my goofy kids

Here are some pictures of the kid's from the past few days.

My bedroom light is burnt out and I haven't gotten around to replacing it. So my ever so resourceful son plugged in some Christmas lights to read to. lol

They freed all of their stuffed animals from their nets. Man oh man what a mess of babies that is!

Sara's Birthday Party

We had a Christmas themed party for Sara on Saturday to celebrate her 6th birthday. It was pretty laid back, the kids played, the adults talked. It's hard to believe that my baby is already 6!

Joey

The Birthday Girl!

The babies love Ashley. lol

Rachel and Pucho

Shelly back from the scooter races. lol

Jacob and Daddy

Luke

Jacob and Kyle

Moving on

Mr. Akridge expressed that he is not the one who left me the anonymous comments. He claimed responsibility for the hair bow comment but that's it. So sorry for thinking you were anonymous....but that doesn't take away the fact that you felt the need to start a thread on how sick my family is.

As far as tracking, anonymous is using different computer's at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. So whoever you are....have a great life!

Time to move on now.

oh the fun!

So it just goes back and forth between me and the atheist's. It seems that they like visiting my page as much as I like visiting theirs! Seriously though, I was so mad when this all started but I'm not mad anymore. I just don't understand why they can't put their point of view out there without being so insulting and condescending.

From: Shelley Mountjoy
Sent on: Monday, December 15, 2008 1:49 AM

http://bagbybunch...

So David, you're Anonymous huh? LULZ

I stopped reading here: "If you had clicked the box that said 7*7 then you would have read that 7*7 means saying 7 prayers for your family 7 days a week. It's kind of a play off of 24/7. Not that hard to figure out."

My 7*7 comment was a play on the Biblical significance of the number 7. Not that hard to figure out... assuming you've actually read the Bible. I'm surprised I even made it that far through the blog.

[::Waves to Mrs. Bagby!:: There is no god, and you aren't going to hell. :) ]


So David, you're Anonymous huh? LULZ

Although I outed (hehe) David as Mr. Anonymous, it doesn't mean I think he is the only person who posted under anonymous. And this is actually a compliment of sorts.....I may be wrong but I believe that he is the 1st anonymous to post comments on my blog. Those 1st long rants actually had some small signs of intelligence in them and he is the only person in your group that actually comes across as being intelligent.

And the lulz come right back to you, I didn't start this drama.

I stopped reading here: "If you had clicked the box that said 7*7 then you would have read that 7*7 means saying 7 prayers for your family 7 days a week. It's kind of a play off of 24/7. Not that hard to figure out."

My 7*7 comment was a play on the Biblical significance of the number 7. Not that hard to figure out... assuming you've actually read the Bible. I'm surprised I even made it that far through the blog.

I doubt it if you stopped reading at this point. I think we have already established that you have a problem recognizing the truth. Especially since once you get to that point in the post, your picture is right there. If I saw my pic, I would keep reading.

And nope that flew right over my head. I have read parts of the bible but not the entire thing and I do not and have never claimed to be an expert on the bible. I am still learning. Simple as that, so you got me there.

And honestly, I think that I might be an atheist too if the things that have happened to you had happened to me. Not trying to be mean, you know what I am talking about and I will keep that to myself. Or have you always been an atheist? I am being completely serious and honest in asking.

I will share something with you. When I was 10 my father died and I was so mad at God for it. I didn't know anything about God except that he existed. Then for the next nine years I hated God. I never prayed to him, I would say a prayer, more like talk, to my dad. So while I believed that God existed, I didn't acknowledge him for those years.

[::Waves to Mrs. Bagby!:: There is no god, and you aren't going to hell. :) ]

Do you even have any friends who believe in God? I'm sure everyone who knows you knows that you are an atheist. It seems you are involved in a lot of activities around it. But do you have friends who don't believe the same things as you? Do you attack them for their beliefs or let them be?

My friends and I don't all have the same common beliefs but I keep my opinions to myself. Or at least communicate in a rational manner to them. Not outright attack them for not believing in the same things.


From: Ayesha
Sent on: Monday, December 15, 2008 7:44 AM
Mrs. Bagby seems to have an awful lot of time on her hands. Someone with (was it 4?) kids to home school should be spending her time putting together lesson plans not responding to posts by strangers. If she wants to keep her kids out of school and give them the "benefit" of her greater knowledge than trained proffesionals, I say, let her have it. More of teacher's time for my kids, if I have any. Social Darwinism at its finest.

If you are gonna start with your 2 cents, at least know what is going on. I have 3 children. And my lesson plans are done in advance. It seems to me that all of these atheists have an awful lot of time on their hands to visit my blog and talk about it for days.


From: Michael Martha
Sent on: Monday, December 15, 2008 9:38 AM

Looks like Ol'Bagsby thinks I am awesome too :swoon:

Yeah, that's me on the last picture, and honestly, it's one of my
better pictures. HAHA!

Oh well, if she wants to put her life out there, and doesn't expect
opinions, then she really is delusional. I hope she reads that last
part as well.

I like how she calls me, as an atheist, intolerant. I suppose, a
christian would know intolerance when they see it. They have been
well versed in that kind of behavior for the better part of 1600 years
now.

I shrug my shoulders as I type this.



From: Michael Martha
Sent on: Monday, December 15, 2008 9:38 AM

Looks like Ol'Bagsby thinks I am awesome too :swoon:

Yeah, that's me on the last picture, and honestly, it's one of my
better pictures. HAHA!

How could I not resist to put that picture when I found it? It was too perfect!

Oh well, if she wants to put her life out there, and doesn't expect
opinions, then she really is delusional. I hope she reads that last
part as well.

