Life on the Road

I was pleasantly surprised when I was emailed by Ms. Fox’s “people” asking if I’d be interested in having her guest post on my blog.  I think they were even more surprised when I told them they’d have to send me a copy to read first.  Who am I to be so demanding, right? 

Well, I’m delighted that I made the request, because the book is wonderful… the whole idea is wonderful…  It addresses many of the issues I have been frustrated with in the school system (some of the reasons we homeschool) - like the fact that “No Child Left Behind” works out to be “No Child Allowed to Excel.”

Since I am still recovering from my illness (more on that later!), I’m going to let Ms. Fox’s prepared Q&A give you the basics.  Be sure to read to the end for the low-down on the Book Give-Away!

* * * * * * * * * *

1. What is the premise of YOUR CHILD’S STRENGTHS? The premise of Your Child’s Strengths is that when you focus on developing and utilizing children’s strengths rather than spending all your time trying to fix, or remediate weaknesses, they grow up to be happier, healthier and more productive citizens.  Additionally, the book is a call to action, claiming that the single biggest issue facing America’s future is the education of our young people. The time for change in our educational system is now, and every day more and people see that is the case. I believe the Strengths Movement will play a very important role in the new system that emerges. Your Child’s Strengths provides parents, teachers and schools clear and practical direction to take in building upon children’s strengths.  
2. How did you come about creating this program?   I have spent twenty-five years as an educator and throughout that time, I have always been a champion for the underdog. This means that where others saw weaknesses in people, I sought out the strengths and in was able to find them. When I arrived at Purnell School, the school was failing as a business and I was determined to make it successful, I built a program that turned away from trying to fix what was wrong and sought, instead, to build on the inherent strengths that were in place. This began to work, and because it worked so well, and school began to thrive so successfully, I developed a program that would also work on the students. So, I started to develop it from the outside in. I began by created a strengths program for the school culture and then wrote the actual four-year curriculum for all of the students to take.  
3. What kind of student were you? I was a great student in grammar school when it was all about learning and pleasing the teacher. In high school, I was a terrible student. I was not engaged, played the system as much as I could and received less than mediocre grades. I was bored by school and distracted by other things going on in my life. When I got to college, I realized that I actually liked to learn and I ended up doing well when I was able to direct my attention to things I felt were going to be meaningful later on in life. I ended up getting two graduate degrees, which I am sure would greatly surprise most of my high school teachers.  
4. You run a girls school in which you have implemented this program. What has the response been among the students, teachers, and parents?  The students love the classes! They feel the Affinities Program in general and the whole philosophy of the school has created a safe haven for them, while challenging them to be their best selves.  I know this because they give speeches about it and talk to me often about their strengths. The teachers also enjoy learning about their strengths. They have a whole professional development program built around developing their own strengths. We also have a personal leadership program that Mike Morrison, the Dean of the University of Toyota created for our teachers that works along the same thematic lines as the Affinities Program. He made it after reading the program. Many of our teachers volunteered to be part of the piloting of this year. Finally, I held a workshop with parents about discovering their own strengths a few weeks ago. My living room on campus was full. I’ll tell you what, this is like some secret sauce and everyone seems to want to taste it.   
5. What are some other areas in which this program is beneficial? I have been contacted by everyone from social services to foster care, to the people from the juvenile justice system about how they can use strengths development and the Affinities Program in particular, to help the people they serve. Many churches, camps and youth groups have also contacted me. The ideas that are in the book can be used with all kinds of groups of people. Doctoral and masters candidates in both the field of teacher preparation and positive psychology have contacted me about using the book and its ideas for classes, for teacher training, and for study for their thesis papers and dissertations. UNICEF has contacted me about using the ideas in the book to develop whole programs to be distributed to their human resource department because they believe that when their worker’s families are taken care of and healthy, then the worker will be more productive. So, it seems to me there are endless uses for the idea in this book. 
6. How do you think the larger community can function within the larger auspices of your program?  Is there any outreach that exists between your school and local community groups for instance?  Currently, there are a lot of different groups of people who are reaching out to me, to the school and to the Strengths Movement as unfolds in schools. People from the Positive Change Corps and the Taos Institute, for example, have met with me to begin planning an international conference on Strengths to change the k-12 system. Employees from Best Buy, have visited the school several times to determine how as a corporations they can link in with the school and the strengths agenda to advance their own social responsibility program that focuses on teenagers.  Schools from all over the country and in fact, the world have called us to see if they come and observe what we are doing, and asking if I can and speak to them.  Schools in California, New Zealand and Canada have requested information. I am also working with the Kellogg Foundation on creating a tool that will assess the strengths (among other things) of drop-outs and be used to determine lost or hidden talent that may help them enter the workforce as productive workers without a degree.  
