Here I Go Again...

I'm not sure why, but I suddenly occurred to me yesterday that my memory is finite and there is no possible way I will remember everything about my kids' childhood.  Yes, I was under the delusion (before my second daughter was born) that I would recall each adorable and/or maddening moment of motherhood. Those of you who are mothers know that I was certifiably insane to think such a thing.

So here I am. Again. I've tried blogging twice, but I lose focus. I am determined to keep this one going as long as possible, though. I don't "do" scrapbooking, so this is my last-ditch effort to record the important stuff.  You know, the little stuff. Because we all know that the little stuff *is* the important stuff, right?

If you don't know me personally, here's the short version of my interests and parenting philosophies. When I was pregnant with E, I did a bit of research and decided I was definitely into the attachment parenting style. That somehow lead me in the direction of unschooling, and I'm now in the process of convincing my husband and mother (who recently moved in with us) that it's the way to go with the girls. We had all already agreed that we didn't need rewards and punishments and that we didn't want to coerce the kids into anything, so unschooling seems to be the next logical step, no?

Anyway, that being said, I'm influenced by a ton of educational styles. I was a teacher by trade, and I now completely eschew the public education system. I like the approach of alternative educational philosophies such as Waldorf, Montessori, and Reggio-Emilia. I don't plan to ever approach my kids' learning with a curriculum, per se, but to expose them to the elements proposed by these schools (exposure to the natural world, child-led learning, play-based learning, etc.).

As for my personal life, I enjoy reading, sewing, knitting, random crafting, gardening, and novice woodworking. Wow, that really sounded like a personal ad, didn't it? Haha! I'm always finding new hobbies that I don't have time for (Hello, blogging! *ahem*). We live on a small rural plot in Central Virginia, and we used to have horses in our pastures. They now lay empty yearning for sheep or alpaca. We do have a few chickens that provide us with delicious eggs daily, and I attempt to maintain a medium-sized garden. We've gotten a fair number of tomatoes this year, but I have a terrible habit of being a bit too optimistic with the garden space. I crowd everything in because I think I can be an intensive gardener, and then everything fails. In short, no corn this year. Not a single freakin' ear.

Well, the rest of the pertinent information will present itself in future posts. Welcome, and I hope you enjoy what I have to say from time to time!