It's not that I don't expect opinions about it, but there is a difference in someone expressing their opinion and someone outright attacking my family. The comment that started this all was meant to be mean and insulting. So while I do expect people to have opinions, like I said, I will not sit back and just take it when they attack my family. And you wouldn't either if someone was stooping low enough to attack children. Well, you did stoop that low actually. Children have always been off limits in my book, but some people obviously feel better when insulting them.

I am more than willing to hear another persons point of view on religion. I always have. I especially like talking with people from other cultures about their religion. I am not close-minded.....but no one came to me at a rational level to express their views. They opened up with insulting my daughters. What kind of mother would I be to not defend them? They have a right to be on this earth just as much as everyone else. Nobody is perfect, absolutely nobody.

I like how she calls me, as an atheist, intolerant. I suppose, a
christian would know intolerance when they see it. They have been
well versed in that kind of behavior for the better part of 1600 years
now.

You are grouping me with all Christians as a whole. I didn't call you intolerant as an atheist. You, as a person, insulted children. It just shows your character. The only thing I find atheist have in common is a tremendous amount of anger towards those who don't believe the same things that you do.


So I welcome any of you to stop this and have a rational conversation about your beliefs. If you want to talk about me, come do it here and not back and forth on your mailing list. Because all you do there is high five each other seeing who can be the meanest. It's up to you.

Who is Anonymous? Come find out! LONG post

I just knew that Anonymous would not be able to help themselves from coming back and stalking me some more....so after the first round of comments I decided to install a tracker on my blog and find Anonymous. Or shall I say David Akridge. I've been kind of busy so I haven't had time to make this post but I am ready to be done with all of this so here it is.

This is David Akridge from Washington DC. Mr. Akridge works at the American Inns of Court. It even has his picture on their site, right here. While not annoying me, Mr. Akridge spends his time at the Gay's Men's Chorus of Washington, where WhitePages.com lists him as a board member.


He is also a board member (treasurer) of Rainbow Families DC. It is crazy to me that someone this hateful towards perfect strangers and their children would work for a place like this. It seems that a gay man would be more tolerant against those who are different from him, but apparently Mr. Akridge has no tolerance whatsoever. It totally surprises me that a family organization like that actually has someone of his character on their board. But don't worry, I have every intention of letting them know exactly what kind of person he really is.

So should I rant on and on about what I think of your lifestyle as a homosexual? Because I don't think you would like it very much. But I respect all people, regardless so I won't go there.

I really hope that you don't have children. It would be impossible to be as perfect as you think everyone should be. At least according to your standards. I couldn't imagine the hell you would give them considering the things you felt entitled to say about my children. Really if being an atheist is so great, then why are all of you so angry?

Mr. Akridge is a member of an atheist meetup group and they have really enjoying bashing my family on their mailing list this week. Mr. Akridge started it with this post.

I ran across this rather nauseating blog. http://bagbybunch.blogspot.com/ It's full of those treacly platitudes about Jesus being the "reason for the season" and all. This woman is apparently home-schooling her kids, and yet her blog has numerous and remarkably consistent grammatical errors, most notably a complete lack of understanding of the difference between a plural and a possessive.

Call me an elitist, but it's people like this that are responsible for the perpetuation of ignorance. I mean, just look at her kids' "curriculum".

Just my Tuesday rant. Go about your business.

Then some of his friends in the group jumped on his hate bandwagon and added their own thoughts. Let me introduce you to Shelley Mountjoy. In my opinion, she is an idiot. And I'm about to tell you why! Here is what she posted to the group.


From: Shelley Mountjoy
Sent on: Tuesday, December 9, 2008 5:26 PM
The Jesus for the season crap doesn't both me as much as the accounts on her site of her homeschooling. Don't take that as me getting soft on you all but rather a frustration with Christian books for all subjects and overall lack of any standards for the kids whatsoever. I mean what is 7*7? I thought it was 49 but when Jesus and bread is involved it's probably like 7 trillion or something.

Here's an excerpt from her blog:

"Aaron and I keep going back and forth with taking the kid's to Mainstay Farm for their Homeschool Day. He doesn't want to go and I don't want to pay the $35 to go. Maybe we will take the kid's to the dollar movies to see Kung Fu Panda instead. In fact, that is a great idea. Anthony is finishing up his China unit this week and he is doing a lapbook on Giant Panda's. See, I can mark it down as an educational field trip. ;) Us homeschooler's have to be creative ya know!"

She subsequently did end up taking the three kids to see Kung Fu Panda. Here's what they missed at the farm:

* A short educational film
* Dress a scarecrow/farmer relay
* Hay Play and Jump
* Roast marshmallows around small contained fire
* Color maze
* Hayride
o Your class will see bee hives (at a safe distance), blackberries, pumpkins (in season) and live Christmas trees.
* Stop and play at the tree house fort, swinging trees, and wooden maze

It looks like the admission is $7 for the kids and $8 for her. That comes out to $29 here so the $35 must be a result of Jesus math. It cost her $4 total however to take the kids to the animated comedy film instead. It sounds like the farm would have been an all day affair. After the kids returned from the movies they took a nap in the bed with their Dad. She talks pretty frequently about the expenses involved in homeschooling. Aren't public schools in Texas free?

On a side note, it's interesting that they can't go to public schools during the academic year but they've spent the summer at Bible school for at least the past three years... I suspect something happened three years ago as that is when she decided to start homeschooling the oldest.

I stopped reading the blog at this point.


Here is Shelley......

And here is how she proved herself to be an idiot.

The Jesus for the season crap doesn't both me as much as the accounts on her site of her homeschooling. Don't take that as me getting soft on you all but rather a frustration with Christian books for all subjects and overall lack of any standards for the kids whatsoever. I mean what is 7*7? I thought it was 49 but when Jesus and bread is involved it's probably like 7 trillion or something.

