"Only the Good Fridays"

I have been terrible about posting on Fridays about the good I see in my world. Basically because as I've said before my world is in our home 24/7.

1. I do see the sweet bus driver, Carla, that takes Ezie and Mallory to and from school every day. She is always so sweet to them and waves to Jace every time she stops.
2. I see, Kathy, Jace's speech therapist who is so much more than a speech therapist to me. Kathy has become a much needed friend to me who always takes the time to do "girl talk" after Jace's sessions.
3. I see my wonderful kids who love each other even though they don't always like to admit to it and bring a smile to my face (most of the time!).
4. I see Earl who works so hard for us and always puts his family first.
5. I see my beautiful daughter, Alexis, who is so loving towards her siblings and who strives to keep all of her brothers and her sister together. Lexie always calls or visits the older kids and tries to spend time with the younger ones.
6. I have my blogger friends who leave me such sweet comments and a few that are wonderful confidents.
7. I have my sister, Cathy, who always keeps in touch with me and started a family blog for all of my siblings and parents to keep in touch with each other.

Even though I am not exposed to the outside world to much right now, I have a wonderful family and friends that I am extremely thank for.

"Only the Good Friday"

I thought that writing something every Friday about the goodness in my community would be an easy thing to do, but I have to admit I'm stumped. Last Friday I was embarrassed to say that I couldn't really think of anything and here I sit again not knowing what to write about.

It's not that there aren't good people in my community, but I am in my house with the kids 24/7 and don't see much of the outside world. I usually only leave the house twice a month for a quick trip to Wal-Mart to get craft supplies. I don't have a car and Earl works two jobs so he can't take me anywhere very often. Anyway, I am sheltered not only from the bad, but from the good in the outside world. So I decided to write about what good I see from the only people I am exposed to in my little world.

Earl would give anyone the shirt off his back. This week he was supportive to a co-worker who's spouse died. Earl shared his lunch with a guy at work that didn't have time to go out and get a lunch. Last night after working all day and having to walk to work, Earl went to the grocery store and then came home and made his famous chicken soup for my oldest daughter, Lexi, who wasn't feeling good. Earl makes all of my trips to the post office for me and is supportive of the time I spend on swaps and not housework. He spends quality time with me and the kids in the couple hours he's home every day.

Then there are Ezie, Mallory and Jace. Ezie is so helpful with Jace. He will take him outside to play, take him to the bathroom, gets drinks and snacks for Jace when he wants them, and constantly keeps Jace occupied.

Mallory has a heart of gold. She is always thinking of nice things we should do for other people. Mallory is very helpful in the kitchen and will jump right in to help me unload the dishwasher and cook.

Jace is a good little guy too. He makes us all laugh and very seldom gives me any problems. Jace plays with Anthony during the day and loves to be my helper.

I guess sometimes we don't have to go very far to see goodness. I am surrounded with goodness in my house and am so thankful for my wonderful family.

Girl Scout Cookies......a Yummy Tradition

My grand daughter, Sabrina, has been our cookie seller for the last several years now. Lexie used to be a Girl Scout and there has never been a troop opened for Mallory to join. (We'll try again this year!) Sabrina and her mom, Nikki, delivered our cookies yesterday. Yum, Yum, Yum!

I can remember being a Brownie and pulling the wagon behind me full of cases of cookies and going door to door trying to sell them. Who else remembers when you had to order the cookies in advance and then sell them? I'm sure my mom does! How many boxes did our poor parents ending up buying? We had to work to sell those cookies back then. What great memories though!

I think everyone has one particular kind of Girl Scout cookies that is there favorite. Mints were always my favorite growing up, but now I've switched to. MMMMmmmm! They're like little candy bars with there coconut, carmel and cookie goodness. Mallory loves thin mints and most of the boys in our family like the Do-Si-Dos.

What is your favorite kind of Girl Scout cookie?

"Only the Good Friday"

Today for the sharing of goodness I would like to mention a teacher, Gregg Weinlein, who is one of my daughter, Lexie's, teachers. Mr. Weinlein is the director of, and teaches English in Columbia's Alternative Program (CAP) at Columbia High School in East Greenbush. Mr. Weinlein was awarded our local News Channel 13's (WNYT) "Top Teacher" this week.

