Moving On.....

This decision has been over a year in the making but I think that it is finally time.  I have decided to stop writing my two different blogs and plan to move over to my Magic School House Blog permanently.  This not been an easy decision (a bit teary really), Raising Z has been a part of me since 2008!  I have published over 850 posts in this space and it is really hard to let that go.  But there is a lot on my plate right now and I am unable to continue to keep up with both blogs.  With both kids now school aged, I feel like Magic School House is the right blog for the next season of life.

Raising Z began with a New Years resolution.  I told Scott that I wanted to journal about my time at home with Z (cheap therapy) and he suggested I blog.  I had no idea what a blog was in January 2008 when I signed on with Blogger.  This blog was a great outlet for me and so much has happened since its inception.  I have so enjoyed my time in this space and I have "met" some great online friends because of it.  It will always hold a special place in my heart but I feel it is time to move on.

Thanks to all of you who have hung out in this space over the years.  I'd love for you to come with me if you'd like....I will be hanging out at my Magic School House Blog (Click Here).  There is a subscribe tab on the top of the blog so you don't have to remember the blog address.  If you subscribe the blog posts will be sent to your email box, you don't even have to click through to read my posts.

Thanks again everybody, I will be posting the same posts on both blogs for awhile to help make an easier transition and will not be taking RaisingZ down for awhile......you never know I might just come back.

Making Memories....

We've been busy with birthday parties, our new homeschool co-op, Z's nature class, our mini vacation trip to the lake, a family birthday party for Z and my niece and Scott ran a 5K while I volunteered.  Here are some highlights...

A Pokemon Party in the Park

homeschool co-op-tracking class

Birthday Party Number 2--Batman Party at a Bouncy House 

Homeschool Nature Class

90 degree September Day

Trip to the Loon Center with Neene

Birthday Party Time

My Big Job at the Race

A fun race for a GREAT cause!

Perks of Homeschooling

This week New England was blessed with some unseasonably warm weather.  Wednesday's temperatures were in the 90's and when I saw the forecast there was only one place I wanted to be....the Lake!  I postponed all of our plans for the week and we headed to the lake Wednesday after Z's nature class.  Z and I couldn't wait to jump in the lake and have that last warm day of summer.

It was a much needed break after a rocky Tuesday of homeschooling.  We enjoyed the sun, swimming, jumping off the raft and even went for a a kayak trip with Chi Chi.  This blessing of a day was just what we needed to recharge and have fun together.  Tomorrow we will "hit the books" again but today was a gift, a gift that I know we will both remember forever!

When at the lake....

This post was a group effort.  I want to thank my sisters Kristen and Laura, my mom and the youngest kids for their contributions.

When at the lake....it is perfectly acceptable, and expected, to forget what day of the week it is.

When at the lake....the kids know that when mommy has her wine glass it must be 5pm, which means time for their daily show.

When at the lake...going to the country store for a pickle and some candy can pass for "grocery shopping". 

When at the lake...."where I build fairy houses, ride on Uncle Marc's boat and make friends....mom what's their names?"

When at the lake...when someone asks you what time it is, you look up at the sun and guess.

When at the lake.....getting dressed for the day means putting on clothes that you just might wear to bed that night.

When at the lake.....the only thing on the to-do list is swim and maybe make meals for the kids.

When at the lake....."where I go fishing with my dad and jump into water"

When at the lake...if someone says they are going to wash up, that means they are going to go for a swim. (ahem)

When at the lake...going for morning coffee means walking to the next cottage that actually has coffee.  

When at the lake....where it is perfectly suitable for a grown adult to act 16 again, or age 5 in the case of our crazy Old School Memory Games.

When at the lake...going out for breakfast means checking out which of the neighbors is making pancakes that morning.  

When at the lake...where bed head or wearing a hat is the fashionable way to go.

Back to Reality...Oh the Laundry!

Last night we got home from our wonderful time at the lake.  25 days of relaxing, swimming, playing, reading and spending time with daddy on weekends.  There were moments of stress, sadness and frustration but overall it was an amazing time spent with family and friends in a beautiful place.

Today is a day of laundry (oh so much laundry), organizing, catch up, Open House at Lil'C's school and prepping for Homeschooling which begins tomorrow.  So much to do before our very busy day tomorrow.  I am working on a post about our time at the lake and hope to get it out by the end of the week.  We will have to see, I also have a book club book to read!

I hope all your kiddos are enjoying school and the transition from vacation to school was smooth. Time to head back to folding laundry :)

Oh What Fun Camp Mama Was!!

All summer over on my other blog, Magic School House, I have been documenting our Camp Mama experience.  We had 8 themes over 9 weeks and we had so much fun learning so many things.  I tried to organize our summer adventures around the summer themes and for the most part they aligned nicely.  We did go to the Ocean during Sports week and to a baseball game during Ocean Week but that was okay. This was such a fun way to spend the summer and we are already chatting about next years themes!

Here are a few of the collages from our Camp Mama weeks.  To check out the rest, head over to the Magic School House blog.

Making Memories...The Ecotarium

We had a wonderful day trip to the Ecotarium with our good friends.  It is a bit of a drive to get there but so worth the time.  The kids had so much fun and in 4 hours we only got to explore half of the complex.  The highlights were the train ride, the cool sound exhibit outside, the Wind Tunnel of the Mount Washington Exhibit, the Alice and Wonderland exhibit and the see through floor that looks down two stories.

Here are some photos from our day!

Kombucha, Yes Please!!!

