I have two maids on Saturdays

At the risk of having you read this post in your "Don't Hate me Because I'm Beautiful" Panteen commercial voice let me explain. I live in the Middle East, Bahrain to be exact, and it is a common practice to have a full-time or part-time maid. Our maid, *The Miracle Worker, charges 1/10 of what one charges in the US, if she lived with us and worked full-time it is more likely she would charge even less. She only cleans our house because she is part time but most housemaids take care of the children as well. We lived here before and LOVED our housemaid, *Sri Lankan Sunshine, as if she were our own family but we can only have her come one day on the weekends to stay in our maid quarters because she is currently working for a French family who, and I don't blame them one bit, do not want to part with her. So there you have it. Why then would I share this with you, as you reach for your toilet scrubber to hit me through the computer? Well, it is my introduction to those of you who would like an insider's view into the life of an expat. You should know that I grew up mainly in the same house and in the same town and didn't awaken the gypsy that lives inside of me until I was off to college and knew I wanted to not just travel the world I wanted to live, eat, and breathe it.

There are always give and takes, pros and cons, in every choice one makes and choosing to live in a foreign country is one of those major choices. I gave up living close to my family and friends, missing special occasions and holidays with them, shopping at Target, WalMart, and Costco, less them 120 degree weather in September and October, and going to a waterpark in a bathing suit because I feel practically naked wearing anything less then a body suit here. However, I'm enjoying the MANY different cultures and people from all over the world who live and work here. I love the food, the sites, the unexpected adventures that turn up in the most unlikely places. Yes, I love having the extra perks as well that have made life easier but it wouldn't be worth it without all of these things that make living in a foreign country one of my best choices so far!

Last week a man behind me in the grocery store told me his wife and children were flying in at the end of the month to join him in Bahrain and he asked how I liked it. I went on and on about how much I loved living in Bahrain and then I stopped suddenly in the midst of my list of great things about Bahrain and said, "Oh, but I should tell you that I've felt this way about every place I've ever lived." In a nutshell, I believe you don't have to live in a foreign country to have an adventure, learn, or have great experiences. Find out what makes your hometown great and fun and interesting and go out and Live, Eat, and Breathe it in!!

With Love,

Nonnie


*names have been changed because I like to change people's names:)

How on God's green earth did I become a homeschool mom?

If you stood me in a line-up of moms you would be hard pressed to pick me out as the one who homeschools. Exhibit A: My Report Card. Not exactly stellar. I never once brought home a report card in my adolescent years that made me think, "Wow, I can't keep all this brain power to myself I must past it on to the next generation." Exhibit B: I'm Vain. I'm not one to throw on a baseball cap, no make-up, hair undone, ready for any adventure that happened my way, which was my previous perception of a homeschool mom. Every day before I start teaching I get ready. I mean really ready, pencil skirt and pearls ready. Don't get me wrong I do have casual days as well, but not many. Exhibit C: I own a book entitled "How to Live with Kids and Enjoy It", and I've read it. Twice. Finally, one you might not think pertinent to making the case against me but trust me when homeschooling I've learned it is a biggy. Exhibit E: I am not laid back, at all. So much so that I'm not comfortable in a Lazy Boy chair :).
Yet somehow here I am. The greatest part about homeschooling my children is that I get to work out the very things that I thought didn't qualify me to do so. I'm learning a great deal, not only through the lesson books but through the life lessons that I'm racking up. It is like parenting on steroids. I'm learning that it is okay to let your hair down every once in a while and "unstring the bow". Sometimes I feel like Bear Grylls and am using survival tactics as I go along but I'm doing it and they are too, after all it can't be easy on them to be taught by the most unlikely of homeschooling moms.

365 Days of Nature and Discovery: Learning About Our World One Lunch Discussion at a Time

I love sitting down and having lunch with my children. We always have great discussions about making healthy eating choices as well as all the fun things we have planned for the day or week. This year I made a goal to try to read one page during lunch from the book 365 Days of Nature and Discovery: Things to Do and Learn for the Whole Family by Jane Reynolds, Phil Gates, and Gaden Robinson. My youngest sister gave this book to the boys a few years back and it's been sitting unopened on the shelf until now--what a waste! This little hardcover book has been a wonderful addition to our lunchtime discussions.

Amazon describes the book as follows:

This is a book to be shared between parent and child; it is an encyclopedia, a calendar, an activity book, a Pandora's box of nature, and provides the key to knowing more about the countryside and environment around oneself. Through the colour illustrations and the informative text, the reader can discover why flamingos are pink, how owls see in the dark, where rain comes from and why

porcupines have prickly spines. The book is systematically cross-referenced, and has over 2000 illustrations.

