Hooked on Hooking

When I started this blog, I envisioned many, many posts about my knitting as well as my family, but it turns out I suck at the whole picture thing. SO many steps.  Take pictures...upload pictures...choose pictures...post pictures.  That's a lot of wasted knitting time dudes, so I don't make it much of a priority. Alas, I finally did snap some pictures and I figured y'all would think I'm lying about this knitting thing if I didn't provide some proof every now and then.  And well, most of this isn't even knitting, it's crochet...

And this makes me happy.

Because?

I've only been able to crochet for about a year.  It eluded me.  It's very, very different from knitting.  When you are knitting something, all your stitches are already there.  You cast on and just work what's on the needle.  With crochet, there are more decisions, and in my opinion is a bit more mathematical than knitting is, as far as getting the shape you want when you are done with the project.  I just couldn't "see" it the way I did knitting.  I found a really indepth picture tutorial for a granny square and just followed it step by step.  I finally figured it out.  I still couldn't read patterns at that point, but I could crochet.

But now?  Now that I understand by DOING an hdc in every st, sl the last.....I GET it.  I'm so proud.  I love figuring out new things!

On to the picture parade.

I already shared this on Facebook, but this is a Neat Ripple by attic 24 in 13 different yarns:

I also finished, border included the first color ripple I made:

This one is being set back because there are a few babies being born in my circle soon and this will make a lovely girl present ;)

Speaking of babies, if I'm going to have a girl present sitting around, I need to be fair to the boys too right?

This one is quite a bit smaller, but I intend on adding a really thick border of the chocolate all the way around to give it some width, plus it's more for the car or carseat ;)

Then, the cousin blanket.  Oy.  I ended up making it two repeats too wide, so I am just crocheting it in reverse order, using the old version for yarn for the new...and I added in a third green because I loved it:

And mother of the year goes to....someone who doesn't yell or have the OCD I do, but these two items definitely have me as a runner up!

Yeah, I knit a rooster, but the crazy part was that TAIL. Like 20 different tail feathers, and most of them are in a sparkley ribbon yarn.  It. Took. Forever. But it's done.

Playing with some of the crazy yarns I got in the grab bags.  This skirt fits Cassidy's Princess Pink, even if it does scream "Hoochie"  That's okay, I totally plan to knit leggings to go underneath, because really what else would I be doing with my  but outfitting a stuffed animal with proper clothing?

And lastly, a commission knitting. So what?   Yes I did get paid in yarn, but dudes, that's even BETTER than money in my world, trust me!

Wait, that wasn't last...I have been working on this H sweater forever, and it's at a point where it requires a lot of concentration.  Because I am doing the intarsia work.  I can't do this during my regular zone out times (like when doing phonics or science...this requires my undivided attention)

ALMOST done with the H.  Then I need to knit it up to the neckline and graft the back and front together. Before that happens though, I must sit with a yarn needle and take all those wonky stitches and pull them a bit tighter and neater, and then use the yarn tails to weave in around the H, THEN steam block the front before I attach it to the back.  I am glad the young man is patient because when I said this would take awhile I meant it.  I could have had in done in about a week, but it's like two colors.  Not enough to hold my attention for very long.  So it's a "have to" project that I pick up whenever I have a few moments late at night or very early morning.  Can't wait to see it all finished up.

So that's what I've been up to.  My yarn storage is out of control because I have so much.  So today I'm finishing up the organizing by color/project and we'll see if I can't pull a Tardis move and get all that yarn into my tiny storage space.  Must Knit Faster! (Or hook faster.  If I didn't knit...and all I did was crochet, I'd simply have to change the whole scene of being called Hookers....because I wouldn't like to be called that.  At all.)

Many, many hands makes....

Light work?  Or a huge freakin mess?  That's the choice we've been faced with the past few months.  It's been a constant struggle of keeping on top of everything and unfortunately we're perpetually behind.  On everything.  After doing a big home improvement project, we finally felt that itty bitty straws on our figurative camel hump and called a huge cease and desist to everything while we figured out how to correct the current state of affairs in our home.

