Monday Memory: Three Times

Three times I've been blessed with giving birth. One baby we lost in early pregnancy. I'm not really a mom to tell birth stories. They were all extremely painful, but the results were phenomenal. But for just today, I'll relive those long, hard hours…

Cincinnati: Jesse was born in 11 hours from water-breaking to birth, after 2.5 painful hours of pushing. I had an epidural, which I despised. I was starving through the whole thing. He was 8 lbs. 11 oz., and I was dumbfounded. How could I have such a big baby?


Ames, Iowa: Laurel's birth was the most pleasant, although it was a long day. I had a midwife for her, and she let me eat graham crackers and other yummy things. Back in Iowa we had this drug called an ITN (intrathecal narcotic), which was awesome. So much better than an epidural. I knew Laurel was a girl, even before I had the ultrasound that confirmed my intuition, but I was flabbergasted when she came out 9 lbs. 9 oz. What is up with these big babies? (No, I didn't have gestational diabetes.)

Maryville, TN: Duncan was due on Christmas Day, but of course no one ever has a baby on her due date. Except of course I did. The nurses were traumatized that I didn't want an epidural (at that time, only one anesthesiologist at the hospital could do my beloved ITN, and it wasn't likely that I could get him on call), but Duncan's birth was fairly quick and not really terrible hideous. And just when I thought they couldn't get any bigger: 10 lbs. I have no idea. Duncan aspirated meconium in utero and he had to be whisked off to the NICU at a different hospital right away. His story is here. I am so thankful for his life.

Those are my babies. I miss their sweet-smelling skin and their tiny hands. But I love who they are now, and I am so very blessed to be their mama.

Your turn. Do you have a Monday Memory to share? Post it on your blog and sign Mr. Linky below with a direct link to that post. It's okay if you don't post on Monday and if you don't have photos; I like to read stories any day of the week! So dig down deep into your memories and get started!

Remember Your Memory

This is an official reminder that tomorrow is Monday Memory day. I expect at least double the number of participants from last week, so that would be 2!

Need some ideas? What about your first Mothers' Day? Or a memory of your own mother? What about the day you found out you were expecting? Another possibility is always to look at your blog entry on tomorrow's date from last year or two years ago, or scout through some old photos.

I'll be waiting…

I'm Their Mom

“Motherhood is the keystone of the arch of matrimonial happiness.”
~Thomas Jefferson

Happy Mothers' Day!

My Mother

I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life.
~Abraham Lincoln

With her brothers Max and Henry, about 1930


With Max, WWII


Senior picture, 1944


With James, on the way to California before my Dad went to Korea, 1951


With James and baby John, 1953

With James, John, and baby Peter, 1957

Nine years later, with the addition of Stephen and me, 1966


31 years later at Mom and Dad's 50th wedding anniverary, with the addition of 8 grandchildren (1 yet to come), 1998

My mother and me, last summer

Crossing Over

Last night, my little girl crossed over from Explorer (4th-6th grades) to Pioneer (7th and 8th grades) at our American Heritage Girls ceremony. I don't have any pictures because that's one of the downfalls of being an emcee: you can't exactly whip out the camera in the middle of a solemn ceremony. Also, our sashes didn't come with the rest of our badge order, so our 9 new Pioneers didn't get to have their sashes presented to them. But still, it was a milestone for these girls, and I'm so proud of my daughter.

I do have photos from our very first awards ceremony in 2003, when all of our girls were given their Joining Awards and membership pins.

She's the third one from the left in this group of first-grade girls. Four of this first group of girls crossed over last night.

And here she is last year on the night of our ceremony. She's grown several inches since then. In the rush of things yesterday, I didn't even have the foresight to take a few photos of her before she traded in her blue vest.

Between Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, and American Heritage Girls, our weeks can be crazy twice each month. And with Randy's being Cubmaster and my being co-coordinator of our AHG troop, some weeks our heads our positively spinning. We wonder what possessed us to schedule both the Cub Scout end-of-the-year picnic and crossing over during the same week as the AHG spring awards ceremony, and both topped off with the Boy Scout camporee over the weekend. What were we thinking?