Have you jumped on the Kombucha bandwagon yet??  I was hesitant to do it for about 2 years...it scared me!  Then I bought a $4 bottle at our local health food store and was hooked.  At $4 a bottle I couldn't justify my addiction so I finally bought a scoby (the bacteria culture, looks like a jelly disc) from Cultures of Health and I am now making it at home.

It took Scott awhile to jump on the wagon with me but now he can't get enough!  It costs very little when you brew it at home and it really isn't that complicated.  Once a week you have to spend 15 minutes (if that) to bottle your week old kombucha and brew a new batch but that is it!  It is filled with loads of pro-biotics and is so good for you.  There was an article going around awhile back that kombucha contains flouride and so it isn't all that great for you.  But after more research I found that if you steep the tea minimally, use organic tea and water without flouride...the flouride content should be minimal.

So if you are intrigued by the science experiment brewing in my family room (I know my bookclub was), check out this video to learn more.  And come join me on this tasty, fizzy, healthy bandwagon...you will be glad you did!

Making Memories....

In the beginning of summer I was blessed with a girls getaway with my dear friend Rose.  She has a beautiful cabin up in the mountains of NH and it was such a treat to spend time with her.  Her cabin is so lovely and quiet :)  It was so nice to have two days to relax and unwind.  We hiked to a beautiful waterfall, checked out the local farmers market and shops, sipped wine on the porch while the rain fell, chatted for hours and visited the former spot of the Old Man of the Mountain.  It was such a nice weekend and I am so grateful to her for inviting me to getaway with her.  Here are some more pictures of our weekend.

The old site of the Old Man of the Mountain

One of the turnbuckles that use to hold him up there

Rose checking out the site

My cozy bed!!

Making My Own Sunscreen

This winter I got it in my head that a fun summer project would be to make our own sunscreen.  The sunscreen we use is pretty pricey so this seemed like a fun and cost effective project. I ordered the materials from Made-On in the winter and also bought Made-On's copy of My Buttered Life Summer Edition which contained the recipe.  And there everything sat, waiting for the summer to start.

Well the summer started with a bang and "Make Sunscreen" continued to appear on my to-do list week after week and was never crossed off.  Lil'C kept asking, "We make sunscreen today Mama?"  And time after time the answer would be "Not Today".  Finally before we left for Maine we were running low on our sunscreen and I decided I had waited long enough.  Lil'C and I got out the ingredients, the recipe and went to work.  It ended up being really easy and we had a lot of fun mixing everything together.

So how does it work??  It works great, probably like an SPF 30.  It is a bit thick so it does take some time to rub it all in but once you do you can't see it.  It is also not waterproof, so it is important to reapply (but you should reapply regular sunscreen after the water too).  I love that I know what every single ingredient is and that it is cheaper than our California Baby sunscreen.  Definitely something that I will continue to make in the future.

Making Memories

A fun day was had by the kids at the local water park.  I had bought a living social deal during the winter and had to use it by September 1st.  My sister and I had tried to go multiple times but due to one thing or another (usually weather) it didn't happen.  We finally got to go and the kids had a really great time.  It is a small park and only had two working slides.  The lines were insane for those slides with numerous camp groups and with teens vying for the other activities, it was hard for our kids to find a space to be.  Despite all of this, they enjoyed the day and my sister and I agreed that next time we are hitting up one of the bigger parks.  In the meantime we will go to the local splash pad which is FREE!

Here are some more photos :)

Time to Shout it From the Roof Tops......

Well folks it is time to finally announce it to the world....we are homeschooling Z next year!!!!!!!  I am not sure why I have not talked about this fact over here on this blog before now but I felt it was time for everyone in our lives to know of our decision.  This decision did not come easy, it was a two year process that involved a lot of research, reading, discussion and soul searching.  But in March once we made the decision, we felt so good about it!

Z is soooooo excited to homeschool.  I actually don't think we will call it homeschool because I have a feeling that we will not be home very much at all :)  Between Nature Class, Space Class, Soccer, Tennis lessons, Field Trips and other fun learning experiences, we will not be home much.  We plan to make a "Map of the Year" just like I use to do when I taught school and like Martin and Sylvia do in Sparkle Stories.  This "Map of the Year" will map out all of the learning that all 4 of us in the family want to do this year and I am so excite for this exercise.  Z has already told me he wants to study Geography and Dinosaurs and is interested in more lego design.  The possibilities are endless with the learning this year and I am so excited to start this new journey.

To answer that question that I have already faced many times and will face over and over in the coming years,"Why?"  Well the answer is that the public school at this time is not the right fit for our son or our family.  It does not mean that he will be home forever, we'd like to take it year by year and plan for him to attend public high school.  We do want to travel and explore all of the great learning opportunities in our own back yard (Boston is only 35 minutes away) and this lifestyle will allow all that.  The other question that I know you are asking, "How will he be socialized?"  Don't you worry about this!  With all of the classes, playdates and interactions this boy is going to have with other children, there is no need to worry about his "socialization".  In fact he is a bit of an introvert and so I am going to have to make sure he has that precious time to be on his own.

So that is our story, I hope that you will support us on our journey.  Lil'C will be starting her first year of Montessori but will be joining us here and there for learning time. I look forward to sharing with you how it is going in the coming months!!  We are sooooooo excited!!!!!

Happy Birthday Scott!!!

Happy Birthday Honey!  You have finally caught up with me, it only took you 22 days. Now we are both 36 and moving down that road to 40 together. We better get moving on finishing up our 40 things before we turn 40 list!  We love you and hope you enjoy that surf board.

And Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!!  We love you very much.