Things like a garage that looks like Hoarders should come in with their arsenal of therapists and dumpsters.....a kitchen I can't stand to be in because it looks like a post 8.9 on the richter scale.....every single room in turmoil and chaos, maybe surface picked up and clean, but not the way it SHOULD be.  I've been told these are the years to let some things go and just roll with it, but dude....that does not work with this many people.  I kind of NEED things to be in a certain order so that our days run smoothly and I'm not spending 2 hours looking for a pencil, then a sharpener, and THEN the damn book we need.  It's a nightmare.

I've always been on top of things like this,but I've found since being in THIS house, I do NOT have it all together.  There's a good reason for this....not just an excuse to justify it, but something GOOD happening...we keep re-configuring the house towards our eventual goal of what it will be and with each change, everything shifts.  So we have to figure out, all over again, what goes where and who is responsible for all the different areas and it gets exhausting.

So yeah, lots of chaos, lots of stress and lots of going back to the basics of what I know about time and home (and homeschool) management.  Here's what we have going on right now....

1. I cannot do the schedule thing anymore.  It's too limiting.  It means that if anyone wakes up even 15 minutes late, we're behind the rest of the day.  I've tried it and with this many people, it's too constricting to keep to a timed schedule every day.  Things happen.  There are too many variables in my day to make this a reasonable time management tool, so we're going back to routines.  Just a simple routine and basic flow of time rather than a set schedule.  That means the kids (and I) wake up and do the same things every day, regardless of what time it is.  If someone has been up late or sick, or something beyond reasonable control, they can just jump in as soon as they can, rather than jumping in behind.

2. Micromanagement.  My house is divided into zones.  Each child over 5 has their own zone they are responsible for on a daily basis.  Older children help by checking and directing, and Mom trains them on how to get it done correctly.  However, we have two "group areas."  The kitchen and the living room.  In these areas, they have micro zones.  So one child does plates and bowls and cleans the stove every evening.  Another does pots and pans and takes out the trash.  They all have jobs, however....there is always SOMETHING left behind that is "not my job..." and I've had to assess which things get left and who's they are.  But the thing is, these things aren't used enough to be a regular, so instead of assigning the cake pan to the pots and pans guy who NEVER uses cake pans, I am dividing anything left between all the dish washing children.  I've also come up with 20 different "focus tasks" for the kitchen, that will keep things dealt with without having one person, or many people spending hours on it.  All big kids will have one focus job per weekday.  I've done this with the living room as well.  I am HOPING this keeps us caught up and not having to spend hours and hours on our precious weekends doing regular household maintenance.  These are small tasks that if you had to do all 20 of them in one day would eat up a significant amount of time.  Like wipe off the ceiling fan, use glass cleaner on the cabinets, reorganize top pantry shelf...stuff like that...All tasks that will take 10 minutes or less.

3. Within in each zone there are some really big jobs that will take a while and are just part of living in the house.  These jobs are allowance jobs.  But also broken down into small  bits . So like cleaning one shelf in the fridge, rather than the whole thing because that's tough for a non-adult to take on.  The entire fridge is a $5-6 job (if it's reasonably clean, which it is right now) so $1 per shelf and door.  Wiping down walls and doors, cleaning off the bookshelves very good (removing books, dusting, putting back..) those are all paid jobs because that's how we roll here.  I am going to be posting a sheet that lists all these jobs right by the daily task list for easy reference.

4. Rotating weekend focus.  Jamie came up with a long list of things we do on a recurring basis, that as of now, we do on a crisis as needed basis.  Things like the chicken coop, the garage, the cars, clothing storage maintenance...and so on.  He's assigned all these tasks as needed on a schedule that has a Week A-D and tells us which one we'll be focusing on that weekend, to keep up with them like normal people instead of "Oh crap, we can't walk into our garage....guess we should spend all Saturday working on it..."  (When you do  home improvement, that garage can get full of random tools, wood, and all that stuff FAST)

5. I've made the same kind of list for our meal plans.  Weeks A-D.  I usually make a grocery list every single week (or two) depending on what we have going on.  No more.  It's all going on the computer.  I will have each meal plan made with it's coordinating shopping list and I will print each list as needed, cross off what I already have on hand and then shop.  My plan is to always be on the lookout for the sale items and buy them regardless of what week I'm in.  I'll just cross it off my week whatever list when I get to it.