7. How can we utilize your methods as parents when helping our children set limits? This is a great question.  I think that when children push limits it is because they are testing parents. My experience tells me that kids want both limits and boundaries. When these things are not in place is when kids go a little (and sometimes a lot) nuts. When kids push and break the boundary, the best thing a parent can do is get the child to accept responsibility for the action, engage in a constructive consequence and have a conversation about those behaviors are not going to create a positive life for the child. Parents fall short of this approach when they immediately give out a punishment, and don’t have genuine follow through conversations that refocus behaviors on choices and options having to do with strengths. Good discipline takes time.   
8. What is the earliest age at which teachers and parents can start incorporating your methods? How would this differ for elementary age children versus. high school kids for instance? Strengths can be developed in children at all ages. It begins with noticing what children’s natural tendencies are and helping children to understand what differentiates them from other people. Elementary children should be offered choices and have a say in deciding he things they wish to do. This is often very difficult for parents who have a lot of expectations for their kids. When kids re in high school parents can begin to really engage them in conversations about what makes them feel strong and energized. This is very different than what they are good at doing. Some kids are “good” at doing a lot of things, but not all those activities energize them. It helps if people are able to figure out what truly energizes them. I think that can be determined by looking at how much time a person is willing to spend engaged in any one activity.  
9. What are five things parents of any age child can do right now to help their children develop their strengths? 1)       Give children choices for making decisions which effects their lives. 2)       Listen to what they say about what they like rather than offering advice about you, the adult prefers.3)       Establish routines in the home where each child picks a preferred chore or activity. This will build a sort of discipline around a choice about you like to do within a larger context of something you may have not enjoyed. For example, have the kids help clean the kitchen, but let them choose which part of that task they prefer to do.4)       Talk about your child’s strengths and talk about the strengths of other people you know.5)       Find a successful adult who shares your child’s strengths and encourage that person as a role model.  
10. Do you have numbers for Purnell graduates who have gone to 4 -year colleges? Any case studies?     Over the past 10 years, 99% of Purnell students have been accepted to 4 -year colleges. In the past five years, 100% of the girls have been accepted and 98% have matriculated. Among these schools are Vassar, Smith, Alfred, Drew, Muhlenberg, Linn,  Fashion Institute, Savannah School of Art and Design. There are so many case studies of Purnell Graduates, but one of my favorite is about a girl named Alexandra Spaulding. This is a young woman who came to Purnell from Buffalo New York. When she arrived, she was really unhappy and kind of lost. Her mother says, she was unsure she would ever get through high school, or ever get her life together. She discovered a real strength in art, specifically photography. A lot of times, kids who struggle in a traditional classroom do so because they have a different kind of brain. They are very often quite creative. Well, this girl was one of those. Once she discovered her strength in photography, she followed that passion and worked very hard to develop it into something that would work for her for the rest of her life. She went on after college to attend the Glasgow School of Art and after receiving a master’s degree, she went on to get a PHD and is now a photography professor. This is one of many, many stories about Purnell graduates.   
11. I was intrigued by The Affinities Program as preparation for the workplace and was wondering about the top 10 most sought after jobs today, none of which existed in 2004. What are they? Where did this information come from.  In a widely distributed video called “Shift Happens”, there are dozens of facts cited and among them is a statement made by former Secretary of Education, Richard Riley, who was quoted as saying that by 2010, the 10 most sought after jobs will not have existed in 2004.” Today, some of the top majors in college confirm this statistic. Some majors today that didn’t exist in the last decade are: new media, organic agriculture, e-business, nano-technology, and Homeland Security.  The point of this is that we cannot prepare students for jobs that don’t yet exist, but we can make sure they know what their strengths are so that no matter opportunities arise, they can put them to use. The thing about developing strengths, is that we are looking to develop very specific categories of activities and skills that energize a person. Oddly enough, the more specific one is in identifying this, the more places it can be applied.  For example, if I say I have a strength in organizing, I am being very general and I may not have any taste for organizing spaces with things. However, I may narrow that understanding to “I have a strength in organizing events.”  When someone identifies this so specifically, it is what I call a Strengths Epiphany and it can be applied to a variety of jobs and situations.   
12. Is developing strengths only for struggling students? No, It is important for everyone, and most especially or students who very talented at many things. One of the problems we have with high achievers is this drive for what I label “unspecified achievement”.  This is the drive for high achievement in everything in order to be competitive. I find this to be really debilitating to our brightest and most talented kids, as well as everyoneelse.  What it lacks is any kind of focus on helping students discern the kinds of learning experiences that inspire them.  This leads to a generalized sense of anxiety among children when they reach college. You can tell this from the fact that in the nation’s most competitive colleges, the fastest growing department is mental health services.  If children are able to figure out what strengthens them, they will be better able to find a meaningful path and carve out a future from that.    