If you had clicked the box that said 7*7 then you would have read that 7*7 means saying 7 prayers for your family 7 days a week. It's kind of a play off of 24/7. Not that hard to figure out.

Here's an excerpt from her blog:

"Aaron and I keep going back and forth with taking the kid's to Mainstay Farm for their Homeschool Day. He doesn't want to go and I don't want to pay the $35 to go. Maybe we will take the kid's to the dollar movies to see Kung Fu Panda instead. In fact, that is a great idea. Anthony is finishing up his China unit this week and he is doing a lapbook on Giant Panda's. See, I can mark it down as an educational field trip. ;) Us homeschooler's have to be creative ya know!"

That was said in a joking manner, but obviously read more into it than that.

She subsequently did end up taking the three kids to see Kung Fu Panda. Here's what they missed at the farm:

* A short educational film
* Dress a scarecrow/farmer relay
* Hay Play and Jump
* Roast marshmallows around small contained fire
* Color maze
* Hayride
o Your class will see bee hives (at a safe distance), blackberries, pumpkins (in season) and live Christmas trees.
* Stop and play at the tree house fort, swinging trees, and wooden maze

This is one of the best parts of it. For one thing, did you ever think about the fact that we might have done this trip last year and it wasn't all that great so I wasn't sure if I wanted to spend my money on it again?

Shelley actually took the time to go to the farm's website just so she could "see what we missed". BUT, she's an idiot and completely lied. None of the thing's she listed were available on the Homeschool Day. She looked under the information for school field trips, right here. Besides the hayride, the fort and maze, none of those activities were available on Homeschool Day.

Oh yeah, not to mention that even if they had been available, the week before Homeschool Day there was a field trip to a local apple orchard where they were given a presentation on how bee's affect apple tree's.

This is what actually happened on Homeschool Day.....

THE GREAT PUMPKIN PATCH HOME SCHOOL DAY AT MAINSTAY FARM OCTOBER

Home School Day at Mainstay Farm.
October 1, 2007 from 10 am until 2 pm
(We close promptly at 2 pm to give
us time to pick up our own kids from school).

ADMISSION $7, check or cash. (Infants less than 2 are free).

The Wilson Family welcomes your home school group to our farm. Our pumpkin season is a wonderful time to visit the farm. Every visitor 2-and-up gets to pick a pumpkin to take home--five pounds or smaller. You'll see our film, "How Pumpkins Grow in Texas," and you'll have Big Time Fun doing all sorts of things: Take a hay ride around the farm pulled by our antique tractor and see goats climb telephone poles at GoatScape Mountain. Get lost in our wooden maze put your brain to work to navigate through our Color Maze, and take a walk through our brand new Hedge Maze. Play in the Triple-Decker Tree House and slip down the new 80-foot SuperSlide. The Hay-Play and Jump barn is always a favorite... it's here and ready. OUR RESTROOMS are great! A women's side and a men's side. Private stalls, too. All are WHEEL CHAIR ACCESSIBLE. Bring your lunch and eat in our picnic pavilion, we have picnic tables waiting. (Mainstay Grill will not be open today).

So basically it was like a big pumpkin patch. That costs $35 to go to (I know, Jesus Math, I will get to that in a minute). BUT, I took my kid's to a pumpkin patch where they got to do pretty much all of those activities plus more and it didn't cost me anything. Here is where I had posted the slideshow of that.

Now on to the part where you said I did subsequently take the kids to see Kung Fu Panda. Yes, I did....5 days later. It's funny how you made it sound as if we took the kid's to the movie over the farm. And what you totally failed to mention was that when we did take the kids to see Kung Fu Panda, that wasn't the only thing we did that day. October 6th was the day that we took the kid's to see the King Tut exhibit at the Dallas Museum of Art. After the museum we took them to Kung Fu Panda and then we came home and the girl's took a nap with their dad. Here is the post from that day.

It's crazy how you left that whole part out just to prove your point about how we just throw away educational experiences for our kids. You also didn't mention how the week before that I had taken the kid's to Fort Worth's Annual Day in the District, where we got into all of the museum's for free. We took that field trip last year too but with the exception of Log Cabin Village, we chose new museum's to visit this year. Including one with a special exhibit of the Impressionist's. You can check that out here.

It looks like the admission is $7 for the kids and $8 for her. That comes out to $29 here so the $35 must be a result of Jesus math. It cost her $4 total however to take the kids to the animated comedy film instead. It sounds like the farm would have been an all day affair. After the kids returned from the movies they took a nap in the bed with their Dad.

This is my favorite part. Jesus Math. I will always think of it that way. Since you took the time to visit the farm website but apparently didn't take the time to look up the correct information. The normal admission price is $7 for kids, $8 for adults.

On Homeschool Day, everyone was $7. Are you ready because this is where it gets good. There are 5, count them five people in our family. And if there are 5 of us and the cost of admission for each one of us is $7.....Five times Seven is $35!! Oh my gosh Jesus Math rocks!! Maybe you should switch over because your system isn't really working for you.

She talks pretty frequently about the expenses involved in homeschooling. Aren't public schools in Texas free?

Yes, like I've said before, they are free, but at what cost?

On a side note, it's interesting that they can't go to public schools during the academic year but they've spent the summer at Bible school for at least the past three years...

This is another good one. I love how you said "they've spent the summer at bible school for at least three years". Ok, let me break this one down for you. Vacation Bible School (VBS as it is called) is only a week long, not the entire summer. Not only is it only a week long but it's for only 3 hours a day. And no, they have not gone the past three years, they went to VBS three years ago! There is a difference there.