6. Jamie liked my friend Kelli's idea for a syllabus for our older children.  So everyday they will have a set task they have to complete for school, in every subject and while we will check up on them, we will be trying to have them take control of their own time.  This has always been the case, but we haven't really put it into their hands as much as we should have, and we've have no real consequence if the work wasn't done other than they had to work on it in the evening.  However, we have now been doing Friday Game Night and it's a hit.  We ALL love it....and so...the leverage is now...you don't finish your assigned task, you do not participate in the game that Friday.  I am hoping and praying that since we've already instituted game night, no one will want to miss it, so no one will challenge it.  It may take a kid a time or two losing it to get with the program, but I suppose that's life.

It's been a harrowing few weeks....that critical mass point where it feels like everything has exploded.  Not a great way to go about a busy life....or at least not the way to enjoy it.  Gotta get our ducks in a row, our rows in a column, our columns in a whatever comes next ;)

So that's one thing I've been up to. Making massive, detailed lists to get some sort of handle on this crazy house, but I've been doing other cool stuff too (Not an internet FAST...a DIET LOL!!  I have actually stuck to it, but...it's modified.  I'll write more about that later!)  For now, it's all about the time and house management....one step at a time.

Intro To Girl World: My First Experience

Okay, so not my FIRST experience because I did go to public school where anything from the brand of shoes you wore to the brand of shoes you didn't was cause for public ridicule...but my first ADULT experience of Girl World.

It was a doozy.

After settling in to my first grown up home....a Navy housing apartment, I met my quadmates, April, Jen and Candy.  We all lived in interconnected units and saw each other 17 times a day, whether we wanted to or not.  April was the first girl I met and after five minutes, she offered me the use of her washer and dryer.  This was a BIG deal.  We certainly didn't have such fancy things in our first place and she was awfully proud she did.  It was then I found out why she would no longer talk to her next door neigbor, Candy.  They had a falling out over these precious appliances.  Apparently Candy took April up on her offer much too often and so Candy decided to go get her OWN washer and dryer and not only did she do this terrible thing, she got a model that ALSO had a hat drying rack insert.  For shame! (those white sailor hats looked like hell if you tried to tumble dry them.  This rack was a big deal.  A way bigger deal than Pam Anderson's)  So April hated Candy and Candy holed up, not sure what to think of it.  I rarely saw her.

Then there was Jennifer.  Country bumpkin, lover of the pipe weed and April's best buddy.  They got along great and got along well with me.  Until they realized...I liked Candy too.  As a matter of fact, out of all four of us, Candy was the most put together.  She had her degree, worked from home and was going back to school in her hometown once her husband was finished with school in Orlando.  Candy was the one who went with me to my first sonogram appointment and had a lovely lunch and library visit afterwards.

Well...that went over like...well...I won't use the phrase Jamie always uses.  It has to do with a punch bowl and something you usually only discuss when dealing with dirty diapers...so yeah...we'll leave that out.

Time goes by and April and her hubby are shipped out.  He didn't make the cut.  Failed out of power school.  That left Candy..Jen..and me.  But wait, Jen HATED Candy for getting the same washing machine April got remember?  They were MORtAL enemies.

Along this time I met the girl who would become my very best friend.  She's still my best friend.  We clicked immediately and starting spending a lot of time together.  We were both expecting babies and had a lot in common.  She was two blocks down and we spent pretty much every day together after we met.

I was still friendly with both Jen and Candy, afterall, I had no grudge with them, I just met a new friend.  I still hung out and talked on the porch and always said hello when seeing them.  But things started to change.  Soon, Jen and Candy were best friends, even though they previously couldn't stand each other and it all boiled down to me not playing the game.  You see, I never took sides.  I had no iron in the fire.  I figured I would just be nice to all of them because no one had done anything to me.

But that was the wrong choice, you see....when you don't pick sides, then you have by default.  You are the enemy.  If a girl like this has nothing on you, nothing to hold over you head or gossip about you, you're kind of SOL as my mom always said.  Soon, I got glares and giggles when I'd come home.  Saying hi, only to be greeted with eyerolls and more giggles.  Apparently, I became very funny for some odd reason.

