"HOW TO PLAY BARBIES"

what goes on in there?


well...
today, i get a 'how to play barbies' lesson.

the cast keeps growing and growing, what started off as a small family of mom/dad/and 6 daughters,
is morphing with each trip to the closet to pull out more and more stuff...

to help keep this straight, my thoughts are in parentheses, all the rest is what she told me, somewhat paraphrased because it was hard to keep up with the train of thought, and the quotations are her direct quotes.

'...his snake is 105 yrs old, his parents got it for him for christmas when he was 5 years old.
he's 47 now, the queen is 43.
his snake is a cobra that's all milked out, it came from a milking farm, so it can never produce venom again.
her snake is a ball python, they're non-venomous.
the daughters names are gina, rita, sunny, sophia, daisy, and sleeping beauty.
the moms name is mirabella, the dads name is ivan.
the queens royal advisor is luciella, (added the 'i', per request)
the kings royal advisor is john, "which is too unroyal, but actually , umm.... yeah, john."
her pet snake sleeps on her belly.
the dad always sleeps on his side, so his cobra sleeps on the shelf by the bed.
sleeping beauty has a pet koala
daisy has a pet panda
sophia has a pet lion
rita, she has a pet peacock
gina, she has a pet puppy, a little fluffy white puppy named toutou, with a pink bow
sunny, she has a pet horse,
and they all have a special blanket.'

'sometimes the queen has to go to royal court (this is my favorite idea) because sometimes her daughters go outside when they arent supposed to,
like when they are supposed to have a dance lesson, or a nap, or royalty lessons, or sometimes the dog pees on the poor peoples yard and they get mad because it kills all their crops, so they have to go to court bc they want to take it (the dog) and ship it to another country.
and nibble (named that bc when they first got him, he nibbled on her ribbons, she told me so) is half bug/half owl who sometimes leaves owl pellets on their doorstep.
and the girls always play with the queens pink sparkling horse with purple hair, whose name is louise.
john has a big gray horse with a birthmark on his back leg(a scratch of some sort)
the horses are brother and sister, and the brother is older, even though he has giant eyelashes and looks like a girl.'

[now that we have established all the 'back story', the play begins...]

'john has been injured because he was thrown off his horse, 'johnny'.
he broke both his legs, and sunny is nursing him back to health.

the queens royal advisor goes to the aquarium with the little princesses...
(we have an aquarium in the bedroom)
[muffled voices, alternating between regal and authoritative,(the royal advisor)
to high-pitched whiny and nasal(the princesses).]
sleeping beauty can't go to the aquarium bc she needs a nap.
the only time she's awake is to eat, use the bathroom, and get her royal lessons.
"thats what she likes to do."
she wants to go to the aquarium but she needs to take a nap,
and after they left she realized she did need to take a nap.'

azul(a peacock) is the second biggest of all the pets, and nibble(half bug-half owl) is the smallest.

[in walks godzilla(little sister just woke up),]

'biiiiiiggggg siiiiiiggggghhhhhhhh'

"then a giant comes and takes all the animals, and they live happily ever after, the end...?"

[question mark also added per request,]
"because later when she takes a nap, i'm going to finish the story"

SISTER SOULS

I remember as a kid, I never wanted a little sister.
I was the only girl until she came along and stole the show!
She was the most adorable little thing, with white blonde hair that hung in ringlet curls,
huge sparkling baby blue eyes, and lashes that swept the top of her eyebrows when she blinked!
Being older by almost 6 years, she became 'my charge' much of the time,
and always wanted to tag along with me and my friends.
Needless to say, I hated her!

I also remember really wanting to have a BFF kind of friend.
The kind of friendship where you finish each other's sentences,
where you could tell the truth all the time and still love each other,
where you knew no matter what was going on in life,
there was always at least one person in the world who would be there,
and who really understood you.

Little did I know...
She would be both!

(see the heart in the photo?)

I'm smiling because you are my sister;
I'm laughing because...
there is NOTHING you can do about it!

IF LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS...

MAKE LEMONADE



I am SO excited and GRATEFUL for this, my very first award!
Thank You HEART ROCKIN MAMA!!!
This award is for showing gratitude or showing good attitude, so I couldn't be more honored to be nominated!
I love HEART ROCKIN MAMA's 'rest of the story'- "Unless life also gives you sugar and water, your lemonade's gonna suck!"


Here are THE RULES:

1) Put the logo on your blog or post.
2) Nominate at least 10 blogs that show great attitude or gratitude.
3) Link to your nominees within your post.
4) Let the nominees know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
5) Share the love and link to the person from who you received your award.

and THE NOMINEES are:

Lune @ Bubble & Squeak
Lisa @ 5orangepotatoes
Vicki @ Where the FuhKaui?
Momma Snail @ The Snail's Trail
little castle @ Show Us The World
Lisa @ Mrs. Hannigan's Home for Girls
Happy @ Happy Loves Rosie
Stefani @ Blue Yonder
Denise @ Mom in Madison
nettlejuice @ Flow of Love

and last, but certainly not least,
I would like to nominate......(drumroll please)....

Heart Rockin Mama @ Heart Rockin' Family

RETHINKING EDUCATION

This year's conference promises to be an even more amazing, incredible, life altering event than the last!
Can you tell I really believe in this conference?