I suspect something happened three years ago as that is when she decided to start homeschooling the oldest.

Yes, something did happen. I realized that my child deserved a better education than the one he was getting at public school. It was like I was blind and suddenly I could see. Awesome. Just awesome.

I stopped reading the blog at this point.

Yay, because you obviously don't know how to read right anyways! You crack me up, thanks for entertaining me.

Oh, but I'm not done with Shelley just yet. She had another genius moment in this post she made....

I didn't see the Jesus being the reason for the season post but I didn't look too hard. However, I did notice that from her Thanksgiving pictures it appears she lives directly across the street from the church. I also noticed she buys her son's History and Math textbooks from a press that refers to itself as "Christ-centered resources for education, edification, and evangelism." They also sell materials on grammar but she went with a secular source instead.


I didn't see the Jesus being the reason for the season post but I didn't look too hard.

It's not a post. It's a little picture on the sidebar.

However, I did notice that from her Thanksgiving pictures it appears she lives directly across the street from the church.

From "the church"? Because I happen to live across the street from a church that just must be the one we go to huh? What an idiot! Sorry hon, but that church is the wrong denomination. I would love it though if we could just walk across the street to go to church. I love being at church. Makes my heart happy with all of that goodness.

I also noticed she buys her son's History and Math textbooks from a press that refers to itself as "Christ-centered resources for education, edification, and evangelism." They also sell materials on grammar but she went with a secular source instead.

Actually I didn't buy any of the Bob Jones books. A very nice friend gave them to me because she didn't need them anymore and my son was in the right grade for them. And I do have the Bob Jones Grammar and my son does use it. I just don't have it listed on the sidebar. And the so-called secular source, isn't secular. They use the bible to refer too, especially in the poetry unit.

See, it would be one thing if you actually knew what you were talking about, but you obviously don't. If you took a school textbook and one of my textbooks and compared them, there wouldn't be a ton of difference. Bob Jones gives the teacher both sides and lets them choose to introduce the other point of view if they want to. Even in their science books. It's up to the parent to teach what they choose....kind of my whole point this week....up to the parent, aka nobody else's business!

And the last of Shelley's comments I will post about.....

She talks about the lessons in a way that really gives the reader the impression she just tosses the kids an activity book and moves on. At least that's what it sounds like she does with the older boy. I doubt she knows some of the information herself that she is teaching - much less checks every book.

Well, I am sorry if that is the impression you get. It's inaccurate, but whatever. And you doubt if I know the information I am teaching? For one thing, I too went to school, so it's not like there is a ton of new info and I do have a good memory. Plus, if there is anything I don't understand...I learn it before I teach it. And yes I do check every book. Why wouldn't I?

It seems to me that you need a lot of attention. Just look at how much time you spend on your meetup group posting messages. It looks like you get about 5 hours of sleep and spend the rest of your time looking up articles to post. Get a life!

Time to move on to the next person....meet Michael Martha (the one on bottom). Here is what he had to say.....

From:	Michael Martha
Sent on:	Tuesday, December 9, 2008 11:50 AM

Well, who else is going to work at the diners, and fast joints of the country?

From:	Michael Martha
Sent on:	Wednesday, December 10, 2008 10:27 AM

All,

Actually, I take it back.  I DO NOT WANT these
kids serving me food at
a diner!  Yikes, what a head-ache that would be!

That said, I would like to say that I feel
genuine sorrow for these kids. 
Reality if going to be especially rough for them.

It's so nice of you to say these things about children. You and your friends must be really proud of yourselves for attacking children. Seriously, my family is just horrible but you are great and wonderful saying these types of things? You are off your dang rocker!

There are more people in their little atheist group who put their 2 cents in as well.....but for now, we will move on. If you want to check out the entire thread, you can find it here at the atheist meetup group.

On to the last comments my blog received from Anonymous.....

What are your degrees? Do you have a masters in Education? Yes, I am sure you can read and repeat what's an a book to your kids, but can you back it up? Can you interpret them? Do you have an extensive background in History and Science? Have you travelled abroad and learned other languages? Do you even know there is a world outside the US? You seem like the typical fat redneck with minimum culture. Whya re you exposing your family in a blog like this? Why don't you keep it to yourself and your family members and close friends? Do you realize the whole world can see you? Do you think your low income low education family is anything special? There are tons of uneducated overweight people out there! Do you realize that being overweight and LETTING yourkids be fat at such an early age is a sign of ignorance? You do not know anything about nutrition and I am sure you are filling your kids with fatty and sugary treats.

What are your degrees? Do you have a masters in Education? Yes, I am sure you can read and repeat what's an a book to your kids, but can you back it up? Can you interpret them? Do you have an extensive background in History and Science? Have you travelled abroad and learned other languages? Do you even know there is a world outside the US?

I will ignore all of the obvious grammatical errors and move on....I don't have to have a degree to be able to teach. Some people are just capable of things others are not. I did not realize that all teachers have an extensive background in history and science! But I seriously doubt it if they do.

Nope, I have not traveled abroad and I have only learned one other language. Are you implying that in order to be a teacher, you have to do these things? Well, then your precious public school teacher's would fall short of your expectations of what a teacher should know.

What? There is a world outside the U.S.?? Oh my gosh, I thought that you just dropped off if you tried to go past Texas!

You seem like the typical fat redneck with minimum culture. Whya re you exposing your family in a blog like this? Why don't you keep it to yourself and your family members and close friends? Do you realize the whole world can see you? Do you think your low income low education family is anything special?

Wow, you aren't getting your way with me so you resort to calling names. Way to be an adult! Oh yes, I'm a redneck because I live in Texas. Can't you come up with anything better than that?