And it was baffling. I had not changed. I had done nothing different and yet, two former enemies couldn't quite bond over their similiaries because they probably didn't have much to begin with.  Except me.  I suppose having a common enemy was the one thing that made their friendship work and honestly, at that point, I didn't care.  They could have each other.  I had a wonderful husband who was kicking ass in school, a new best friend who was so funny, awesome and amazing and a new baby on the way.

Oddly enough, after Candy left, Jen was really, really sweet to me all over again.  I was sweet back, but didn't bite the cookie she was holding out.  No time for that crap.

They eventually all moved away and just mere months before moving, we got the best neighbors ever.  No drama, no gossip, no cattiness.  Just a good old boy with his good old girl, some beers and a charcoal grill and many, many nights of sitting outside, talking, visiting and enjoying each other.

She was cool.  So was he.  But he wasn't in the Navy.  She was ;)  Ha!! ;)  Awesome!

An Inconvenient Truth

Many, many years ago, I became a Christian.  Not too long after that an old friend and I were reunited after a falling out and while we were apart, she also started living her life for God.  When she walked into my home, it was like nothing had happened.  We were tight again and all had been forgiven.  And I gave God the credit for that because my personality isn't one that backs down from (my version) of righteousness.  This reunion with a person closer to me than a sister compelled me to seek out other Christians, absolutely sure I would find the same selfless love and acceptance.  So we decided to attend church.

It didn't go like that.  Church was the environment in which I quickly (very quickly) became disillusioned with Christianity.  As Jamie and I grew in faith and knowledge, we dubbed what we were seeing and experiencing Churchianity.  So much of what was taught was absolute bullcrap, not found anywhere in Scripture.  This bothered us greatly and we moved away from this sort of social group.  It seemed every time we attended church it was more a briefing on who we should hate and why they were responsible for the moral demise of our country, rather than a gathering of the saints to worship our Lord together.

No thanks, dudes.

As I grew in my own faith, it nagged me and grated me and left me deflated that as a requirement of my faith, I had to hate ANYONE.  I just couldn't do it.  I couldn't be a part of it.

So while I kept my beliefs and my love for God, I've got to be honest.  I started avoiding other Christians that regularly attended a church building.  Every one of them was full of themselves, not the spirit.  Hateful, mean, oh so quick to judge and yet not allowing anyone close enough to see their own flaws.  I started feeling like my social circle would never include other Christians because they were in name only.  They really didn't live it, just preached it and if you've known me any time at all, you know I can't be around dishonesty like that.  I just can't.

So for awhile, I made my circle with non-believers because it appeared that they were more suited to what I believed, odd as that sounds.  They were open, loving, striving to be better people and make the world a better place.  My circle of these individuals was small, but excellent.  They didn't question my faith at all.  As a matter of fact, I was told on more than one occasion that if more Christians were like me, than the person wouldn't mind hanging around a few.  Sadly, their experiences were more like mine.

And I have to admit, I sort of put these people up on a pedestal.  Not just the PERSON, but the whole group of loving, accepting, caring individuals.  I felt like they had it right and even though we didn't share the same faith, we shared a mission: Love. Love Everyone. No matter what.

But things have changed for me.  I have seen, as I've grown up a little more, that every single group has its own rules and hatefulness.  They believe that what THEY think is right trumps what anyone else believes and everything they dislike about the Christians, they feel is totally okay if THEY do it.

Want an example?  Good, I have one.

Let's examine this shall we?  Two straight guys vandalizing a property where a message they don't believe in is being preached.  Funny right?

Or not.

You see, the biggest problem people have with Christians is that we "force our beliefs down other people's throats."  I concur.  I've seen it in action.  Not going to deny that one bit.  And it's not right because as Christians we believe that any change that we experience comes from the saving grace of God.  We can't take credit it for it, so the whole idea to 'get your crap together if you believe in God...and make laws so that everyone  has to do what God says.." is really counter-Christian.  It just is.