 * * * * * * * * * * 

Would you like to win a free copy to read for yourself?

For one entry, just leave a comment below with your thoughts about the book or its premise from the tidbits above - what intrigues you? what reings true? what makes you wonder? or ??

For a second entry, post a link to this review/contest on your blog, then come back and leave a comment letting me know (in a separate comment from your first!).

I will “draw” a winner at random on Saturday, April 12th.  If the winner does not leave contact info, or does not get back to me within three days, I will draw someone else…

Good luck!

I’m not as crunchy as all that, but organic cotton baby clothes are SO soft and yummy…

I’ve gotten three baby gifts full of the stuff, two of which were Under the Nile brand.  This little shirt is the cutest thing, and a neat wrap style (and came with pants):

(click to enlarge)  

There’s a great selection at one of my favorite online baby stores, Babynut. 

(Proving that my business networking groups serve a useful purpose even when I’m not really “business networking”: I discovered Babynut by meeting the owner in one, as well as receiving the second adorable gift from her store from someone else in the group!)

No, not that there are now 20 Commandments…

First, however unlikely, a musical version with Val Kilmer in the lead role:

I agree with the many other reviews on Blockbuster.com that said the acting, singing, and stage effects were mediocre…

But what was most disturbing to my family and I was the inaccuracy of the story itself.  And we’re not just talking about making up dialogue to make it a full-fledged story, we’re talking about wholesale changes in a true and well chronicled series of events.

It’s a great story . . . why change it?  And if you do,you might want to say that it’s, “LOOSELY BASED ON the Biblical account of the life of Moses” or something, so we know it’s not something we want to watch.

Then for something completely different, a CGI-Animated version with Christian Slater as Moses:

I’m not crazy about the CGI, personally…  Not that it was bad - in fact it was often quite stunning - just that it often felt like being in a video game.  Maybe that just shows my age.  LOL 

The acting was surprising - Christian Slater brought a depth of character to Moses of which I would not have thought him capable.

I was also very pleased with the storytelling, which was much truer to the Biblical account (even the less “glamorous” or “exciting” bits) than anything else made in the last few decades.

Are there any other good versions out there, besides THE The Ten Commandments?

Just so that we’re all on the same page, here are the definitions on the movie rating classifications straight from the MPAA

The first thing that I found interesting is that the PG-13 rating contains very absolute and specific standards - right down to “which word” and “how many times.”

None of the other ratings have anything concrete.  This means that it’s up to the shifting standards of the “panel of parents” who are assigning the ratings.

