Keeping up with the News

I am not good at keeping track of what is happening in the real world. As a stay-at-home mom, my kids keep me fairly busy. For a while I just didn't think that knowing what was going on was a priority for me.

This week I have been thinking a lot about A Thomas Jefferson Education by Oliver Van DeMille. I have realized that I should never stop learning myself, especially since Drew and Gracie will be learning from my example as they grow up and I become a mentor to them.

One of the things that a mentor should encourage is helping his or her student learn to apply knowledge gained from the classics to situations in the real world, in a way that helps others. How will I be able to teach Drew and Gracie how to make real-world applications if I have no idea what is going on in the real world myself?

Having come to that realization, I began looking for the "perfect" news source. After some thought I realized that I was actually jumping right back on the "conveyor belt," looking for someone to tell me what to think. I need to just start reading and thinking about current events and the more I read and learn, the better I will be at evaluating what I read.

My husband always seems to know what is going on in the world, so I asked him where he looks for news. He said he usually looks at CNN or MSNBC, so those will be my starting place as I try to pay more attention to the world around me.

How do you keep up with the news? If you have a favorite news web site, please share it with me!

Getting Off of the Conveyor Belt

I have been asking my husband to read A Thomas Jefferson Education by Oliver Van DeMille ever since I finished reading it earlier this week. We plan to homeschool Drew and Gracie, and this book describes the kind of education I would like for them to have, so I thought it an important book for him to read. He finally picked it up this evening before dinner, and has barely set it down since. I'm sure he'll finish it tonight.

Near the beginning of the book, Van DeMille describes three systems of schooling: conveyor belt education, professional education, and leadership education. To describe these systems briefly, a conveyor belt education teaches a student what to think and emphasizes conformity to textbooks and standards; a professional education teaches a student when to think, applying knowledge in specialized situations; and a leadership education (what the author calls a Thomas Jefferson education) teaches a student how to think.

I am a product of a "conveyor belt" education. As a student, I was very good at memorizing the textbook and repeating it back for exams. I rarely had to think or form opinions for myself. I wish I had learned how to think instead.

I have long forgotten much of what I learned in school, and I know there are huge gaps in my education. I always excused these gaps before by claiming that the ability to look up information was more important than the knowledge itself. Now I'm not so sure that's true. If I'm not constantly learning about the world around me, about history and human nature, and making that knowledge a part of myself, a part of my life, I won't have a strong basis for any decisions I am called upon to make. This kind of education takes time. I can't look into a book to find out what I should think. If I don't work on my own education now, it won't be there to call upon when I need it, and I won't be able to set a good example for Drew and Gracie.

I am in the middle of reading a few books, but once I'm finished with them I plan to dive into the classics to see what I can learn from them. Stay tuned ...

It's really bugging me ...

My husband rented a movie to watch this evening after Drew and Gracie went to bed. When he turned on the TV, he noticed what looks like a small spider in the middle of the screen ... but it's on the inside. I hope it is not there to stay.

It's a good thing we don't watch TV much. Just seeing it there is really bugging me!

Update: The spider (or whatever it is) has crawled up toward the top of the screen now ... so it is still alive in there. It's making me shiver just thinking about it.

One Thing at a Time

I am not very good at doing just one thing at a time. I start one thing and then somehow get distracted and start something else. My house is full of half-finished projects ... things that I started but didn't finish before my next great idea came along. My shelves are full of half-read books (although most of my half-read books come from the library these days). Right now I am in the middle of reading eight different books. Eight. Why did I start reading that many books at once?

At this moment there are 25 different web pages open in my web browser. Why can't I concentrate anymore? I have a feeling that I have allowed myself to get into a bad habit of hopping from one thing to another. I need to work on that.

For now, though, I'm off to finish reading one of my library books.

Invisible

Some days I feel completely invisible.

I started thinking about this on Sunday after church. My family has attended the same church almost every week for over eight years and if we stopped coming I'm not sure many people would notice or care. I don't feel connected to the people there.

Later Sunday afternoon I posted an introduction in a Yahoo group, and asked a couple of questions. I was very excited to join the group but so far I have not received a single response to my questions. I guess I will have to try again.

I know it is mostly my own fault. I am a very quiet person and I have a hard time getting involved and offering my opinions ... I mostly sit back, watching and listening. I need to find a way to get involved and connected with others because feeling invisible is not much fun.

Paper Dolls

Gracie loves paper dolls -- and I do, too. They're inexpensive and don't take up a lot of space. If she loses them, I can always print more. What's not to like?