Yes I know the whole world can see us and it's my choice to be out in the open. Just because I have put us out there doesn't mean that I am going to sit back and let anyone, especially cowards who hide behind anonymous, say whatever they want to say about us.

And now we are low income and low education. What makes us special? Because we rock! You seem very angry that we exist and somehow just by breathing we have offended you somehow. All you have to go on is our looks and your preconceived notions of what people should be like. It also seems to make you angry that I have this blog and keep going on about my life and not curling up in a ball crying my eyes out because you chose to attack us. And if it's so "unspecial", why do you keep coming back? haha

There are tons of uneducated overweight people out there! Do you realize that being overweight and LETTING yourkids be fat at such an early age is a sign of ignorance? You do not know anything about nutrition and I am sure you are filling your kids with fatty and sugary treats.

Letting my kids be fat? You are an idiot. I never once said that we always lived a healthy lifestyle, but we do now. Fat doesn't go away overnight and it does take time. I really thought by now you would have figured that out, but you keep trying to educate us on our supposed stupidity instead.

We are all being treated by a doctor for our weight, we do eat healthy, we do exercise. Reversing years of bad habits takes time. Especially when you are trying to reverse those habits in children and yes, it was us that taught it to them in the first place.

I actually know a lot about nutrition and my husband knows even more than you and me combined. Being fat doesn't have any bearing on intelligence. Everyone is hard wired different, raised different, exposed to things differently. It is so annoying trying to explain these obvious, basic human things to someone.

And all throughout my blog are examples of what I feed my kids. It's so funny that there is never any mention of the bentos filled with healthy, portion controlled foods that I give my kids. Don't worry, I will do the work for you. Here is one. And another. another. another......really I could go on and on with it. On rare occasions like holidays my kids can have treats. And every now and then they can have a soda. But they are by no means a regular occurance here at all.

And what makes you so great? What makes you an expert on how all other people should live their lives? Are you perfect? Do you do everything in your life exactly right? Get over yourself already!

In your dellusion, you think it was god who gave you this and that instead of yourself/your hard work/your parents? So this god of yours talks to you? He prefers you to other folks? The same god who killed thousands of innocent kids in the tsunami? So your god is better than the Muslim god or the Zoroastran god or the Scientology guy? And you also believe in heavern and hell and that humans came from one couple and that the whole planet was created in one week? Why don't you at least TRY to read another point of view instead of being brainwashed by a corrupt local pastor who thumps the bible than has sex with the church secretary or is secretly gay while driving his Mercedes Benz bought with the money of the innocent and naive and low educated folks who come to his "church" and leave 10% of their hard working money in exchange for a slot in heaven, ha ha, how can people fall for that? People with low IQ, people with an IQ under 110, 100!
Open your mind by seeing both signs of the coin:

www.positiveatheism.org
www.richarddawkins.net
www.friendlyatheist.com
www.flamewarrior.com

Take a look and start thinking!

You think I'm deluded. I feel the same way about you. The difference between you and I? You get angry about it and I just feel sorry for you. If believing what you believe in will make me an angry, hateful person who attacks strangers and children to try and force my beliefs or way of life on them....then no thank you.

I prefer my life the way it is. I don't force my belief's on you...in fact, I haven't tried to this entire time. I have given my point of view. You are the one getting angry that I don't see things your way. I guess we are at an impasse.

Mr. Anonymous

I am sooo super busy with Sara's birthday party tomorrow and all, but I just wanted to say thanks to Mr. Anonymous for stopping back by again to spout his opinion....you can find his comments in the posts below.

I promise that I will have a great blog post for you concerning my stalker very soon. It takes time to put information together to get ready to blog, but be patient, it'll be worth it!

Happy 6th Birthday Sara!

Happy Birthday Sara!

Today is my baby Sara's 6th birthday. We are having a Christmas party for her on Saturday, but she got to blow out some candles and open some presents today. I thought I had birthday candles so I didn't buy any. So she only had one yellow one. She was alright with it though.

Daddy actually let her get some play make-up for the first time!

She was very happy for her giant can of Play-Doh. lol

That's it for now. I'm sure I will have tons of pictures of her party this weekend, so check back!

Famous Homeschooled People

1. Agatha Christie. Agatha was a painfully shy girl, so her mom homeschooled her even though her two older siblings attended private school.

2. Pearl S. Buck was born in West Virginia, but her family moved to China when she was just three months old. She was homeschooled by a Confucian scholar and learned English as a second language from her mom.

3. Alexander Graham Bell was homeschooled by his mother until he was about 10. It was at this point that she started to go deaf and didn’t feel she could properly educate him any more. Her deafness inspired Bell to study acoustics and sound later in life.

4. If Thomas Edison was around today, he would probably be diagnosed with ADD – he left public school after only three months because his mind wouldn’t stop wandering. His mom homeschooled him after that, and he credited her with the success of his education: “My mother was the making of me. She was so true, so sure of me; and I felt I had something to live for, someone I must not disappoint.”

5. Ansel Adams was homeschooled at the age of 12 after his “wild laughter and undisguised contempt for the inept ramblings of his teachers” disrupted the classroom. His father took on his education from that point forward.

6. Robert Frost hated school so much he would get physically ill at the thought of going. He was homeschooled until his high school years.

7. Woodrow Wilson studied under his dad, one of the founders of the Southern Presbyterian Church in the United States (PCUS). He didn’t learn to read until he was about 12. He took a few classes at a school in Augusta, Georgia, to supplement his father’s teachings, and ended up spending a year at Davidson College before transferring to Princeton.

8. Mozart was educated by his dad as the Mozart family toured Europe from 1763-1766.

9. Laura Ingalls Wilder was homeschooled until her parents finally settled in De Smet in what was then Dakota Territory. She started teaching school herself when she was only 15 years old.