The CAP program is designed to help "at risk" students to stay in school and get their High School diploma. Lexie was placed in the CAP program in her second year of the 9th grade and she has made some amazing changes! When you are in the CAP program you basically have the same teachers and classmates all through high school. I feel there is consistency, a level of trust, and a comfort zone in doing this. The students and teachers all know each other and know what to expect out of each other. Lexi says some of the other teachers in the school look down on the "CAP Kids" thinking they are trying to get away with stuff and get special treatment. It is not special treatment that these kids are getting, but they are getting their education in the way that they are able to learn. Unfortunately, not all teachers are like Mr. Weinlein and realize that not all kids learn in the same way, that there are alternative methods to teaching and to learning.

Mr. Weinlein has gone beyond being a teacher though to Lexie, as well as her boyfriend Jake. Jake graduated almost 2 years ago from the same CAP program. Mr. Weinlein has brought Lexi clothes for her son Anthony and even attended his birthday party last year. His kids know who Lexie and Jake are too. He has become a friend as well as a teacher to both of them. They both him and his opinions. I really thank Mr. Weinlein for working with not only Lexie, but all of his students who otherwise would have fallen through the cracks and probably dropped out.

Who's Learning More Here? Me or the Kids?

We started unschooling the kids 3 weeks ago and honestly I have kind of felt like I haven't done anything to teach them about much of anything. The whole unschooling thing is hard for all of us to completely grasp. We haven't had a day where we just sat down and did any studying or book work. I was feeling like I was letting the kids down. Over the weekend I bought some multiplication flashcards for Ezie and Mallory and some ABC flashcards for Jace. The kids and I decided last night that we would have a reading time everyday because although I enjoy reading I NEVER do it. Ezie avoids reading at all costs and Mallory reads pretty much everyday. So Mallory was really excited about the multiplication flash cards because she said she is TERRIBLE at math. She always got a "B" in math in school......terrible isn't it! Jace was very excited to practice his letters and he only forgot 4-5 of his abc's. Then this afternoon we sat down and took turns reading outloud the first chapter of the book "Hollywood Hogan", obviously Ezie picked the book out this week.

So, who learned more over the last few days?

1. I learned that math comes to Ezie so easy and not so easily to Mallory.
2. I learned that Ezie, although very quiet, is a very good reader.
3. I learned that Mallory and Ezie work together to figure out the words that they don't know.
4. I learned that Jace loves to do everything that Ezie and Mallory do.
5. I learned that the kids love for me to spend time with them.
6. I learned that they don't really like to be on the computer unless there with a me or each other.
7. I learned that they are learning everyday even without me sitting down and being "a teacher" to them.
8. I also learned that Hulk Hogan, as confident an obnoxious as he seems, really doubts himself sometimes. Who new?

We have done crafts, watched movies and discussed them, talked about racism and prejudice, talked about history, cuddled a lot more, cooked together, worked together on taking care of Jace and Anthony, started each of the kids a Facebook page, done some cleaning and organizing, and just spent some quality time together.

Tonight I was reading a new blog/site that I discovered a couple of weeks ago called the Insightful Nana. Kathy Griffiths has all kinds of tips and advice on family, cooking, home and garden, and fun things. Today she reminded her readers of the movie Dead Poet's Society with Robin Williams playing the role of an English teacher, John Keating.


I saw part of this movie several years ago and always liked it, but never remembered how much I liked it. Kathy reminded us of how Keatings got on top of his desk and encouraged his students to "Look at the World Differently". By standing on his desk he did see the world from a different view. I think that unschooling is making me look at my own kids from a different view and that they are beginning to look at learning from a different view.




Now if I haven't lost you, Kathy, the Insightful Nana, has a video on her site called If the World had a 100 People In It by John Chow. It is a wonderful little video that shows a different view of the world. It is worth watching!

The Insightful Nana is also encouraging that starting on Friday bloggers tell about people who are making a difference in their families, neighborhoods and communities. She is calling this "Only the Good Friday". It is a way to spread the Goodness and pass it on. If you would like to join in be sure and go to Kathy's site and add your name to her list by leaving a comment. My sister Cathy does something similiar to this every week on her blog. Cathy writes down the things in her life that are special to her that we normally take for granted. Cathy also has some wonderful insight, like Kathy Griffiths on life in general. Sometimes I forget what a wonderful and super duper smart sister I have!