We have direction

We're going to Nebraska, it's not very far, in fact only 104 miles but at least it's another state. Joey was worried about accepting a job knowing that he'd have to "drag up" when it was time for the Live and Learn Conference but luckily he's found a company that sees his talent and will take him when they can get him. He doesn't have as much confidence in himself as I do, so he wasn't even looking for a job. Being so close by actually works out great for selling the house. We'll be close enough to pop over to the house if I need to, hopefully it won't be until the end of escrow, though.

It's been so hot this week that we've been in slow motion, which has actually been a blessing. We're taking our time loading the bus, and really sorting thru things. I thought we'd get away without having any storage but it's just not going to be possible. I've held on to some things for 30 yrs, I can't just throw them away now! It's amazing though at how much we're able to pack into the bus but sadly the trampoline is not one of them. We're sure going to miss it.

The old motorhome and our boat are on eBay, ending on Saturday. Then all we have to do is wait for them to be picked up and we're ready to go. Woo hoo!

Extend the principles of unschooling?

Do you extend the principles of unschooling (trust, freedom, etc) into any other areas of your child's life?

That's the question of the month for the Unschooling Voices Blog Carnival. I'm almost afraid to answer. I'm afraid I'd fall short as an unschooler and frowned upon by a "rules" parent. Up until last year I didn't even know principles of unschooling applied to anything but education. I tried to follow the parental textbooks after the third one came along, strict bed times, regular eating schedule, behaving just so and all I did was drive myself crazy trying to be perfect . I hated trying to be someone I wasn't and that's when I decided to seek out other unschoolers. I found my people! I also found a better way to parent, a way that was in our nature to be but I hadn't trusted in us enough yet. Now I try to use the trust and freedom principles in every aspect. No more fighting with bed times. They, like myself, go to sleep when they're tired and wake up when they, well....wake up. They play to their hearts content, including not limiting video games. Video games used to be a source of contention for us, but now it's a complete non-issue. Hallelujah!

We've never had rules, I've always thought that was so stupid.

If they're not up for the conversation of the moment, they're free to move on. I no longer struggle with them not eating what Ive slaved over the stove to cook for them. If I know they won't like it, I'll make them something else in advance, rather than bitch about it. They don't mind having a messy room, and I've finally chilled out and decided I was the only one that didn't like it, so I clean it myself....and no longer throw toys in a fit of anger. (Not my proudest moment.) I even get Thank you's and hugs for it now, along with their help!

Just because we don't have rules doesn't mean that we have wild children with bad manners, that are malnourished, sleep deprived, unkept and dirty with rotten teeth. They're quite beautiful in fact. We still guide them to make good choices and because of all that freedom, they actually do! Just the other day my 4 yo was holding the kitten in a way that her Dad didn't think was appropriate and he told her to put her down. She put her down and asked, "How do I hold her right?" I know other 4 year olds that would react much differently, but she knows we're coming from a good place, not a controlling one. She trusts us, as much as we trust her.

We're not perfect, we're still learning everyday, but at least our days are much more peaceful now. We feel like we've found a pot of gold in unschooling and want so badly to show everyone how it really works, but for some reason it's hard for a lot of people to grasp. The only thing I can think of is that those parent's will feel they've lost control, but jeesh...don't they remember what it felt like to be controlled?

I'm such a liar

You really can't believe anything I write. I think I'm telling the truth at the time, but then just because I said it, the opposite has to happen. We're not stying an extra month to fancy up the bus after all, we've already started moving in! We've added a few personal touches, and haven't spent a dime.

The drive home for Joey and Jacob was HOT! The bus has no A/C and without a generator the house A/C's won't work so they sweated their butts off, before breaking down. Luckily they broke down right near an RV park so they were able to plug in and cool off while I tracked down a mechanic for them online. Turns out a pulley broke off and it would take who knows how long to get a new pulley, so the mechanic was able to fabricate one using the belt that was somehow still attached, and 24 hrs later they were able to hit the road again. Jonas really missed his big brother so he called him often and told him all about his new neopets. With Jake gone, Jewel and Jonas got along fabulously!! Not one argument or whiney child all weekend, it was amazing....and nice.