Take Cinderella.  Rated G.  No sex.  No foul language.  Violence limited to wicked step-sisters ripping sash off dress, and stepmother tripping the Page with the glass slipper.  Intense and scary scene - ummm… well, it’s creepy when you first see the stepmother in bed and it’s all dark…  Right.  No biggie.  Very “G”.

Now there’s Ratatoille.  Everyone said it was a good movie, and it’s rated G, so surely it will be okay to watch as a family.

Ummmm, no.

It starts with a woman with a shotgun blowing up her house in an attempt to kill the rats - who are already established as our cute, furry “good guys.”  Then our hero is separated from his family, goes through a dark and frightening almost-drowning rapids experience in the sewer…  And that’s all in the first ten minutes.

Jewel cried, and pretty much the whole rest of the movie was spent either watching bad things happen or worrying about bad things happening.  <sigh>

A “G” rating from today is not the same as a “G” rating from the days of yore…  The standards of society have changed, and the ratings board reflects that.

But how accurate a measure of even society’s standards are they?  Who are these “parents” on the ratings board?  Who chooses them, and how?

I found it very interesting when my Blockbuster Online membership asked me for a rating, what the other user reviews said.  I found MANY other parents that felt the movie amply warranted a PG rating for the violence.  So apparently we are not as far out of the mainstream as we thought, and perhaps it is the ratings board that missed the boat.

Hmmmm….

You don’t have to know me very well to get that the title of this post is something that’s highly unlikely to come out of my mouth.  We dress modestly and conservatvely, and I am anything but a “slave to fashion.”

But I did find myself in a very particular dilema recently - deciding what to wear while giving birth to Baby Blessing.

We’re going to be at the birth center, so the “hospital gown” option that may have immediately come to mind is not even an option.  It’s a “come as you are” kind of atmosphere, and women wear their own clothes - or not.  Most women end up naked by the time the whole thing’s over, from everything I’ve seen and heard, similarly to if you were at home.

Well, that just wasn’t working for me.

Fist of all, I really don’t want to be stark naked in front of a whole bunch of people including midwives and my teenage son.  Yeah, I do get that it’s sort of ironic to feel that way, when everyone is going to be staring at the - exposed - most private parts of my anatomy as the baby emerges…  But until we get to THAT level of intensity, I need to be able to relax.

And secondly, I have done this before, and I know me well enough to know that I’m not going to be comfortable without some kind of top on to give me a little support.

All of which is further complicated by the fact that they have lovely giant whirlpool tubs in each room, so I will likely labor in the water at least part of the time (and thus have to deal with wet clothes of whatever sort).

So, what’s a mama to do?

I first thought of a “sport bra” type top, which would give some support with the rigidity of a bra.  This is what I wore at Jewel’s birth, although the particular top in question is no longer with us (elastic only last so long, ya know?).  But they seem to be getting much more complex these days, and expensive, and not many options in my size, and not really suitable for nursing in afterwards… 

Binsi makes some specially-designed birthing clothing, which really looks neat, as do Glamourmom’s nursing tank tops.  Alas, neither makes tops in my size. 

So, what’s a Big Mama to do?

In desperation, I posted an appeal on a WAHM networking group I belong to.  As always, I got an interesting variety of responses, ranging from the silly to the ”I obviously didn’t even read your message before I dashed this off” irrelevant to the actually useful.

I chased down a couple of leads, but it seemed like the perfect thing just didn’t exist - and if it possibly did, it was horribly expensive.

[Ed. Note: In proofing this, I wonder if you all are going to think that this is a paid review, or a commercial message…  In all honesty, I am just so sick an tired of poor service and people with bad attitudes that I really want to let the whole world know about it when I find something or someone that’s really outstanding.  Keep reading, because there are both to be found below.  The person in question had no idea that I was going to blog about her when we were conducting this transaction].

Then I got a note from Judy at A Mother’s Boutique.  Like several other notes, she let me know that her online shop has a great variety of Nursing Bras available. 

