turning 9 {& back in the saddle}

2 turned 9 this month & FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY her wish came true.

the time was FINALLY right for this horse loving girl to get back to her passion...

getting acquainted with the beautiful ranch...

Dinkey the Donkey (so cute!)

3 & Champ became very fast friends

one of my faves...the stunningly beautiful Gypsy

2 meets her newest best pony buddy Poppet

after an instructional safety lesson, the riding instructor tied Poppy to a golf cart & we rode all through the hills on a tour of the ranch.

along with site seeing, this was a test of 2's balance.

(staying on bareback while ducking under trees, trotting up & down hills, changing terrain, etc...) 

we got to see the ranch grounds & the different parts that they keep the over 52 horses & stallions.

2 & Poppy did very well as a team!

next weeks lesson cannot come fast enough :)

can i touch it?

*Look at it!

*Do you know what it is?

*Aljuh.

*YES!!! but it's name is pronounced algae.

*wonder how it feels? i wanna touch it. can i touch it?

*OF COURSE! How else are you going to know how it feels for yourself?

*Does it smell?

*Now how do you think you could find THAT out by yourself?

*(MISCHIEVOUS SMILE)

*go ahead :)

archives{turning 6}

3 turns 6

& not soon enough according to her!

the BEST thing about finally turning 6...the free dirt cups at Mimi's!

(& being smart enough to choose family dinner there for that very reason)

& losing your very 1st tooth.

the VERY (disgustingly)loose & wiggly one that should have come out LONG before actually turning 6, but saving it in your mouth until the exact day you turn 6.

then, without telling anyone,going into the bathroom,pulling it out & coming in the kitchen waving arms in the air yelling

"YES!!! I DID IT!!!"

that's my girl!

*6 years old means there are officially no more babies in our family. 5 to me is still kiiinda baby...but 6 is definately big kid in everyway. bittersweet, but thanks to this kid (who's more like having 5 kids at once), 6 has been a lot of FUN... & with this constantly busy, super smart ,strong-willed,sassy (etc...) girl i wouldnt have the time or energy for a baby anyway! WHEW :)

why we don't homeschool the way we thought we would...i'm letting the Three Thinking Mothers explain

I LOVE THE 

Three Thinking Mothers blog!

its def {a new fave}

i decided to add our blog to their blog roll.

out of all the homeschooling blogs i read this is the one i relate to the most.

maybe because it is 3 different mothers with 3 different styles & since we dont follow any homeschooling style exclusively, i identify with each of their different perspectives in some ways.

always so much good & practical info. 

i love this entire post.

i found myself in all of it, but wanted to share a part that really explains why we homeschool the way we do & why we dont, the way we thought we would:

"I did a lot of thinking and reading this summer on unschooling or child/interest led learning. I do see the benefits of it. In fact, over the years when we were considering homeschooling and when we first began, I thought we would be unschoolers. I agree that you learn better and retain more when you are interested in what you are learning. But after careful discussion and consideration with Jason, we decided that we view these years as preparation for life. (This is just our opinion) In life sometimes you have to work on someone else's schedule. Sometimes you need to do things that don't particularly interest you. We feel that we need to prepare the girls for this and encourage them to be open to learning/doing things that they are not necessarily interested in. We need to show them that just because you are not interested in something does not mean it is not interesting."

~Theresa of the Three Thinking Mothers

THANKS THERESA FOR EXPLAINING MY THOUGHTS WAAAAAY BETTER THAN I COULD!

SEE...ANOTHER REASON GOOD WHY I LOVE THEM :)

summer{private swim with Ms. Pheebs}

This summer, 2 & 3 did private swim lessons with Ms. Pheebs (our cute neighborette).

their fave part...

ending on the waterslide :)

i almost died last weekend{ARACHNOPHOBIA}

i almost died last weekend!

He pulled this guy out of my turtle pond

(right near my backdoor slider...that the kids always leave WIDE open).

i know in my head tarantulas are harmless, gentle, shy creatures but they are also giant hairy spiders with fangs!