The first paper dolls I made for Gracie were the Emily and Sherah dolls from Marilee's Paperdolls Page. (There are links to many other paper doll web sites on her page, as well.) They are still some of Gracie's favorites. I printed them out on several different colors of paper so Gracie can dress them in different colors.

This week I printed out some paper dolls from MakingFriends.com for Gracie. She loves all the different hairstyles and outfits that are available. Today I even printed out a paper doll and some outfits for one of my friends in graduate school. She is very busy and I thought she could use a break for a dose of three-year-old fun.

Gracie and I are always looking for new paper dolls so if you know of any good websites, please let us know!

Writing

This evening as I was rocking Drew I started reading Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett. I haven't made it very far yet, but I ran across a quote that kind-of describes how I feel about writing:

"Calder sighed. If only thoughts didn't have to be broken down into words. Too much talk was hard to listen to, and writing, for him, was a brutal process. So much got left behind."

I imagine my biggest problem, however, is that I haven't spent enough time thinking and then working at putting those thoughts into words.

Old habits are hard to break ...

but I managed to leave my computer off all day today! (I did sneak a few minutes on my husband's computer first thing this morning to check some library book due dates and renew a couple of books online, though.) The only drawback is that I need to review our family's budget plan and spending for July and August and now that I have the computer on I'm too tired to do it. Maybe I'll work on it tomorrow.

This week I have been reading A Thomas Jefferson Education by Oliver Van DeMille. It talks about how the system of education in America is broken and how each individual needs to take responsibility for his or her own education. Van DeMille asserts that it is impossible for one person to educate another, but that a great teacher can inspire students to educate themselves and help them follow through. The two types of teachers are mentors and classics.

I borrowed this book from the library via Interlibrary Loan, and I am actually reading through it for a second time and taking notes before I have to return it. I'm sure I'll have more to say about it once I have had a chance to finish reading and digesting the information. It has been very inspiring to me ... I can't wait to get started improving my own education.

Turning the Computer Off

I am addicted to the computer. My computer is on all the time, wasting my time and the electricity it uses to run it. Sure, it's fun to take a minute or two to check my e-mail or read an article or two on the Internet several times throughout the day, but I think my time might be better spent reading a good book. So, starting tonight I plan to leave my computer off during the day and only turn it on for an hour or two each evening. (I wonder if I will be able to stick to this plan?)

Expired

I don't know if it's just my bad luck or only a problem at the two stores where I usually shop for groceries, but the last several times I have been grocery shopping, I have found packages of food on the shelf that were past their "sell by" date. The items range from bread and hot dogs a week past their marked dates, vegetable dip a month past its date, and several packages of cheese that expired last April. The item that bothered me most, though, was a package of infant vitamin drops that was several months past its "sell by" date ... it bothers me to think that if I hadn't been paying attention, I might have given Drew something that might not have been good for him.

I typically have Drew and Gracie along when I am doing my grocery shopping, so ideally, I would like to get in and out of the grocery store as quickly as possible. I now find myself pausing to check the date on every single item that I put in my cart. I'm sure it makes my shopping trip last longer, but I don't know what else to do.

I have found expired items only once at one store, but it seems to be an ongoing problem at the other store. I filled out a comment card complaining about the expired items and received a telephone call from the store manager, who assured me that they are working to correct the problem. Several months later, however, I still typically find at least one expired item on every shopping trip. Short of boycotting the stores in my area and driving an extra fifteen minutes to shop elsewhere, what else can I do? Is this a problem for other people, or does it only happen to me?

Getting Ready

Some days it feels like a job just to go anywhere. It takes me at least half an hour to get Drew and Gracie ready and out the door (on a good day). I think it is because I have to do everything three times ... once for myself, and once each for Drew and Gracie.

I am usually pretty good at getting them out of their PJs and dressed first thing in the morning (although Drew has been known to spend an entire day in his PJs on occasion if we're staying home), but I do have to make sure my hair has been combed before we go, and then work the tangles out of Gracie's hair. (Drew's hair is fairly short so I don't have to do anything there.) Then, I have to go to the bathroom. Then Gracie. Then Drew needs his diaper changed. Finally I put on my shoes and socks, Gracie's shoes and socks, and Drew's shoes and socks. I make sure Drew and Gracie have had last-minute drinks and that they won't get hungry while we're gone. I check Drew's diaper one last time, and make sure Gracie doesn't need to go potty again. Finally, feeling utterly exhausted, I am ready to buckle them in their carseats and go.

And I only have two children. How do moms with more than two do it? And how do they make it look so easy?