It was still hot all week so even thinking about working on the bus, or the houses, was out of the question. We finally got moving the last couple days and that's when we decided to just move into the bus right away and then we can go park in front of the house in town, finish up everything to put a For Sale sign in the yard, and then head on out. We're not sure where we're going yet, but I've heard mention of Montana, OK City area, or TX panhandle. Montana has my vote, but we want to be in NM first of September so it makes more sense to head South, so we'll see.

What's normal?

You Are 45% Normal

While some of your behavior is quite normal... Other things you do are downright strange You've got a little of your freak going on But you mostly keep your weirdness to yourself

How Normal Are You?

Idaho or Bust

We're leaving tonight to go get our bus. That's pretty much all we can think about so I hope they hurry back from Idaho with it. Then we can finally have a conversation that doesn't include, "I'm so freakin' excited!" Then it'll be me shouting "take out this, build that" Oh what fun awaits us. There's no way we'll be out of here the end of the month now, and we're lucky enough to be able to have an extra month to get it set up just how we like. I'm determined to have it completely organized right from the start. Last time, we threw our stuff in our motorhome and hit the road the day after we bought it. We just wanted to get going! We could get going as it is now, but since Joey's working here until we leave at the end of August, and rent here is cheaper than a campground anyway, we have the luxury of taking our time, and making it more comfortable for the long run.

I'm so freakin' excited!

Trash and a wise six year old

When you come to my house I promise you won't leave empty handed...even if you wanted to. Wendy left with two large trash bags of womens clothes and about a dozen pairs of shoes. Hilary got loaded with Disney videos and childrens books. Heather didn't escape without boys clothes, mens clothes and books. Poor Mel, she could barely get in her car with all the knick knacks, kitchen gadgets and home decor I forced her to take. Why then, with the amount of stuff that's been removed is my house messier than ever before? Oh, I'm still supposed to clean? Nah, that can wait until I move out.

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Wise words from a six year old:

"At Chuck E. Cheese you do Fun things, to get Fun things."

Why can't everything be that way?

Jonas also gave us a Math lesson in the car the other day. He explained to us how to make 9+8=17. He told us how you can figure it by adding it in tens and then subtracting the 1 and the 2. I love to hear his thought process, and he's not afraid to show us. He doesn't know what it feels like to stand in front of a classroom and be forced to come up with a good answer, so he doesn't know what it feels like to be judged. How I wish I didn't have that fear.

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We have three kids that have been through the supposed dreaded "why?" phase. Why is the sky blue? Why is your butt big? We never had that! Ours tell us why things are. I'm wondering if this is normal in unschoolers.

Blue Bird

We found it....we found our new home! We've bounced back and forth so many times as to what we would get this time, but we knew this was the one as soon as we saw it. I originally wanted another Class C because of the overhead bunk, Joey wanted a Class A so he could sit behind that big window, and we both wanted something with character. I think this fits us perfectly. It's move in ready, although a little plain, but I already have grand visions of redecorating. In true FuhKaui fashion we have bought this bus sight unseen, we found it on the Internet. The plan is for Joey and Jacob to fly to Idaho next weekend and drive her home......we're so excited we can't even stand to be around ourselves!