But, and the big but...is that everything the nay-sayers believe we do is being played out right before your very eyes.  "We believe that what you believe in is wrong and because we feel it serves the greater good, this act of vandalism is accepted and necessary."

You following me here?  The Christian camp believes they need to preach this message.  Like it or not, the Bible says what it says (And I can tell in five seconds flat if someone has read it or has just read ABOUT it or has gathered third, fourth or more hand information about it.  Try me.  I will call you out right then, right there and it won't be pretty.  If you haven't read it, shut it. Thank you.)  I digress.  Christians believe that for the greater good, they must speak out.  And we are HATED for it.  Hated.  

And yet, this action above was applauded as righteous.  

Because there's nothing more noble than defacing the property of your "enemies" and mocking their deeply held beliefs.   This is funny, adorable, RIGHT ON MAN!!

Really?

All this love and acceptance we're vying for...means hating and showing non-acceptance?  How does that even equate?  

Just going by logic, what is this saying?  It's saying that any person who believes that their actions will cause blessing to another person can act in the manner they feel best suits that (or those) individual(s).  Believe it or not, those people who put up the original billboard felt that were doing just that.  But it's more accepted and oh so funny when someone who does NOT believe in that defaces personal property to send a message.

Because we should fight intolerance....with more intolerance (and illegal intolerance at that.)

What am I saying here?  Was it funny?  A little bit.  I get it.  Ha ha.  Cute word play, but bottom line for me is...there really is no love and tolerance in any circle.  It's not a thing until you believe, for yourself, that you will love without qualification and treat EVERYONE...

EVERYONE...

With love, respect and decency.  The action illustration does none of this.  And so we're left with the reality that one does not practice what they preach.  And that's truly sad.

So for all those Jesus lovers who love him, but nothing about his message (those who paint Jesus as a left leaning Woodstock attendee)...what about turning the other cheek did you NOT understand?

It's easy people.  If you don't like gay marriage or gay anything don't be gay, but here's the thing...

If you don't like Christians or Christian anything, don't be one.

Let's leave the rest lie.

Otherwise, where are we?  A part of the problem, not the solution.  

Two wrongs have never once equaled a right. And repaying a message you don't agree with with an act of degradation...well...good luck with that.

Cause I certainly feel all warm and fuzzy now.

Not. 

Those things that call me....

So, I'm gearing up for my internet fast and I already know it can't be a complete and total abstinence.  I just have too many things I have to keep up on and while I'll be limiting myself HUGELY, I also know I can't just walk away totally without a hundred different balls being dropped.  Those balls falling would impact me negatively.  I'm not exactly sure yet what my parameters will be, but I have a few days to make up my mind.

What I really need is for new things and projects and to dos to stop assaulting my brain and I need time, space, room, whatever to wrap up some old things...

Like:
This owl obsession thing.  I bought the pattern and the yarn is headed my way.  I want to do a couple of these owls...just to...you know...see how it will look ;)

This Harry Potter sweater....Mine is is green.  A young man is patiently waiting for this to get done.  And I'm ALMOST to the H.

This quilt for a June bride.  Was supposed to get done before JUNE wedding.  Let me tell you what.  Trying to sew with a baby crawling underneath you....close to the petal.  Yeah.  No dice.  I just couldn't get it done in time, but I'm two rows away from sending it off to the machine quilter!

My rooster now has a comb and a foot, but I have to hit the pause button to make a female companion for a gift.  That's my next project.

I also have a pair of longies to make and a ripple to wrap up (one more ROW woo!!) then onto another for my fabulous cousin.

And then I have real, non-yarny life to contend with.  Homeschooling, cooking, cleaning, farm animals and all that good stuff.  I also have a couple good books to read.

So my internet "diet" (I guess it's a diet since it's not abstaining totally) will hopefully enable me to have a few finished projects rather than a huge pile of undone.