Easily Intimidated

I am, I will admit, easily intimidated. That is part of the reason that I have been away from my blog for such a long time. I started to blog one day when I was sick (and so had time on my hands to sit) and wanted to try something new. Then someone else actually read a blog entry or two and I got scared. I started reading several excellent blogs and knew I would never measure up. All of a sudden, I felt like everything I wrote had to be perfect. I couldn't live up to my own expectations. It was somewhat paralyzing.

Today, I decided that I have been silly, so now, I am back to blogging for myself. I need practice writing ... I need practice thinking ... so I'm giving myself the assignment to write something every day. (We'll see how long that lasts!) I will say that even though I haven't been writing much, blogging has been good for me because I have been reading a lot more non-fiction and thinking about things a lot more than I did before. (You would not believe the number of blog entries that I thought about writing!) Until this summer, I read a lot of (mostly inspirational) romance novels (*blush*). I think I was using reading as a way to escape my everyday world. Once I started blogging, or at least thinking about blogging, I became excited about exploring new ideas, and I found that reading to learn new things is a lot more fun. I think I'm ready now to study and gain for myself the education that I was not mature enough to appreciate when I started college fifteen years ago.

On another note, the other reason I've been away from blogging for a while is that Drew started walking (running might be more accurate) a month or two ago. He is able to get into trouble so much more quickly and easily than he could before. I remember thinking when Gracie was a baby that it shouldn't make much difference if she was crawling or walking. After all, she would be mobile in both cases. I hadn't realized two things: (1) With crawling, her hands were mostly occupied so she couldn't carry things easily from one place to another, and (2) once she could stand up, she could reach higher and therefore get into more things than she could from her hands and knees. I already knew these things this time around, but somehow Drew's newfound ability to get into things still took me by surprise. During the day, I only get a few minutes here and there to check my e-mail or read a blog entry or two. I have to wait until after the kids are asleep to get any real time to sit and think ... and write.

Until tomorrow ...

Have you checked your credit report this year?

Last week I started trying to sort through and organize my file cabinet where I keep our bills and financial information. (If anyone has any tips for keeping these records organized, I would love to hear them!) For me, the filing cabinet seems to be somewhat of a black hole for papers ... they go in and never come out again. For example, I came across the old bills from a cell phone that we discontinued service on five years ago. Ugh. I don't think I need to keep those anymore!

However, I did come across the folder containing our credit reports from the past two years, and I am glad that I did because it reminded me that I need to get copies of our credit reports again soon. Checking your credit reports is easy and it is free. Just go to AnnualCreditReport.com and follow the instructions to get a copy of your credit report from each of the three major credit reporting companies, Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian.

Checking your credit report each year is a good idea even if you think your credit report is clean. The first year I got our reports, I found that one of the credit reporting companies had combined my husband's credit report with that of another man with the same name (who had some negative items on his credit report). I am happy to say that one telephone call to the credit reporting company got the incorrect items removed without any problems, but if I would not have checked the credit reports, I might not have known.

Uh Oh!

At 14 months old, Drew doesn't say very many recognizable words, so each time he learns a new one, we celebrate. As of last weekend, his new favorite word is "uh oh!" On Friday evening after he was finished with his dinner, Drew sat in his high chair throwing bits of food onto the floor, and before he threw each piece, he said "uh oh!" I let him keep doing it for a few minutes because his little voice sounded so incredibly cute.

On Saturday afternoon he started saying "uh oh!" before launching toys over the gate and down the stairway. We put a stop to that rather quickly.

Then Sunday morning during church he stood up on the pew and looked at the person sitting on the pew behind us (who happened to be his pediatrician), said "uh oh!" and threw his toy at him. Uh oh, indeed! :)

Sleep Deprived

Some symptoms of sleep deprivation: tiredness, irritability, shorter attention span, poorer concentration and memory, inability to handle stress, less healthy immune system ... yes, that sounds like me.

I think I have been somewhat sleep deprived ever since Gracie was born (over 3 1/2 years ago). For me, getting enough sleep requires a balancing act -- I need to rest to stay healthy and sane -- but I also need the time to myself each day that I only get once the children are asleep.

Right now, I am desperate for Drew to begin sleeping through the night. After I got mastitis a second time recently, my husband has realized that I need more sleep to stay healthy, and has started to help out with some of Drew's night wakings for the past few nights. Now that Drew realizes that he is not going to see Mommy or get a midnight snack when he wakes up, he is sleeping better, and so am I.

I am also determined to get myself to bed at a reasonable time every night. This is such a struggle for me because there are so many things that I want to do ... books that I want to read, web sites that I want to surf, Blog entries that I want to write. Do I sleep? Or do I Blog? Obviously, sleep has won out over blogging lately for me!

So, what else can this tired Mommy do to get more sleep?