10. Louisa May Alcott studied mostly with her dad, but had a few lessons from family friends Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Can you imagine?

Yay-more from Anonymous!

Well, my best friend Anonymous decided to pay me another visit. Man oh man does this stuff crack me up! Thanks for making me smile!

"Do you understand that your husband is at serious risk for heart disease, stroke and diabetes with his huge weight? I can guarantee that man does not even walk. Must go from his truck to the couch every day, and fill up in donuts, chips and beer all evening. Ah, and Micky D's are probably the choice of restaurant."

"Honey, I don't have to work: I want to work. I do not want to stay home all day. I want to grow professionally and have contact with other people other than 3 kids. What are you going to do when your kids are gone? Watch soaps all day? I would go nuts staying home all day! It is hilarious that you find that a good situation to be in! And what will happen when your husband exchnages you for a younger (and slimmer) version of you? What skills do you have to support yourself? Or are you going to munch on his money than as well?
Furthermore, your assertion that I hate god is hilarious as well because how can I hate something that does not exist and is the product of fairy tales? Do you realize you are teaching false stories to your kids? Propagating lies? If your family is eating healthy, how come all of you except your son is grossly overweight? How unhealthy can that be? How can you compare your knowledge about different subjects with teachers who have master degrees and specializations in their fields? I cannot understand how you can think that by sending your kids to school you won't be able to teach them good values. Of course you can! And good values and morals are not exclusive to religion. The bible is a book of hatred, revenge and written by men hundreds of years ago, in times of ignorance and lack of Science. Jesus was a rebel and a charismatic leader in his days who opposed the corrupt government of those times, and who had a group of followers who later formed a "religion" around his persona. After that, religion has been the biggest source of wars and conflicts in the world. The most prosperous contries are also the most secular. Excess religion=ignorance. Have you read Richard Dawkins' "The God Dellusion"? Have you watched "Religulous"? You are stil young, how come you are so brainwashed? And I did not write anything about bow ties-that was someone else."

Do you understand that your husband is at serious risk for heart disease, stroke and diabetes with his huge weight?

Actually yes I do. And so does he. And so does our doctor....what I am missing is how it's any of your business? Believe it or not, you were not placed on this earth to educate me and my family on how we should be living our lives. Sorry hon, time to live your own life and move on.

I can guarantee that man does not even walk. Must go from his truck to the couch every day, and fill up in donuts, chips and beer all evening. Ah, and Micky D's are probably the choice of restaurant.

You can guarantee that he doesn't even walk? Wow, it just blows me away that someone could actually be so hateful about someone they have never even met. My husband works 60-70 hours a week, on his feet all day. Oh and he doesn't have a truck.

He does not drink alcohol nor does he eat chips and donuts. He actually consumes about 1200 calories a day, mainly organic fruits and veggies. Oh, and we don't eat at McDonald's...you can ask anyone who knows us about that. We don't even drink soda and haven't for more than a year.

So do you put all fat people in the same general category that we are all slobs who sit around all day doing nothing but eating? You must be super fun to hang out with!

Honey, I don't have to work: I want to work. I do not want to stay home all day. I want to grow professionally and have contact with other people other than 3 kids.

So you assume that I have no other contact with other people throughout my day? I really thought that I had explained otherwise in my other blog post....where I talked about all of the homeschool activities? Maybe you were not paying attention. I do get the feeling that unless it's you talking, you don't really listen to other people. Oh, and that is great you want to grow professionally, but I chose to raise my kids and that is my choice and my right and it has nothing to do with you.


What are you going to do when your kids are gone? Watch soaps all day? I would go nuts staying home all day! It is hilarious that you find that a good situation to be in!

Well, my youngest just turned 6 so there is a lot of time before she's gone. Watch soaps all day? I wish! I don't watch tv during the day, thanks for trying though. I'm sorry that you would feel you would go nuts staying at home with your children all day. But God made us all different, so just because you feel that way doesn't mean all others should too. And it's a great situation! I don't understand the concept of a mother raising her children is so horrible!

And what will happen when your husband exchnages ((You spelled that wrong, and you criticize me for my spelling! haha)) you for a younger (and slimmer) version of you? What skills do you have to support yourself? Or are you going to munch on his money than as well?

Why would my husband trade me in for anyone else? My husband and I are very happily married and always have been. And anyways, what makes you think it would be him to do the trading? lol

What skills do I have? It's not like I have never worked before. And believe it or not, I did go to college when my kids were still being public schooled. So I can quite take care of myself. Munch on his money? You assume because I don't have to work that it means my husband has a lot of money? You are too funny.

Furthermore, your assertion that I hate god is hilarious as well because how can I hate something that does not exist and is the product of fairy tales? Do you realize you are teaching false stories to your kids? Propagating lies?

Well, that is your choice to not believe. You believe it to be lies and false stories. That is your opinion and it has no bearing on my family. Why can't you understand that it is none of your business? You are more than welcome to express your point of view, but the insulting way you go about it just doesn't get your point across. You can't force your belief system down anyone's throat. It is possible to hold a conversation with someone and explain your point of view and then let them decide for themselves what they feel the truth is.

If your family is eating healthy, how come all of you except your son is grossly overweight? How unhealthy can that be?

My son is skinny because he has his father's genes in him. My husband is his step-father. Yeah, believe it or not, genes do come into play when you are talking about someone's weight.

How can you compare your knowledge about different subjects with teachers who have master degrees and specializations in their fields? I cannot understand how you can think that by sending your kids to school you won't be able to teach them good values. Of course you can! And good values and morals are not exclusive to religion.