But Scouting is one of the finer things in life for our family. We have put so much energy and time into the programs because we clearly see the fantastic benefits and blessings that have come about as a result of our participation.

But I'm happy for just a little break.

(Check out more finer things in life at Amy's Finer Things Friday.)

Wednesday Miscellany

* I've lost track of how many days of rain we've had lately. Do people who live in monsoon regions have a lot of nervous breakdowns? I'm starting to feel moldy.


* We're finally out of the Civil War and have backtracked to cover the westward expansion. We've been reading A Pioneer Sampler this week. We absolutely love this book! The kids made these "tin art" pictures yesterday while I was reading to them. The book is a perfect blend of stories, facts, and projects. (Don't be deceived by what appears to be a sunny day. That was but a 5-minute break in the clouds.)

* Speaking of 5-minute breaks, we were tremendously blessed last night to have a respite from the rain for the annual Cub Scout end-of-the-year picnic.


There were three-legged races, sack races (that's Duncan on the far right), and a tug-of-war, plus awards and a crossing-over ceremony. Dr. H. is feeling much relieved today. Tomorrow evening is our American Heritage Girls end-of-the-year awards ceremony, so we are both going to be happy campers on Friday!
Aren't these parents good sports? They did the sack race, too. Hey, those are three AHG leaders on the left! I'm glad they didn't hurt themselves! (I'm allergic to burlap, in case you were wondering.)

* This week's Carnival of Homeschooling is up at the Atlanta Homeschooling Examiner. I actually remembered to submit something this time. I'm looking forward to having some time to peruse the rest of the entries.

* Mothers' Day is coming up very soon. Fortunately, I remembered just in time to go to Winkflash to send Winky Personal to my mom and Dr. H's mom. These are the most awesome cards. All you have to do is upload a photo (or more for a collage), fill in the text (I found a couple of good "mother" quotes), and pay. They actually send the card directly in the mail to the recipient! All that (including postage) for $2.39; it's way cheaper than buying a card at Target.

* My Mothers' Day requests are simple: I want the carpet cleaned and the cabinet under the kitchen sink cleaned out.

What's on your Mothers' Day lists?

Asheville

Asheville, North Carolina is a fun city nestled in the mountains. It reminds me a lot of Ithaca, New York, where two of my brothers live. It's probably the crunchiest town in the Southeast, but for New Englanders and West Coasters, it may seem quite normal.

It is a great place to go for a girls' weekend getaway. In fact, Self magazine named it the "happiest city for women." So here we are, being happy.

From Asheville 5/4/09 5:56 PM

Happy feet

From Asheville 5/4/09 5:56 PM

Happy fire hydrant

From Asheville 5/4/09 5:56 PM

Happy sculpture

From Asheville 5/4/09 5:56 PM

Happy wigs

From Asheville 5/4/09 5:56 PM

More happy wigs

From Asheville 5/4/09 5:56 PM

Happy friends after a good meal

Next year, we're thinking Chicago.

Monday Memory: Asheville

When I was in college in Upper East Tennessee, we used to take a day trip every now and then to Asheville, North Carolina. The drive there was beautiful back then; I don't think I'd have the heart for it now that the mountains have been scarred and left bleeding red soil. But back then a drive with friends in a big gas guzzler through the Appalachians was a treat. The photo above was taken soon after I graduate from college. Dr. H. (in the bandana) and I had not yet ended our long and final break-up, but we still hung out. [That's Tracy on the far right in the photo above; her sister Lauren and her baby Chelsea (who's now in her early 20s) are in the middle.] Back then we were all always broke, but we had enough to buy gas, eat cheaply at our favorite Chinese restaurant, and maybe even find a few treasures at the thrift shops. It was all about being together and having an adventure. Plus, Asheville is just so interesting. Like the bumper sticker says, "Asheville— where normal is weird."

This past weekend my college girlfriends and I met in Asheville for Tracy's 40th birthday celebration. The birthday girl is on the left, Angie's in the middle, and Suzie's on the right.