Coming to Iowa, Part 2

Obviously we loved Iowa immediately. Joey got a company truck so not having our own car wasn't a problem, after all. I got a good comfy bike with a bike trailer for Jacob and groceries and we were set for the summer. We rode almost every single day, including the six mile trek for prenatal doctor visits. Despite all the exercising I still managed to gain over 40 lbs.! Joey did a 5K run, we bought a boat and had suppers on the lake. Jake learned to pee on trees and then yell very loudly, Look Dad, I wrote your name! Had old people yell at me from the road that I shouldn't be riding that bike in my condition, and then had nicer old folks bring us fresh picked sweet corn. Jonas was born in August, and then we felt like it was time to get back on the road, we had to introduce Jonas to the World, after all. We traveled from IA to MI, and then all the way to AZ and CA, before getting a call that Joey's needed again in Iowa. We don't hesitate, and boogey on back. The campgrounds closed for the winter so we park at a friend's farm before finding an apartment for the winter. We decide at this point to buy our own farm. In March we go to AZ to get all our stuff from storage and while on the road again realize we're not quite ready to settle down yet and back out of the farm the day before we close. Instead we get to see NY, visit the Boston Aquarium, hike in Pennsylvania, Virginia, spend a few days in the Great Smoky Mountains, fall in love with Big Bend Nat. Park in TX, and boondocked outside the hospital in San Antonio giving the family a place to gather while their highly respected Granddaddy was spending his last days inside.

Another year later, and another pregnancy, we finally decide it's time to settle down. Joey flies from CA to Iowa to check out a house we saw on the Internet. We decide it's the one for us. We move in 2.5 yrs after leaving AZ, and think we've found home.

I still think Iowa is a great place to raise a family, if you're into that traditional way of raising families, turns out we're not. We never got into the social scene, we're not drinkers. We don't go to church and we don't put our kids in school. Yeah, I'd say we're a little odd for Iowa. It worked out OK since we were never around in the winter anyway, we'd head South for work. We've been here so long now (5 yrs.) that I almost starting growing roots, thank goodness for all the recent trips in the motorhome....I came to my senses and saw what was happening to me, and how complacent living was bringing me down. Being on the road makes me feel more alive and I can't wait to get back out there full time again. No more rushing home once the jobs done because.... well, I don't know why because, but that's what we'd been doing lately. Not that relaxing on the farm is a bad thing, but it is time to move on. Iowa's been a good place to live, and now will be an even better place to visit.

Coming to Iowa, Part 1

Joey went back to work yesterday, and he was right when he said now I'd be able to get back to work. I got another truck load of stuff to give away after just one day of Joey working. (Normally I would take a couple days to watch oprah and eat bon bons.) For five years we've had a home in Iowa and now that we're leaving he actually got a job close to home, but I don't care we're still leaving. Have I said how excited I am about who's moving in here? Well, I am...very excited. It's my cousin and her family!! I just hope I haven't hyped the place up too much. I do think that she'll like the small town community feel out here, though.

It's got me thinking about why/how we came out here in the first place. We were living in the motorhome, just Joey, Jake and I, and Joey got a job to work on new Wind Towers being built near Storm Lake, Iowa. It was a 4 mo. job starting in May, so it was the perfect summer job. We only had the motorhome at the time so my parents lent us their car to drag behind and use for the summer. Mom also hated that we didn't have a phone so my Dad got us a cell phone. They must have known something was going to happen! We barely made it to Palm Springs from the Mojave Desert when the engine on the motorhome blew. Luckily we had a phone to call for help, and a car to drive back to my folks after coaxing the homo all the way to Blythe. The mechanics said it'd be a few days so Jake and I went back to my folks, and Joey flew on to Iowa. The adventure has just begun...

Since it was only going to be a couple days I went ahead and left the fridge on, with everythihng inside. Big mistake! They had shut off the propane, and then took over two weeks to put in the new engine. The inside of the fridge was basically black. My Dad dropped off Jake, who just turned two, and I, and we begun our cross country trip to Iowa. We stopped at the In-laws in Phoenix for a quick visit and then headed North towards Payson after night fall. I make it to the middle of nowhere so the motorhome can break down once again, and of course the mechanic in Blythe is not answering his phone. I guess I called 911 and they put me thru to a tow truck dispatcher. It's after midnight now so I give them a big sob story how I'm out here all alone with a baby, and I'm 6 months pregnant to boot, so she sends someone out immediately. As immediately as you can get in the middle of nowhere, anyway. So I call my brother in law to come sit with me, and that just pissed the tow truck driver off when he arrived. He had run out in such a hurry that he had his shirt on backwards and inside out! The driver chilled out on the way to the shop in Apache junction and even hopped the fence at the shop to plug me in to their electric. Jake and I spent the night in the parking lot, got everything fixed the next day and headed back out after noon.