I'm going to respond a little out of order here. I do not believe that good values and morals are exclusive to religion. I have never thought that way. I grew up with good values and morals and I didn't become a Christian until 4 years ago.

And it's not that I can't teach my kid's these things if they go to school, but you cannot deny that they will also learn habits from other children. There is nothing wrong with me not wanting my children to pick up bad habits from children who I know nothing about.

And if you ever bothered to pick up a textbook, it doesn't take a genius or a degree to teach from it.

The bible is a book of hatred, revenge and written by men hundreds of years ago, in times of ignorance and lack of Science. Jesus was a rebel and a charismatic leader in his days who opposed the corrupt government of those times, and who had a group of followers who later formed a "religion" around his persona. After that, religion has been the biggest source of wars and conflicts in the world. The most prosperous contries are also the most secular. Excess religion=ignorance.

That is your opinion and if you don't like me teaching otherwise to my kid's, then too bad! It's not up to you and it never will be. Get over it. Seriously.

Have you read Richard Dawkins' "The God Dellusion"? Have you watched "Religulous"? You are ((stil)) young, how come you are so brainwashed? And I did not write anything about bow ties-that was someone else.

No I have not read or watched either. Did you ever think that someone like me might think that you are brainwashed and I have a tremendous amount of sympathy for you. I am sorry that you do not believe in the greatness of God. He has touched my life numerous times and I am grateful for everything He has given to me.

Ok, thanks for telling me about the bows...same response to whoever left that comment.

To Anonymous-thanks for your opinion

So for whatever reason today, Anonymous, decided to post a nasty comment to me on my blog. It wasn't some short little comment either. And there were actually 2 of them.

They totally bashed me for homeschooling, how overweight we are and how we are just basically ruining our children. I just love it that they chose to leave their comment anonymously. I do have to say that if I have anything nasty to say about anyone, I am never too scared to say it directly to their face. Or at least leave my name on a blog.

So I have decided to publish their comments in my blog and respond to them. Here are the comments entirely and following them are the questions in bold with my responses to them. Please feel free to leave a comment and tell me what you think.

"Cortni, do you have the degrees and the qualifications to teach a 7th grade boy? Do you understand that he needs socialization with other boys his age? And so do your daughters? Do you agree your daughters in particular are seriously overweight and will become obsese adults if you don't teach them to eat healthy?
Do you see that you are cramming them with false gods and jesus talk while neglecting a Scientific view? Do you want to perpetuate ignorance by making them religious freaks? Don't you see you and your husband while still young are not getting exercise and are eating all the wrong foods? You should all avoid cupcakes like hell!
Public schools in America are free and have the best tools for your kids. You don't even spell correctly, how can you teach these kids? How does your husband allow this? Why don't you send your kids to school and get a job to help society instead of staying home all day?
I feel bad for your kids. Their future is in retail or fast food joints, and thumping the bible and saying absurd things like "we came from Adam and Eve". Very sad future indeed.

I think you should spend less time making these ridiculous hair bows, and more time working on improving the incredibly weak homeschool "curriculum" you're subjecting your kids to."

Cortni, do you have the degrees and the qualifications to teach a 7th grade boy?

Do you mean can I read and write? Why yes, yes I can. I can read a teacher's manual just as good as any other "teacher". Do you really think that teacher's know every little aspect and fact about the subjects they teach? No, believe it or not, they have books to help them out....just as I do.

Do you understand that he needs socialization with other boys his age? And so do your daughters?

Oh yes, I am quite aware of that. That is why my children are involved in outside activities. You do understand that homeschool doesn't mean they are locked inside the house all day right? Unlike public schooled children who are locked away in a classroom all day, my children get to have experience's that they otherwise would not if they weren't homeschooled.

Have you ever heard of homeschool groups that meet up for park days and field trips? Or homeschool co-op's where children go to classes all day with other homeschooled children? There are also thing's like the library, Girl Scouts and YMCA classes, like P.E., for homeschooled kids. Oh and after school sports, basketball, football, soccer, etc. Trust me, there is no lacking of socialization in homeschool.

But, I have to say that there is a difference in socialization that public school kids get over homeschooled kids. My children are focused on their work with no distractions while your children are "socializing" with 20 other kid's in their class. Oh and congratulations for any bad habits your kids are picking up from those 20 other kids whose habits and morals you have no clue about.

Do you agree your daughters in particular are seriously overweight and will become obsese adults if you don't teach them to eat healthy?

This one I found amusing....what? Seriously, what are you talking about? My kids are perfect! I hope you can catch the sarcasm there. Yes, it is no secret that my daugher's are overweight. And if you knew me or my family personally, you would know that we aren't just sitting back and letting them gorge themselves. We are teaching them healthy eating habits, and what perfect timing you have because they start their My Body and Nutrition unit next week!

Have your ever heard of a little thing called bento? For me bento is all about healthy eating and portion control and that is what my kid's have for lunch. In fact, I seriously doubt that you go the length's I do to ensure that my kid's know how to eat right.

Do you see that you are cramming them with false gods and jesus talk while neglecting a Scientific view? Do you want to perpetuate ignorance by making them religious freaks?

Now really I have no idea what you are talking about here. I am cramming them with false gods and Jesus talk? Seriously, you have no idea what ideas or principles I am teaching my kid's. You are not here for our school day. And really, it's none of your business what religious teaching I chose for them. It is my right as their parent to teach them what I want to.

And as far as scientific view, I found that hilarious. The curriculum I use for science was created by a public school science teacher and has no religious teaching at all. It just goes to show how little you actually know about me and my family. Really I think that you just want to spout off your narrow-minded beliefs on my blog, maybe because you don't have anyone in real life to speak with?