We'll see ;)

White Noise and Christianity

I've got a friend that shares my faith, and my sense of humor, and that's a rare thing.  I can't even remember what we were talking about exactly when the words "Yeah, that whole 'Jesus is my boyfriend thing' came tumbling out of her mouth and I just laughed.  Every time I think about this...like just in random moments of being exasperated about something, I will think about this and crack up.  I actually got Noah all riled up one evening as I was laying in bed with him, doing our nightly cuddle, thought about it...and just started laughing.  It didn't help that she texted me a picture of a "Jesus is my BFF" shirt either.  No, we aren't being unholy, we are laughing at the surface stupidity that people replace a real relationship with God with.  It's like being "Facebook official"  Everyone KNOWS you like that dude, but you only interact on Facebook or text, so how real is it?  I'm sure you know what I mean.  Having a Jesus and me BFF charm isn't going to do you much good if that's all ya got....

I love God. He loves me.  We've got that down.  I also love to grow in knowledge and wisdom, so yeah, my bookshelves are packed with, you know. GOOD CHRISTIAN How-to manuals...(just as a side note,I totally mistyped that at first.  My blog almost read hoe-to-manuals, and yeah...that's kind of funny all things considered)

And let me tell you...

I am FED UP.  I am DONE.  I am so flipping sick of the call for Christians to basically "Get your shit together so you can be a better witness."  Really?  To who?  Martha Stewart? News flash, just because I'm a Christian doesn't mean I have my shiz together more than anyone else on the planet.  The pressure to play a part...to look a part..is crushing, suffocating, demoralizing....and NOT CHRISTIAN.  I just read about the need for a Christian woman to practice "good self-control."  I am just reeling at this. On the surface, that looks awesome doesn't it?  I mean, self-control is a good quality.  It IS something we should strive for, but y'all being a Christian is not about getting to a good place to please God.  It's about asking HIM to HELP us get there.  It's about the gut-wrenching realization you aren't going to get "good enough" in order to make God throw you a "Good For You" party.  That has never been, and never will be, the point.  We are like little pitchers and we aren't supposed to change up the water for lemonade, bit by bit.  We're supposed to pour out a bit of us and replace it with a bit of him, little by little, as we allow Him to creep into every area of our hearts.  It's a submission, not really an action on our parts....and yet, all these Christian Lifestyle books read like Chilton's manuals.  Do this, and then do this...a good Christian is organized and cheerful, and has her laundry caught up and bakes bread and earns an income from a vineyard that she sits in while she spins wool and flax and wears purple.

Then you apply this to parenting and you know what?  You might as well just throw in the towel because nothing you do will ever be righteous enough to please the "Good Christian Parenting" experts.  Why? Because your children are GOING TO STUMBLE.  They are HUMAN.  Yes, we can guide them and teach them and walk and talk and preach and practice and all that good stuff, but I'm telling you right now I'd rather see a child in humble submission after committing a sin then pretending it never happened or backpacking on my faith until they are old enough to "know better" and then falling down so hard and with such injury that they never want to try it on their own.

I have absolutely no idea why Christianity is such a business.  Why there is book after book after book telling you how to do it.  How to look it, how to be it or at least play the part.  It's absolutely maddening.  The more I dig in deep with my Bible, the less appealing all the "How to" white noise becomes. It used to be my main reading material and I have to tell you I think that really messed up my relationship with God.  I felt like I surely wasn't doing something right if I wasn't the perfect homemaker, at the perfect weight, with the perfect hair, and the perfect schedule, and hated, (HATED) sewing my own clothes, or using coupons, or whatever else was expected of me.  I was less inclined to bless my husband FOR REAL, and more inclined to do only the things that the world could see (and let's face it...the biggest blessing for a man isn't something ANYONE else should see.. you know what I mean?)

All I can say, is that I'm tired.  Not of my faith.  The deeper I go...the longer I live...the more in love with God I am (He's not my boyfriend yet though.  He's not on Facebook yet, so it just can't happen...)  But the further up and further in I go..it's so apparent how much of Churchianity is so deeply ingrained in our culture, our society and our people.

All I know is this train ain't rolling through here no more.  If I am reading something that makes me feel AT ALL like I need to do something better...without asking me to submit that "thing" to God, for HIS direction, and HIS guidance....If it doesn't ask me to pray about something before making this move....forget it.  I'm dumping that sucker in the trash.  Because I'm tired...just so tired of it all.