It's interesting to walk on streets that hold such strong memories. I found myself searching for familiar landmarks. Where was fountain where we took our picture? Where are all the thrift stores? Asheville 20 years later caters to wealthy tourists, and the thrift stores have been replaced by "vintage" clothing for the wealthy tourists, craft stores, galleries, and all kinds of restaurants. Perhaps it was like that before, but we poor college students sought out only those places that had $2 suit jackets and old pins. Our old favorite bookstore, Malaprops, is still there, and the musicians are still busking on every block.

I should probably make some kind of Thomas Wolfe reference here, as he is Asheville's native son. Something about "you can't go home again," perhaps. But I'm okay with those long-ago days being memories, and I'm not terribly wistful for the Asheville I remember. Creating new memories is awesome, too.

Do you have a Monday Memory you'd like to share? Post it on your blog and sign Mr. Linky below with a direct link to that post. It's okay if you don't post on Monday and if you don't have photos; I like to read stories any day of the week! So dig down deep into your memories and get started!

High School Resources

Last night our support group had what is probably our most requested roundtable: homeschooling through high school. People come in petrified, and most leave feeling better. The impact of being able to voice concerns and receive encouragement and feedback is amazing.

I put together a resource list as a hand-out and thought I'd share it here. I'd love to have more links if anyone has favorite high-school sites.

High School Information

Websites with Links to Articles
• The HomeScholar: Dozens of articles to help parents homeschool through high school:
• HSLDA: Lots of great information (for college bound, military, and vocational tracks) on homeschooling through high school, including sample 4-year plans.
• Tips for getting into college
• ACT
• Tons of information at College Board (home of the SAT):


Dual Enrollment at Pellissippi State: (This is specifically for those in our local area, but most community colleges have similar programs.) Here is recent article about Knoxville homeschooler who received her high school diploma and associate’s degree in the same year.

Yahoogroups
• Homeschool2College
• Homeschooling High Schoolers
• HSing High School:
• On2College (Knoxville area):


Books
• Homeschooling High School by Jeanne Gowen Dennis (ISBN 1932096116) Rev. 2004
• Homeschoolers’ College Admissions Handbook by Cafi Cohen (ISBN 0761527540) 2000
• Homeschooling the Teen Years by Cafi Cohen (ISBN 0761520937) 2000
• College-Prep Homeschooling: Your Complete Guide to Homeschooling Through High School by David P Byers (ISBN 1600651003) 2008
• High School @ Home: You Can Do It! by Diana Johnson (ISBN 0805445455) 2007

Ebook
Homeschooling the High Schooler

Have some more resources? Leave me a comment and I'll add them!

A Jumbled Day

This is one of those days that I have so many odds and ends of things to do that I can't seem to even capture them all to think about my day coherently. To make things even more challenging, I'm working on a 3-day nagging headache. It left me for a few hours last night, but this morning it's back again with a vengeance. Urgh.

There's school to do, of course. Except that the thought of reading aloud to the kids or even directing them makes me feel woozy. Today's pay day, so there's the budget to make out. We need groceries, or supper for tonight at the very least. Flute lessons, and a meeting to prepare for our American Heritage Girls ceremony next week. As I was going through my day this morning before I got out of bed, I pictured a nice quiet evening at home. Then I remembered that we have a roundtable discussion (homeschooling through high school) this evening for our support group. I have to be there to open up the building and get the discussion rolling. And sometime today I have to finish the hand-outs that I started yesterday.

And tomorrow afternoon I'm leaving the weekend. I'm going to Asheville with some college girlfriends to celebrate one's 40th birthday. So there's a gift to buy and clothes to pack. Part of me hates to be away this weekend, as we have dear friends in a crisis situation here at home. But we've been planning this for several weeks, and canceling is not an option.

But there's hot coffee, birds singing, a cool breeze, and the morning sunshine filtering through the trees. My two little sweeties just awoke and came in to kiss me before settling in for their morning dose of cartoons. If I could just give myself a lobotomy to remove this headache, I'd could be a conquerer. Scalpel, anyone?