ARACHNOPHOBIA IS NO JOKE!

 i instantly went on total freak out!

i even sent all my neighbors text messages that said

"i love you dear neighbors, but it's time for me to move!"

i couldn't take it so immediately we packed up & headed out to the only place i know for sure around here that does have tarantulas...THE BEACH!

*p.s. after the fact seeing a real tarantula up close & personal (if you can bear to look at it...or see it thru your tears & hysterics) is actually PRETTY COOL...in a very creepy-crawly-homeschooling-life-learning-scare-you-half-to-death kinda way!

not ready to give up the life we love {still homeschooling}

this morning after Bible study we noticed this little guy.

we spent some time quietly oberving & playing with him .

glad we had the time spend.

we dont want to miss stuff like this.

HE'S SO STINKIN' CUTE!

we didn't even try really & we failed.

we are just not ready to give up the  lifestyle we worked hard for & LOVE by sending the girls to school.

some bloggers are fairly open when discussing their personal business, not me so much, so just know that we are back to homeschooling & glad we realized it before it was too late.

 we are back to good.

i will share this though

(& more details later):

all of a sudden ALL of the things we've been searching for have all of a sudden appeared!  i mean crazy like:

• happening upon a local website last night
• 2 new connected friends
• a few phone calls this morning 
• a few e-mails connecting all the dots

the girls are ALMOST as excited as i am :)

THE absolute last minute my time.

absolutely PERFECT timing God time.

when will i ever learn right ;)

goodbyes & hellos

goodbyes & hellos

Source: buttersafe.com via Deborah on Pinterest

this cartoon made me laugh & more importantly think.

Goodbyes:

• earthmama & brownsugar. time for a new name...i have no more babies really.
• earthmama & brownsugar on twitter, FB, ning,etc...
• summer (almost). one more trip further up the coast & i'll be happy. its only like 70 degrees now anyway.

Hellos:

• less personal & EMBS computer distractions (social media). feeling like i HAD to post & try to keep up with it all was driving me crazy. Dont miss it!
• new fresh blog name...brownsugar & honey fits us better now.
• almost the end of summer & back to it! excited to see what comes with all of these changes.

ok so no roar for me yet...

ok so Dear Diary-

kinda bummed...i was really looking forward to finally finishing my dream of completing my IBLCE certificate & becoming a lactation consultant/educator.

helping mama's feed their babies (& all the goodness that comes with it).

(you know i am woman hear me roar & stuff finally)

i found out that all my previous classes still apply so i enrolled in a local community college this semester to finish my last ONE of the higher learning req classes before the lactation specific courses.

 IT WAS FULL!!!

POOH! 

will try again next semester. i have to complete it to be able to enroll in the Lac Specific program for 2012.

WISH ME LUCK!

cute camping hair

{cute camping hair}

Monday 1 & I had our hair braided for camping.

i hate hate hate doing hair, but im going to do the other two girls myself (unless my Mama gets here in time)since they have different hair & it wouldn't last until this weekend.

{funny girl! now everytime i take a pic, she throws up mustache. silliness!!!}

she didn't last long with the beads though. too heavy & hurtful during soccer practice.

i asked for 1 or 2 beads & i think she thought i meant 1 or 2 on each braid.

i LOVE it though...i think it came out so stinkin' cute!!!

CAMPING IN 3 DAYS.

CAN'T WAIT!!!

HAPPY SUMMER!!!

{Mahogany Monday} learning from leopard geckos

{Mahogany Monday}

learning from leopard geckos

the girls got another interesting & educational pet sitting job

(remember the frogs).

this time we have two leopard geckos of different ages (one is a cute little baby).

these two are waiting to go to their new home (my brother's) & the girls wanted to watch them until then.

problem is we are getting attatched of course.

 "scrawny little wiggly baby.

Hmmm...

it looks like it needs to eat to me.

Girls, what do you think baby leopard geckos are SUPPOSED to look like?

Can someone look up baby leopard geckos for me & find out? 

Wonder if are we feeding it the right stuff?

Wonder what they eat?

WOW! Their bodies are actually soft & squishy, total opposite of the beardy...i wonder why?