Last year was our very first time to attend, but it will be a priority for our family to MAKE IT HAPPEN from now on!
We are a family who very instinctively unschooled, even before we knew there was such a thing. We had some detours along the way, but we have always been unschoolers at our core.

But even then, it can be difficult to feel confident and reassured that we are doing the right thing by following our instincts on this radical path! Let's face it, for most of us, the majority of people immediately surrounding us, either cannot understand what it is that we do, or just flat out condemn us for it!
Being in an entire hotel full of like-minded, free-spirited, child-respecting families, was like finding our long lost tribe!

I don't have the vocabulary to express what an amazing all around experience this conference was for our family.
I can only say, that we have been forever changed by it, and that change has most definitely been for the good!

OH YES, ALSO...

Check out the new FLICKR group for the Rethinking Education Conference!
Share your fun conference photos with other unschoolers and conference attendees, past, present, and future!
And maybe even find some great photos of your family that you didn't even know were out there!

If you have been to the conference and have some great photos you'd like to share,
or even if you haven't been yet, come join the group, and take a look at all the fabulous families, friends, and fun- and GET INSPIRED to make it to this year's conference!

Discussion topics will have the inside scoop, with important links and updates with all the latest information!

http://www.flickr.com/groups/rethinkingeducation/

Hope to see you there!

SOCIALIZATION-SHMOCIALIZATION

spontaneous baby love going around at an unschoolers park day gathering!
who says we aren't properly socialized?

SHARE YOUR OPINION AND WIN!

Go check out my unschooling group on flickr, look for discussion topic- "Share your opinion and Win!", leave a reply to the question- "What does unschooling mean to you?", and you are automatically entered to win an adorable magnet board like this one, or this one, or even this one,-handmade by me, custom designed for the winner!

Or you can just comment here!

GROWING NATURALLY

I LOVE THIS!

I have two daily dreams about the future possibilities for our little family of four.

The first is to be a band of gypsies, traveling around the country in a green machine, (an eco-friendly renovated rv or bus), living with only what we really need, nothing more, exploring this big amazing world one stop at a time. From one state park to the next, pulling off to explore anything that tickles our fancy at our own leisurely pace.




The second is to have a nice patch of grass to call our very own, and my favorite vision is of my kids bare feet hanging side by side from an old wood plank swing, wide enough for both of them, on long, slow-swinging ropes from a big old oak tree, branches hanging close to the ground, like they want to pick the wildflowers.


Hence, the name of this blog: Roots...and....Wings
Oh, to find the balance...

I guess people really are that stupid!

This is a quote posted to an article defining unschooling:

"So, if the child does not wish to play the card game or the word game, he/she does not have to? What does Mom say? What would you like to explore today? This is the most preposterous idea I've ever heard. Children need guidance; yes, even requirements. They don't know enough to choose their own subjects; they don't know what the subjects of life even are. People will believe anything!
Posted on 3/2/2009 6:37:00 PM by Anonymous"

Read more HERE.
It was posted yesterday.

That just lets me know that even 'in this day and age', people can still be just that stupid!
I use the word stupid instead of the word ignorant, because i believe that 'choosing' to remain ignorant constitutes stupidity.
There is too much information out there about the 'real story' of unschooling, much of it observed and written about by former life long SCHOOL TEACHERS who saw the failings of public school systems and their 'methods' of defining and dividing real life into subjects.

I could seriously rant on and on about this for hours, but I chose to control myself, and didn't even 'reply' to this idiotic comment on the thread. I just don't see the point in arguing with a fence post.

I'd love to hear anyone else's input on this!

UPDATE:
March 19th, 12:34 am

Okay, I've had some time to digest this and would like to put more of a 'positive' vibe to this post.
I tend to get a bit wound up initially when I encounter such an extreme case of boisterous ignorance.
Like my dad always says, "Better to let someone think you a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt."

Having taken the time to calm and meditate about it, I can sympathize with someone who would make a statement like this.
Obviously she has NO CLUE of what she speaks, which truly, is pretty sad.
And I can even AGREE with her on the point that, yes, children do need guidance.

A few definitions of GUIDANCE-
*something that provides direction or advice as to a decision or course of action
*the act of guiding or showing the way

–noun
1. the act or function of guiding; leadership; direction.
2. advice or counseling, esp. that provided for students choosing a course of study or preparing for a vocation.
3. supervised care or assistance, esp. therapeutic help in the treatment of minor emotional disturbances.
4. something that guides.
5. the process by which the flight of a missile or rocket may be altered in speed and direction in response to controls situated either wholly in the projectile or partly at a base.

NOTE: the only definition that refers to CONTROL is the one that also refers to WEAPONS.

And THIS statement:
"They don't know enough to choose their own subjects; they don't know what the subjects of life even are. People will believe anything!"
is actually ironically amusing!

REAL LIFE is not neatly divided and packaged into SUBJECTS.
Life is not so linear, or cubic.
That kind of thinking is the direct result of generations of BOX THINKING, programmed in by THE SYSTEM itself.
The system seeks to support itself, like the matrix.
And the fact that people believe THOSE systems, those lies, those completely man-made fabrications about divisions in life,
is just proof of the idea that,

yes, "People WILL believe anything."