The book is small, but is huge on information. I love that I am reading nonfiction to my children each day.  And I really love that they always ask if I can just read one more page--even though they know we only read one. If one of my children finish their lunch earlier than the others they often draw about what we have just read as we continue our discussion. Even I have learned a number of things.

Did you know that most sharks are ovoviviparous? I didn't! (You can go HERE to find out what it means) My 6-year-old found it fascinating that I had never heard nor read that word before. It opened up a whole new discussion on how we are always learning--even at the super-duper old age of 36.

You can order used copies of this book for as low as $5 on Amazon--and that includes shipping! In my opinion, that's $5 well spent. Make a goal, pull out a nonfiction book, and open up your table to wonderful discussions about the world around you.

Finding Your Parenting Power

I read an article not too long ago entitled 'Finding your Parenting Power' and it got me thinking. I really believe every mom and dad has been blessed with powers that are unique to raising the child(ren) that come into their home. I'm always impressed by those individuals who seem to have discovered their power and are using it to the best of their ability to empower their child(ren) and those in their circle of influence. I've also noticed that in today's parenting arena there is a lot of 'power' comparing which ends up just distracting that parent from the mission at hand. There are so many blogs out in the blogosphere (my husband said this is an outdated word and will expose me for the novice I am;) right now and I must admit sometimes I turn off my computer thinking, yep, I stink at this mom stuff cuz there is no way I could ever do or accomplish what that mom is doing. When that happens everyone suffers and powers we do have go unused. It'd be like Superman not rescuing a train load of citizens headed for a cliff because he doesn't have spiderweb making abilities like Spiderman so what's the point! I find when I wallow in my weaknesses I hit my kryptonite moments and am no good to anyone, but when I am inspired well, make way!! I decided to accept my friend Brooke's invitation to "guest blog" since I believe her blog will reach out and inspire those who read it to find their parenting power and be a force for their families!

I'm still working on honing my Powers and thought what better place to do just that than the Middle East:). My husband and I moved our four little Kings and set up shop on the small island in the Persian Gulf, Bahrain. As if moving to the Middle East wasn't crazy enough, I decided to home school as well. My number one goal is to have a GREAT ADVENTURE, so if for no other reason than that stay tuned....

Never Give Up: Failure is Part of Success

"I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."

-Michael Jordan

Kids often think that they can do anything. That's a good thing--most of the time. But I believe it is also important that children realize that things don't always come easily. They see athletes and want to play just like them. They hear musicians play and want to be able to play like that. They weren't there to witness the countless hours of practice nor all of the struggles that went into making that person successful. It takes hard work and a lot of determination to be successful. Most successes are not accidental nor instantaneous. I hope to teach my children that they CAN succeed if they are willing to work hard and put forth the effort needed to accomplish their goals. In an 1840's Teacher's Manual Thomas H. Palmer wrote a poem. A portion of the poem reads, "If at first you don't succeed, Try, try again." Isn't that the truth.

Check Out These FREE Online Storytime Sites

This afternoon as the boys and I were picking up my two-year-old needed something to do beside walk around behind us undoing everything we were doing--anyone else ever have that problem? So, I plopped her in front of Barnes and Noble's Online Storytime and she LOVED getting to listen to three stories read aloud to her as we finished up what needed to be done.

This month Barnes and Noble is featuring Sandra Boynton reading Snuggle Puppy. We have this book so Miss G was thrilled to have it read to her in a new and exciting way. There are currently 15 books to choose from at Barnes and Noble Online Storytime. Miss G chose to listen to If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and Pinkalicious as her other choices. I'm sure she'll ask to listen to another one tomorrow.

The other online storytime site that I like is Storyline Online by the Screen Actors Guild Foundation. This site currently has 24 stories to listen to. Each story has related activities and more activities tabs that you can click on to further enrich the reading experience. Check these sites out and let your children explore books in a whole new way.

Here is the list of books available at Storyline Online:



Teaching Manners: A Little at a Time Goes a Long Way

(my little ones: ages 2, 4, and 6)

Life be not so short but that there is always time for courtesy. 

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

When I taught elementary school I expected the students under my care to be polite and respectful, not only to adults, but to their peers as well.  We worked hard together at creating classes that were kind and polite, which in turn made them successful. I began teaching my own children the simple rules of etiquette at very early ages. My youngest is now two years old, but some of her first words were "please", "thank you", and "excuse me." Manners in our house are not only expected, but are also appreciated. And I think that makes a world of difference. I make sure to be just as polite to my children as I expect them to be to me. Teaching by example works well in our home.

Parents Magazine ran an article in their March 2011 edition titled, 25 Manners  Every Kid Needs by Age 9 By David Lowry, Ph.D. It's an easy and managable list and I sat down and discussed it with my children last spring. I pulled it out again tonight to review this coming week. We're going to reflect on how we've been doing and make a few new goals for the coming year. And I think that I'll make a special note to try to follow #3 better myself.