Why don't we see them much during the day?

(you get the picture right?) 

{lizards are for boys! ummm...}

2 & her bearded dragon Zoingo say

THINK AGAIN!

*Mahogany Monday is a showcase of mothers of color that are living the natural mahogany lifestyle (homeschooling/unschooling, healthy eating,natural parenting, etc...).  

on twitter #Mahogany Monday.

please visit the Mahogany Way

feel free to join :)

{saturday morning} He tries to ruin our summer!!!

OH HECK NO!!!

HE TRIED TO RUIN OUR SUMMER THIS MORNING!!!

*warning kind of a long story, but totally funny*

(NOPE! WRONG ANSWER NERD! FOR THE RECORD He knows his equation was wrong...but that's what he gets for not listening to ME! he said he just did it for the pic. ok whatever nerd.)

PART 1

(will get to the nerdy pic in part 2)

last night our Outdoor Family Movie Night was perfect!

 super cool & clear night. ice cream sundaes. backyard full of friends. kiddies in jammies snuggled up in sleeping bags. Tangled on the outdoor screen. staying up way Way WAAAAY too late.

 i was too busy having fun to use my camera.

(in other words...forgot to take pic!!!)

blah blah blah...ok so fast forward to this morning.

PART 2

(the nerdy pic)

OFMN was so fun but super exhausting...this morning all we wanted to do was sleep in & relax all day. but no.

He had the nerve bring us into the classroom

1st thing in the morning on a summer Saturday mind you...with this super complex real life math problem.

(which BTW would be super cool any other time)

with coffee in hand. tiny eye slits. brain still on summer shutdown. i wanna go back & lay down on the couch so i quickly & efficiently come up with the answer.

12

simple. easy. done. back to summer.

life is good again...

but NOOOO!!!!!

He literally goes off on a tangent (get it, get it) spends like an hour formulating, calculating on the whiteboard, consulting books, the graphing calculator...then i hear (under his breath & in total disbelief)

"that cant be right...how???"

he found the answer (notice though please i have already found the answer like an hour ago)...

12

& ohhh he absolutely hated to admit it. 

OMG!!!!!

(haha!)

HAPPY SATURDAY & HAPPY SUMMER (STILL)

i'm just a different kinda crafty



Source: projectsforyournest.blogspot.com via @earthmamaandbrownsugar on Pinterest

i love this!

honestly i'm that mama who can barely sew, knit, quilt, bake, decorate fancy desserts, scrapbook & all that other stereotypical mama stuff to save my life...im just a different kinda crafty & i'm more than ok with it!

{summer homeschool snippets}

{summer homeschool snippets}

this week we decided to start cleaning, organizing & assessing our classroom for next year. earlier than planned & good thing!
there's sooo much to do!

(if i had the curtains to cover the shelves i'd show our classroom) 

we also started a very loose interpretation of summer homeschool with a very vague illusion of something almost resembling structure.

dont panic!

nothing TOO serious...summer aint over yet :)

*1st grade Sylvan math games & puzzles* 

3 is OBSESSED with workbooks/busywork...& this mama is not! from the time she wakes up she's nagging about doing school work, school work & more school work...all day long!!! very surprising because any other time she can't sit still for one minute. she's only allowed to do 2 pages & then she has to "walk away" from it for the day.

Balance. 
(cute girl!)

*4th grade BrainQuest Workbook*

i also pick this fun workbook up for 2 because she HATES book work! sounds like it makes no sense, but it does really. again only 2 pages a day, we do tons of fun-creative-child led-life learning-"no seat"-activities but this girl's creative & dreamy mind really needs to be refreshed, refocused & reinforced...

c o n s t a n t l y
(cute girl!)

*7th grade finishing the end of Saxon 7/6*

1 is pretty close to finishing this book from last year. im ordering the next book for this school year. don't want to leave any gaps & didn't want her to be without anything to do while her sisters are doing their school work.

(cute girl!)

*fun*

*we also had fun playing educational games here. we tried this fun little mad libs game.