But very UNLIKE all the other notes I received, she went on to suggest a couple of specific items which she thought would be suitable for my size and purpose, and attached photos.  She even told me about one she was planning to order a sample of, and offered to get the sample in my size if I thought I would like it.  (Lo and behold, her suggestions were actually relevant!)

We talked about the options, and she even called one of the manufacturers to confirm the sizing on one possibility that someone else was claiming would fit my size (while the posted descriptions indicated that it wouldn’t).  The maker said no-go, and I was relieved not to be out the time and money on that one!

I asked her about one she had recommended - the LLLI Pull-over Sport Nursing Bra - that looked like just the type thing I wanted, but also didn’t look from te specs like the sizes would work out right.  (Click on the name to have a look.  The photos are quite modest and motherly, but I’m still not going to post it here).

Judy’s next email really made me smile.  She’d tried the bra on herself, she said, and explained her size and the relative fit.  She again offered to let me try it, and promised a painless return if it wasn’t something that would work for me.

How could I resist that level of service?  I ordered the bra, and it arrived quickly.  And it fits!  And it’s comfortable!

Am I going to go jogging in it?  Ummm… no.  Trying to imagine me going jogging at all, though, is a pretty entertaining passtime, so that’s really not an issue. 

I wrote to tell Judy how delighted I was, and that I thought I should probably get another one for jacuzzi-wetting backup and all.  And… she’s having a sale, so I get this one even cheaper!  (Valentine’s Day - 15% off bras through Feb. 14th).

If you are a nursing mama, or know one, I highly recomend making Judy your go-to shopping stop for everything you need for nursing (not just bras!).

Well, I got a sweet phone call yesterday.  The ladies at our church are going to throw a Baby Shower for me!

I know people have differing opinions about whether it is correct etiquette to have a shower for a second (or subsequent) baby, but I was delighted by this for a number of reasons.

First is, it’s nice to do something to get to know them.  I’d love to have some women friends…  It’s been a little isolated and lonely being here without any friends and family, especially with my crazy pregnancy hormones.

And in a practical sense, although I don’t want anyone to feel obligated to buy us presents, we really do need stuff as much as first-time parents.  When your business fails, and you sell your home and most of your earthly possessions and take off in an RV, you just don’t keep things like diaper pails and baby bathtubs.  <sigh>

I wonder if they’ll play any of those crazy shower games.  I’m probably a lot more relaxed about such things than I was when I was pregnant with Nick - my goodness, how can that have been 13 years ago?  At this point I could probably enjoy the moment - as long as it doesn’t involve guessing my girth, which is alarming.

One thing I always thought was cute, but have never seen up close, was a Diaper Cake.

I had only ever seen home-made versions, so I was absolutely blown away by the cake I received from Dawn at Sweet Pea Cakes, Etc.

For starters, just look at it…

You may remember that I have a thing about Angel Babies, so Dawn did a Custom Designed cake in a gender-neutral color scheme with a baby angel teddy bear on top.  (She has lots of ready-to-go designs on her site, too, which are equally adorable!)

It’s made with Pampers (my favorite ’sposies, coincidentally), and plenty of pretty ribbon and trim.  It came “bagged” in a big piece of white netting, so that you could see it while still preserving it until the opportune moment.

Little does the unsuspecting recipient (yeah, that would be me!) realize that that’s just the tip of the iceberg!  Cleverly concealed inside the cake is a whole basketful of adorable shower gifts.  Handmade bibs and blanket, travel-size baby care products, toys, and more…  I wasn’t ready to spread mine out all over the floor just for your edification, so you’ll have to be satisfied with this photo (and list) from Dawn’s website:

That was a very, very cool present…  and I haven’t even had my Baby shower yet! 

P.S.  Diaper Cakes aren’t just for Babies anymore!  Well, okay the diaper part is… But Dawn makes specialty cakes for every occasion - like Towel Cakes for a Wedding or Graduation (think college colors and furnishing the dorm room!)…  Very cool! 

