Surprise!

This week I was surprised with a shower by very special friends – each one has been an encouragement to me in different ways over the years. Everything about the day was beautiful and feminine – of course my daughter had a blast. She loves being ‘girly’ and spending time with the ladies. The joy of homeschooling is that your children get to experience so many more things right along with you!

Do I look nervous to you???

I'm 38 weeks, 2cm dilated, trying to get things done but feeling great! These months have been such a joy and a privilege. I am excited about delivery, even though I know it is going to be painful and a lot of hard work, I’m still looking forward to the experience and to meeting our daughter.

Today I went to my very first lactation support group meeting. Yes, I am at week 30 and I figured since this is really going to happen, I need to get moving on learning about the wonderful world of breastfeeding. My dear friend Suz has been my weekly confidante and information supplier, so I don’t know why I thought I needed to attend something like this, but I’m so glad I did, especially for the humor of it. One woman wanted to know ‘when my son will inform me that he is ready to wean.’ She had brought her preschooler, so I was looking around for her ‘son’ when I realized that I needed to look no further – her preschooler latched on right then and there! I couldn’t believe my eyes, and from that point on I realized that I had entered a world that I knew not of…
My darling daughter, who also attended the meeting, came home well informed herself. She is excited to purchase her very own baby sling for her dolls (she has been practicing all day), and reading up on all types of breastfeeding. :)

Austen or Bronte?

I just finished reading almost all of Jane Austen’s novels, and most recently Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, and I got to thinking about which of the two iconic female writers I liked the best.

Jane Austen has a witty style of writing, and all of her stories managed to capture my imagination and pull me in. So far, my favorite is Persuasion. But I just loved Bronte’s passion, and portrayal of a genuine Christian standard of living. Jane Eyre touches on a number of important themes while telling a compelling story. There’s no doubt that love and passion together form the major theme. I couldn’t put it down, and during my ‘pregnancy insomnia,’ I found myself reading the last pages at 3am, with tears in my eyes over the beauty of the writing, and the ending, which was full of love and compassion.

So who is my favorite? I still don’t know! But I’ve enjoyed reading both, and now we’re moving on to Gulliver’s Travels.

The Great Conversation

For those of you who know me, I have been an avid reader since I was a little girl, watching my own mother read round the clock. I used to peruse just about anything I could get my hands on, but in the past few years I’ve put more thought into what I spend my time reading. After all, having a toddler who is now a pre-schooler to care for, my time is limited and my day much more structured. But more than that, I got to thinking: I am very particular about my daughter’s reading list. We like to read ‘living books’ in the words of Charlotte Mason. But what about myself? I realized that the short list of classics I have read in my lifetime was pitiful. How can I expect to provide a classical education for my children if I haven’t even skimmed the surface of the great classics myself?

So, after reading The Great Conversation by Robert Hutchins (the first volume of Great Books of the Western World, as an introduction and discourse on liberal education), I went on to read The Well Educated Mind by Susan Wise Bauer. In this book, Bauer speaks to those who want both enjoyment and self-improvement from the time they spend reading. After all, I wanted to be part of ‘The Great Conversation’ myself! Next thing I know my husband, after reading King Solomon’s Mines, decides that he too, wants to dig into the classics. So now we are going through the Well Educated Mind book list together. :)

You just never know what will be a big hit with children. A friend sent me a YouTube clip of Sound of Music Central Station Antwerp (Belgium) and my dd was just enthralled, to the point where we ordered The Sound of Music DVD from the library and she taught herself 'Do Re Mi' on the piano.

Back to the Wild

This week we enjoyed our time reading and talking about Birds of Prey. Our Home school group met at the nature center for a class and we’ve been reading books about this special group of birds ever since. A favorite is In Good Hands, which is about what it's like at a center for orphaned and injured birds. My daughter loves this book and asks me to read it over and over again.