Don't you see you and your husband while still young are not getting exercise and are eating all the wrong foods? You should all avoid cupcakes like hell!

Again, you have no idea what goes on in my house. You don't know what we eat. You have no clue! Same goes for exercise. Avoid cupcakes? Because I have a picture of a cupcake and cupcake links on my blog, you think I am just sitting around eating cupcakes all day? Wow. In case you didn't notice, there are tons of foodie links on my sidebar.

You do realize at this point you kind of sound like an idiot because you don't know anything about me and you chose to open your mouth with all of your assumptions.


Public schools in America are free and have the best tools for your kids.

I have to wholeheartedly disagree here. They have the best tools for my kids? What tools would that be? Yeah, they are free, but at what cost to your kids? Schools are no more capable of instilling values, morals, and education than me. If they have the best tools for children, then why are so many slipping through the cracks and not getting an appropriate education?

What sounds better. Teaching the abc's to 20 kids at one time or teaching them to 1 or 2 children at the same time? How can you say that there is anything bad with being able to give children one on one time that they can't get at school?

There isn't enough time or resources for teachers to give a complete and full education to all 20 students in their class. Because all kids do not learn on one level at one pace. Homeschool is a chance to individualize the curriculum for the child. There is freedom to spend an extra week on fractions if needed. You do not get that in public school. You have to keep up or get left behind and there aren't enough teachers to help every single child who is behind. It's just not possible. At home, my children fall through no cracks.

It's funny that you criticize our weight, eating and exercise habits but you think we should send our kids to public schools to eat the foods they serve and get an hour or 2 a week of P.E.? How are those healthy tools? Our school's only encourage unhealthy eating and exercise habits, not encourage them. They don't have the time or money to change it either. So who is better off in that situation?


You don't even spell correctly, how can you teach these kids?

You don't know my educational background, and if you did, you would realize how stupid this comment really is. What did I misspell? Here and there the occasional slip up typing and you think that it is grounds for saying that I cannot spell therefore am not capable of teaching my kids? I am sorry that for whatever reason you are not capable of homeschooling your kids. I am not you (thank God) and therefore I know how extremely qualified I am to teach my children. It's not subject to your approval.

How does your husband allow this?

Because he is smart, and wonderful, and loving, and caring, and he wants the best for his kids.

Why don't you send your kids to school and get a job to help society instead of staying home all day?

Besides the fact that you have no clue if I work from home or not....what is the big deal about me being able to stay home all day? Do you have to work and therefore are jealous of those who get to stay at home?

How does me working help society or directly benefit my kids? Seriously. I hate to tell you this, but I don't have to work. Simple as that. I have been a stay-at-home mom for 9 years and have only homeschooled 3. I've always been able to be at home with my kids and that will never change. Ever. Unless I choose for it to. Get over it.

I feel bad for your kids. Their future is in retail or fast food joints, and thumping the bible and saying absurd things like "we came from Adam and Eve". Very sad future indeed.

Oh don't feel sorry for my kids. They are bright, funny, creative, special individuals who will have no problem making their way in life. And do you know how I know this? Because I have taught them what they need to know to become successful, well-rounded people who will undoubtedly go far in life.

And where do you get this bible thumping assumption? I am not ashamed to be a Christian and I never will be. I am glad that my children know Jesus and that will never change. What is funny about this is that we don't even go to church right now. My husband always works on Sunday so where do you get that we are these crazy religious freaks? Again, kind of looking like an idiot here since you obviously don't know anything about our family!

I think you should spend less time making these ridiculous hair bows, and more time working on improving the incredibly weak homeschool "curriculum" you're subjecting your kids to.

Well, I really don't care about what you think I should or should not do. I tell you what....when you pay my bills, you can tell me what to do. Until then, mind your own business! And those ridiculous hair bows are beautiful and they make me some pretty pocket change. And it's so nice of you to tell me what to do with my free time. You have a lot of nerve.

I'm guessing that you think that what is posted on my sidebar is all we do in our homeschool. Sorry, I haven't updated that thing since August! I am actually pretty happy with my curriculum choices and the kids are having a great time. And what do you know of the curriculum I have chosen? What if I told you that I thought that the textbooks used in public school's were weak and omit facts that are relevant to the subject, especially history?!

Really, we get to go in-depth with our studies where public schooled children do not. They don't have time to do so, with all of that cramming for the TAKS test and all. So actually my kids get more of an education. Funny how that works out huh.

I am sorry that your panties are in a bunch because you have to work, aren't capable of teaching your children and apparently hate God, but those are your issues. See, I can make assumptions too.

I am sorry that the happiness that my family enjoys is something you can't have for yourself. It is sad. But don't worry, I will pray for you. And I hope that you and your family have a very blessed Christmas celebrating our dear savior Jesus' birth.

Planet Earth

My kid's love to do arts and crafts projects and they love animals. So when I saw this coloring book at Walmart for only $2.57 I bought one for both of the girl's. The animals are drawn realistic and they have been having fun coloring them and asking questions about the animals. Definitely worth the money!

More Hair Bows

This hair bow I made for Emma. It's cream and black and very elegant. I love it!

Of course another Texas Longhorn bow! We are die hard Longhorn fans here and my daughter's have at least half a dozen different Longhorn bows.

Disney bow. I can't help but associate the red with black and white polka dots with Mickey Mouse. Although they would also match for a ladybug bow.

Holiday Hair Bows

I've been working on some holiday hair bows for Emma and Sara to wear to the different holiday activities we have planned. I've learned a new style of making bows and I am totally in love with it. It takes twice as long now to make a bow but the end result is definitely worth it.

I only have a couple more to make for Christmas and then I'm done until January when I start Valentine's Day bows. Knowing me I won't wait until January though. lol