Right now Dawn is graciously offering you 15% OFF at her site - just use this link to visit Sweet Pea Cakes, Etc. and it will apply automatically, until Feb 13th.  Then on the 13th and 14th she’s having a big Virtual Valentine’s Party, with giveaways, recipies, games, and more…

We got into an interesting discussion a while back on a networking group I belong to…  I was fascinated/horrified by what Kay (the owner of My Precious Kid) had to say about car seats.

I had already bought a nice little booster seat for Miss J, since she will be graduating into that size catagory right about the time the baby comes.  But Kay was adamant from her research that these still-really-little people need to stay in a 5-point harness as long as possible to keep them safe.

There are a bunch of very sad videos on YouTube about this topic, such at this one:

.

I was convinced, and I got Miss J a “Big Girl Car Seat” from Kay’s site:  the amazing RADIAN 65 Car Seat.

There is a Radian 65 and a Radian 80, with the difference being the weight limit.  Since J is much taller than she is heavy, she will certainly be outgrowing either seat by height before she reaches 65 lbs., making the 80 unnecessary for our particular situation.  It does come in pink, though, which was tempting… 

I read though some of the reviews of the seat on Amazon.com, and it was pretty amazing to hear the variety of whines about difficulty to install, weight, etc.

Was it easy to put in my Tahoe? 

Well, okay, not as easy as the booster seat, no.  And some of the things I did have to readjust after installing it once and looking at my handiwork.  Nick helped (can you see me trying to reach over the seat to get to the buckles with my 8-months pregnant belly?  Not.), and it took the two of us… oh… maybe 10 minutes.  Let me be generous and say 15.

I’m not kidding.  Is 15 minutes, once, not a totally reasonable time investment for something that can save your child’s life?

I have a little more sympathy for people who said it doesn’t fit in their vehicle.  I was originally going to put it in the center of the back seat, where she’s currently riding.  Turns out it can’t be installed there, because of the seatbelt buckle configuration of my pre-LATCH vehicle.  But of course after watching Kyle’s video (above), it really shouldn’t be there, anyway, as there’s no place in the center back to link a top tether!

So, off to the side she went…  The passenger side, because that’s where I happened to put it, and because that’s where it’s easiest to see her.  Whoops, then over to the driver’s side…

It’s a Florida thing, but people here are not big on obeying stop signs or stopping when a light turns red.  At a 4-way stop, you have a 50/50 chance at either side of the vehicle.  But a left turn leaves the passenger side vulnerable, whereas a right turn doesn’t open you up - so I feel much safer here with her on the driver’s side.

(BTW, installing again on the driver’s side, now that we’ve “got the drill down” and have all the correct straps installed and adjusted, took about 3 minutes).

It has so many great features you just can’t dismiss:  steel frame construction, trim profile and upright position (J HATES reclining!), a unique “safe strap” for use in certain configurations (including Miss J’s) that would help reduce the strap load on her in the event of a collision (WOW!), it folds flat for travel and transport (and is FAA approved for airline use)… 

I find it in all ways superior to the Britax Marathon we have now . . . and did I mention that it’s a lot less expensive?!

Where was this seat when I was shopping so diligently 3 years ago?  Yep, it’s new… 

I’m not overly paranoid about stuff, but it did creep me out when I read this:

One third of all personal care products contain one or more ingredients classified as possible human carcinogens.

 I mean . . . Eeew!

Does this mean that “organic” isn’t just for the “crunchy” folks among us anymore?  Where do you even begin?

One thing I tried recently was the skincare products from One Group, which is an Australian line that is all certified organic…  In fact, they claim to be

. . . the world’s first and currently only fully certified organic skin, personal and oral care products to food standards.

The facial cleanser and moisturizer certainly felt nice going on, and smelled nice - was that sunflower?  One thing I HATE is when something is so “natural” that it looks and smells kinda like . . . mud. 