Ninja Shopping: Homeschooling Edition

I was going to do a quick Facebook post, but then I realized it's a lot of information and since I have like 3 readers that need to know this information, a blog post it is ;)

So, before I get started I would like to assure you, I am not on a bender and I didn't just win the lottery or something. Yes, I am talking about shopping a lot, but that's because this is the time of year we experience the greatest money hemorrhage.  School stuff buying.  So I am getting a lot of packages and my mailman probably hates me and I am overwhelmed trying to keep it all organized because I shop in a zillion different places.  You will find me with multiple tabs open...Amazon, Ebay, Rainbow Resource, Vegsource...comparing prices anally.  If I can get something for $1 less, I'll do it.  If I can buy an ecode for a place I am purchasing stuff from, I'll do it and I make myself crazy, but I am crazy already so what's a little more?  That's like being a little bit MORE pregnant...right?

Today, my main focus has been on gathering materials for hands on stuff for the younger kids.  So I've been looking all around at monthly subscription clubs, craft clubs, book clubs, that kind of thing.  I've signed up for like five I think and here's why...

Most of these have offers where your first kit is either free (just pay shipping) OR it's greatly reduced.  They count on you either loving it and staying with it, or forgetting to cancel before the second shipment and that's fine...they can catch people in that net if they want...but not me :)  I have a system.

Number one, I will be putting up these "monthly" boxes and only pulling out one at a time, even though they will most likely arrive in quick succession, so I'll have several different kits to do with the littles for the first part of my homeschooling year.  Secondly, the kits, at full price, aren't something I'd pay for because you aren't just paying for the STUFF, but the work involved in assembling it.  That means your first kit or box really isn't going to cost any more than if you had purchased the items piece meal and made a kit yourself.  My thing is, getting these different boxes will give me inspiration to create my own later on.  I will even reuse the boxes if possible and I'll be able to asses the hits and misses without having to spend a whole lot of my OWN time doing so.

Now, in order to keep track of what I've ordered, I have created a special folder in my email for "Homeschool Trial Stuff.'  I put the welcome emails in there immediately so they aren't lost among the clutter of my inbox and the plan is to go in and cancel as soon as the first box arrives . (Unless it's absolutely stellar and is worth the cost.  I will weight the time it would take me to create something similar and see if it's something I'd be better off just having sent every month.  I do plan on doing ONE box per month right now, for Mallory and Noah's school time.  Once Roo gets a bit older and less needy, my plan is to DIY this a little more.  Right now, my brain space for being creative is quite limited and I'm not above getting help where I need it)

So the blog that has the best breakdown of monthly kits is This blog  She has reviews of about every single box out there, plus any promo codes that will make the boxes cheaper.  HOWEVER, if you don't see a code on her site, don't assume there isn't one out there.  Remember, ninja shoppers never, ever, ever see a spot for a promo code and leave it blank.  ALWAYS search for a promo code.  The other day I was bummed that one on a site had expired, did a quick google search and found out the current promo code was better than the one I had missed!!  Score!

I also found a monthly trial through Highlights kids for Eli. It's called Top Secret Adventures and it was like $3 shipping to try it out.  We'll see.  It was something that looked cool, so I decided $3 for a whole kit of fun stuff was well worth it.

As far as all the other homeschool materials I'm getting this year, I always check between Amazon (we have prime, so shipping is fast and free), Ebay (if Ebay has it for less, including shipping, I'll go with them) and Rainbow Resouce (they have a bargain center for books that are "damaged" for significantly less than retail.  I've seriously got a book with a bent corner before...big deal right?  Once they are here for five seconds, all the corners are bent so this is a non-issue.  Great way to get quality curriculum for super cheap!) and then www.vegsource.com/homeschool.  This website is an old school forum, but I've purchased off there many times without issue.  Besides, if you use Paypal, you are protected for the most part.

Later on this week, I'll be going to Goodbooks (Goodwill, Barnes and Noble style) to look for some fill in books and just to have the fun of looking through the hoards of books they have.

I'm still on the hunt for other coolish things to add in, especially for my little hands-on learners.  Anyone out there care to share ideas with me??

(P.S. Kelli, I know you're reading this.  I got a Montessori book too!! It's on the way!!)