I not know this for the first 12 years of our marriage??

So, dear readers (if there's anyone still out there!), do you think of yourself as an "older woman" or a "younger woman?"  Any burning questions to ask?  Any burning answers to share?



 This post is linked up to one or more of the following blog parties.  Check them out! Monday: Menu Plan Monday on I'm an Organizing Junkie Wednesday: Works for Me Wednesday at We are THAT Family Friday: 5 Minute Friday at The Gypsy Mama, Company Girl Coffee at Home Sanctuary, Pieces of Amy Other days: A Wise Woman Builds Her Home

So Excited!!

When I first started seriously considering homeschooling, my sister (already a homeschooling veteran of a few years) gave me a copy of The Old Schoolhouse magazine.  If you've been a part of the homeschooling world for any length of time, you've probably heard of it.  It's always full of helpful and interesting articles from the "movers and shakers" of the homeschool movement.

This past January, the magazine switched from 4 issues per year (print and digital) to 12 digital-only issues per year.  An e-mail was sent out asking for writing proposals on a variety of topics to be covered during 2012.  I decided to give it a shot and was shocked when they accepted my proposal!

Now, I'm certainly not a "mover and shaker", especially in the homeschool world.  In fact, I'm still brand new.  But one of the topics to be covered in the magazine was online learning, and I do know a bit about that.

Today, the May 2012 issue was released.  See if you recognize anyone on page 98.  ;-)

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, May 2012

It is such an honor to be included in this publication.  Oh, how I hope they'll let me do it again sometime!



This post may be linked up to one or more of the following blog parties.  Check them out! Monday: Menu Plan Monday on I'm an Organizing Junkie Wednesday: Works for Me Wednesday at We are THAT Family Friday: 5 Minute Friday at The Gypsy Mama, Company Girl Coffee at Home Sanctuary, Pieces of Amy Other days: A Wise Woman Builds Her Home

Homeschooling: Lessons from the First Year

Have I mentioned that I homeschool?  Funny, I talk about it all the time on Facebook, but I haven't mentioned it much on this blog.  Hmm.

Hi, my name is Laura, and I'm a homeschool Mom.

As the title indicates, I'm still a "newbie."  Since we are (for the time being) doing school year-round and I started last June, we're about to wrap up our first full year.  Being still so new at this, I'm hardly an expert on anything ... except starting.  I guess I'm now an expert on getting started and surviving the first year.

 Here are some things I've learned so far:

1.  There are so many choices!

It's overwhelming, really.  First, I felt pressured (inward, not outward) to define my style: traditional, Charlotte Mason, unit study, Montessori, eclectic, unschooling, and so on.  Then for each style, for each subject, there are so many curriculum choices.  Yes, this is a good problem to have, but for a chronic undecider like me, it can be a struggle.  (This almost certainly puts me in the "eclectic" camp.)

Thankfully, so much can be gleaned from the Internet from the comfort of home.  I found some wonderful bloggers with equally wonderful materials that got me off to a good start.  I especially liked when they would post what curriculum they were using because it opened my eyes to some materials I didn't know existed.

2.  I'm a lot less structured than I thought I'd be - and it's OK.

When we first started, I had elaborate lesson plans worked out.  I had activities my children and I would all do together, some things just for Nathan, and some things just for Megan, with a careful plan for how to alternate spending individual instruction time with each child.

That lasted a couple of weeks.

First, I figured out pretty quickly that Megan just wasn't ready for much structured learning.  Then, I realized that Nathan was ready for more advanced topics than I had originally prepared.  So we adapted.  We're all much more relaxed, and it's better.

3.  I'm more comfortable one-on-one with each child than when they are together.

We still do some things all together, but most of Nathan's work is done with just me, and I plan to do the same with Megan this coming year.  This is kind of surprising to me because, as a college math teacher in the classroom, I'm much more comfortable lecturing in front of the class than tutoring an individual student.

4.  Everyone has an opinion!

When you tell someone that you're a homeschooler, people automatically make assumptions.  (I think most people immediately picture Michelle Duggar.  I admire many things about her, but she and I are quite different.)  Relatives are the ones most likely to express opinions.  Fellow homeschoolers, ironically, are the least likely to express them.

Nevertheless, here are my opinions on my least favorite parts of homeschooling:

• The rest of the day.  The actual time spent "doing school" is the easiest part of my day.  But not only am I the teacher, I'm also the lunchroom lady, janitor, hall monitor, school nurse, secretary, and bus driver.  (However, I get to date the principal, so that's a nice perk.  ;) )
• Trying to balance homemaking, homeschooling, and working from home.
• I hate crafts.  There - I said it.

Here's what I love about it:

• Getting to weave the Lord and the Bible into everything we do.
• Watching my children learn.
• Seeing my children continue the strong bond they have with each other.
• Hearing my children pray for the nations of the world.  (I LOVE that one of Nathan's first questions when we learn a new country is, "Do the people there know about Jesus?  Do they have the freedom to go to church?")
• Knowing my children on a new level.  For Nathan in particular, I have a much greater understanding for how he learns, how he responds to challenges, and the topics that excite him.  I'm looking forward to knowing these same things about Megan.

It has been a challenging first year, but I'm so glad we made this choice.

Do you homeschool?  If so, what have you learned this past year?



This post may be linked up to one or more of the following blog parties.  Check them out! Monday: Menu Plan Monday on I'm an Organizing Junkie Wednesday: Works for Me Wednesday at We are THAT Family Friday: 5 Minute Friday at The Gypsy Mama, Company Girl Coffee at Home Sanctuary, Pieces of Amy Other days: A Wise Woman Builds Her Home