Of course you can’t tell everything about a skin care line from one use, but it was encouraging.  There are certainly plenty of things in the world that you can rule out from just one use - or less!  LOL

Have I mentioned how much I enjoy baths?  One of the biggest frustrations I have with this house is the small tub, but that’s a story for another day…

I wanted to share with you the most amazing bath stuff I have ever used!  No, really!  This post may sound like a commercial, but I assure you I’ve posted less favorably about other things I’ve tried, and I really am just crazy about this stuff!  I’m not getting a penny off any sales this may generate - although if she offered an affiliate program, I’d sign up in a heartbeat!  And be sure to check the end of the post for a Top Secret Discount Code you can use to get your own goodies for less!

Check out Kristine’s Shower (and if your first question, like mine, is “What’s with the name?” the answer is here).  Jenny actually does hand-craft all of her products, which is impressive in itself. 

If you’ve been reading for a while, you may recall that we’ve had mixed reviews of some of the “natural” and “homemade” soap and bath products we’ve tried.  Apparently, there IS a secret to it - and Jenny’s got it!

I got a cute assortment of sample sized products as a gift, so I got to try most of her products.

I am a big fan of scrubs.  Before I unpacked this gift, I aready had four different ones sitting by the shower - a sugar scrub, a salt scrub, an apricot scrub, and another body scrub that didn’t specify its scrubbiness.  So I was anxious to try the Body Frosting, which she says she created after trying numerous others that just didn’t do the trick for her.

All I have to say about it is, WOW!

With most salt or sugar scrubs you scrub it on, rinse off the granules, and your skin is left smoother and oily (in a good way, at least theoretically).  With the Kristine’s Shower Body Frosting, it just melted away!  My bathwater turned a lovely shade of blue, and my skin was silky and soft…  Did I mention WOW!?

And how cute is this?  The soap is called “Pink Cupcake” … and it looks like a cupcake, complete with pink frosting and sprinkles!  It was almost too cute to use.

And when I did break down and use it?  Of course I gave it to Wolf first, as he is the soap critic of the family.  He liked it!  “Not slimy, not filmy.”  With an endorsement like that, I had to try it for myself… Truly, it had none of that icky, soapy feeling that is the whole reaosn I’ve used liquid body wash for years now.  Two converts with one tiny bar!

My next bath I tried a Bath Bomb, which you’d hope would be good, coming from “The Bath Bomb Capitol of the Web.”  No joke, I was amazed - and I am (was) not a fan of bath bombs.  Other than for the mildly entertaining quality of watching them “fizz,” I never noticed that they did anything.  Then there was this one…

Although it fizzed mightily, it took its own sweet time dissolving completely.  The fragrance was mild, but pleasant, as was the color of the water.  The bath felt nice, and I was impressed.  But when I let the water out and dried off I noticed the real payoff - my skin felt soft and moist, as though I’d had a nice bath oil or something in the tub!  How in the world do you get oil into something that’s dry and fizzy?!

I also got to try the Aloe Body Whip and Shea Butter Sorbet, which were lovely, rich, non-greasy lotions… 

Anxious to try it for yourself?  The prices are already fair, but if you enter the code POST25 at checkout you’ll save 25% on your entire order! 

I’m going to get some more for me right now!! 

On more than one occasion, we have tried various schools.  And thus, on more than one occasion, we have pulled Nick out mid-year.

With textbooks, it’s a given that things are geared around a whole year, and that’s okay.  But having never been really comfortable piecing things together from scratch, I have tended to go for the “packaged curriculum” and “online school” kinds of things . . . which, naturally, are also geared around a whole school year.

Work-wise?  What a nightmare the year we joined a K12 Virtual Academy mid-year, and had to go through and check all the boxes and test out of all the tests for the entire first half of the year to satisfy the annual “minimum progress requirements”?

But financial-wise?!  I’m paying for a whole year to do half!

So I wanted to pass on something cool I came across recently - The Jubilee Academy is a Bible-based, accredited online program for Pre-K through 12th, with 24/7 online support and everything else you’d expect from an online homeschooling academy . . .

. . . and they offer a mid-year tuition discount starting February  1st, of some 55% off the full annual tuition. 

Just what the doctor ordered if you need to make a change mid-year.

Luckily, this year everyone in our household has stayed put.  What a relief!