Did I mention Jake was two? Not only was he two, but he was also a kid that grew up walking down the aisles of the motorhome while it was in motion, so getting him to stay in his car seat for me was not going to happen very easily. He would wiggle himself out and then one time I actually lost him. While driving down the road. He was hiding from me, in the bathroom. I learned quickly to drive while he slept or ate. We'd stop a couple times a day at indoor McDonald's playgrounds, then I'd drive for hours, then stop to eat and play, then drive some more. Our radio went out about half way there.....don't let your kid put pennies into the cigarette lighter, trust me. The electrical will never work the same again. We made it to Albuquerque around 1am, pulled into the KOA for a few hours sleep and then back on the road bright and early. That KOA never ran my credit card and I'm thinking it's because they saw how little time I was actually there, if so..thank you, I've been wanting to do that. The next night I made it to NE for more free camping. Almost every town in NE has free camping in their city parks, and we always try to take advantage of that. Of course we fill up our gas tanks in their towns so we don't totally take advantage of them. I almost killed us driving so late at night on dark windy one lane highway roads, but I didn't, so all is good.

We pulled into Storm Lake while joey was still at work and it was everything he said it was going to be. It was fabulous to us desert folk. It was green! We knew we were going to like this place.

Thank You!

Kimberly, You so rock! Thank you and the Homeschool Webmasters that took the time to help me. {{{Big hugs}}} I deleted two of the things on my sidebar like you all said and now I'm one happy chick. Have a great weekend!

dropping sidebar

Can anyone help me get my sidebar back up where it's suppossed to be? I spent hours deleting videos, reducing photo size and nothing worked. Help, I'm HTML incompetent!

Update

Since I mentioned my refrigerator troubles, and I'm trying to be better about follow thru, I thought I'd give an update on our fridge. Doesn't she look lovely still sitting in the yard? Free fridge to anyone that wants to clean it!

Introducing Tinks

I figured it was about time to formally introduce our new baby. She's been named Kimmie, Mich-ga, Tinker and is now officially Tinks. Big Daddy normally hates cats, but there's no getting around loving this kitty. Even when she tries to be center of attention

Smooth as molasses

Getting rid of everything may be easier than we thought. Without saying names there are a few people that are extremely interested in renting this farm, and not only would they want the farm, but they'd want our indoor and outdoor furniture, too! What's left anyway. I have a friend that's taking our bedroom furniture, and Jewel's bunk bed. We still have the living room furniture, dining room table, Jewels old bed/crib, the trampoline, riding mower, wood playset, and wood lawn furniture and of course all the wall hangings and decor. Sure we'd love to sell everything and pocket a few bucks but if we can leave it and not have to deal with it, that's worth so much more. Plus, we'll come back and visit often! Yesterday we went through one box, yes only one box, and it took about three hours. It was full of old letters to Joey from when he was in Desert Storm. We met afterwards so I didn't have to deal with him being in war but it was neat, after the fact, to read all those letters. There were a ton from kids, here's a couple of my favorites:

Dear Joe
I hope you kill sadan huuein. I hope you dont die. I hope you kill his team.
Sincerely
Kenny Hill

Dear Joe,
I'm really sorry about you going to the war. Next time please choose peace. my little sister Rebekah doesn't really know about it. But I know so much you could ever believe.
Sincerely Jaime Carey

Gotta love kids!