*we watched this fantastically amazing National Geographic Amazing Planet:Ocean Realm.(BUT we didn't like the "the ocean formed itself" stuff)*unplugged sunday. love love love THIS NEW BLOG ! & we've been trying Unplugged Sundays ourselves!

*Dollar Store Crafts great ideas!



 *coming up*

*i'm working on our homeschool wishlist.

*the girls started private swimming lessons. so stinkin' cute!

*the girls got another interesting & educational petsitting job. very fun way to learn.

P.S. we are really enjoying & appreciating our blog followers, Facebook Friends & Twitter Tweeties.

BLESSINGS & MANY THANKS...HAPPY SUMMER!

{new summer faves}....yes an actual blog post

 {new summer faves}

i know i really need to update my blog more.

but its summer break & i will...eventually...hope this will tide you over for a while ;)

 KINKY-CURLY 

ALL NATURAL CURLING CUSTARD GEL

a lifesaver for all these curly headed girls! at little goes a long way, tames frizzies & defines their curls.

 all that plus feel good ingredients.

CAROL'S DAUGHTER MIMOSA HAIR HONEY

i think i already mentioned this one, but its a great conditioner & oil for hair that is in the water most of the summer.

the smell alone is fantastic!

(sorry terrible pic)

LUSH COALFACE BAR

fantastic product for deep cleansing preteen skin...especially hormonal preteen skin (& athletic). equally as fantastic on athletic & hormonal adult skin. 

(another terrible pic)

ARBONNE BABY CARE SUNSCREEN

as much as i hate the whole sunscreen thing, my girls burn easily & badly. although the girls really need a higher SPF i feel good (better) about the ingredients in this product line & the gentleness for our sensitive skin.

(i use the adult & their moisturizer with sunscreen...the only kind i dont react too)

HAPPY SUMMER!!!

mahogany monday {life learning}

Mahogany Monday

{life learning}

can you see the tadpole in the background?

the girlies got a new job with their pet sitting business.

A frog & a tadpole in the same container.

we LOVE frogs so

how lucky is that!

so neat to be able to observe two of the life cycles right in front of our eyes!

what impressed me the most was that the girls immediately (instinctually???)gathered up all kinds of learning materials & dug right in.

even though we are not full-on unschoolers...child led life learning is definitely the kind of learning we LOVE & prefer!

*Mahogany Monday is a showcase of mothers of color that are living the natural mahogany lifestyle (homeschooling/unschooling, healthy eating,natural parenting, etc...).

on twitter i will be using the hashtag Mahogany Monday.
please visit the Mahogany Way
feel free to join :)

treating our hardworking Daddy {a new baking gadget & a delish dinner}

  He has been super busy mornings, days, nights & weekends even.

 so the girls & I decided to make some surprise treats for him.

{our new fave}

 we FINALLY got to try our message in a cookie cookie cutters from William-Sonoma!!!

  SO FUN!

perfect personalized cookies...once you get the hang of it!

 sorry...wont let me flip these two pix

of course we figured it out...after the very last cookie.

(have i told you before i REALLY dont bake)

*OUR TRIAL & ERROR TIPS*

we used a prepared sugar cookie dough

• after preparing the sugar cookie dough according to instructions we chilling the dough for @ 30 mins & it made it soooo much easier to work with!
• please make sure you check that the oven is set to the right temp by your cute little kitchen assistant before you bake an entire batch of cookies.
• the highest temp on the package works best...too low & the dough fluffs up & erases the sweet messages to your hardworking Daddy that you love so much during baking.
• press the cookie cutter first, THEN press the word  press FIRMLY or...the sweet messages you left to your hardworking Daddy you love so much will be erased  during baking ;(
• laugh, enjoy your cookie & hardwork...but cover up the mistakes in frosting first.



Miss Chef 2 wanted to make Daddy some Some More Casserole for dinner using our version of his Grandma's(secret family)recipe.

 the girls set the table for us outside

it has been a Star Wars movie marathon week over here.they used our own cloth napkins (good girls!)

please note the lightsaber utensil napkin rings the girls made.

here is the tutorial & printouts.