The BBQ Breakdown

If you follow Luke or me on Facebook, you're bound to know we spent the second weekend of October completing Luke's Birthday BBQ Crawl -- 11 places of BBQ renown in 2.5 days.  I regularly posted pics during our trip as a way to create a keepsake for Luke (and to keep family in the loop).  But from those pics came so many questions and requests for rankings that though I haven't blogged in for.ev.er. I dusted off the ole keyboard to write this breakdown.  Luke, being the perpetual engineer, took our rankings and made all kinds of pretty spreadsheets and charts...and I'll probably wreck 'em all with too many words.  But if you or someone you love loves bbq as much as my man, stick with me as we revisit the crawl!

A few disclaimers:
1.  We made this crawl up on our own, after visiting several other crawl/tour websites.  Truthfully, no other site was daring (crazy?) enough to suggest a crawl/tour as lengthy as ours.
2. Several notables are missing (like Cooper's in Llano and all of east Texas).  We simply didn't have the time to drive all over this great state of ours.  We maximized time and distance to hit as many as we could.  We also didn't visit places we've been to before (like Southside Market in Elgin) because we had so many new places to try and we wanted to be as unbiased as possible. The exception to that is City Market in Luling.  That's been a favorite for years...decades actually; since it was on our way out of town, it seemed like a natural jumping off point.
3. We visited 11 amazing bbq joints but as is the nature of any ranking, some one had to be last.  Our last place finisher has NOTHING to be ashamed of -- it was still WAY better than anything you'll find in Katy (I wanted to say "in Houston" but Luke said I couldn't...there may be something out there we haven't tried yet).  Any one of these is a sure-fire win if you stop for food.

How the ranking system works:
Luke ranked the 11 places and so did I (separately).  We ranked on overall quality, brisket, and sausage.  He then took the rankings, did some math and gave me the combined score.  I'll list the places in order, starting with the best based on the combined ranking; I'll also include our individual rankings (you'll see we have very different ideas about sausage) and some notes we wrote.

Enough with the gabbin':

1.  la barbecue -- Austin, TX.
Served out of a food truck, the hardest part of the experience was trying to find parking. How this place didn't have a longer line we don't know...it was that good. We ordered brisket, sausage, and pulled pork. It was incredible. John Lewis's time spent working with Aaron Franklin (of Franklin BBQ) and J. Mueller (of the Mueller bbq dynasty) is obvious. On the money with the brisket rub; sausage was great -- a nice mix; the pulled pork was amazing (and really...who can say that?!?!).  It was a Texas-style pulled pork so not what you will get in other states, fyi.  Sides don't matter to us at all so we don't usually order them but I did here...chipotle slaw and buttermilk potato salad.  Skip the slaw but oh my word the potato salad.  Also had great sauces if that's a requirement for you (it isn't for us).
Val's overall: 1
Luke's overall: 1
Overall Brisket: tied for 1
Val's brisket: 1
Luke's brisket: 3
Overall sausage: 1
Val's sausage: 2
Luke's sausage: 1

2.  Louie Mueller -- Taylor, TX.
This place is quintessential Texas bbq. My favorite part (other than the pits and food) was the wall of business cards -- decades of customers tacked up.  Some were so black with smoke you couldn't read them anymore.  History right there for all of us to see.  And there was a Gus -- an older gentleman that reminded me (in looks and personality) of my PawPaw Bill; he told Luke to take 6 peppermints because they were good and probably made by pretty Guatemalan senoritas.  We ordered the trinity (brisket, jalapeno sausage and beef rib). The brisket was amazing.  It immediately set itself apart from any other we'd eaten (and by that point we'd eaten a lot).  A nice bark, beautiful smoke ring and just the right amount of fat to make it juicy and delicious.  The jalapeno sausage was the show-stealer for me.  It wasn't as chunky of a grind as I like but the flavor was so good it didn't matter.  And then there was the beef rib -- the bone as long as my forearm.  It was incredible.  Here's where I have to admit I'm not much into ribs; they are usually so greasy I can't eat much of them.  Not true here.  Fall off the bone tender, perfectly rubbed and smoked long enough to break down that fat without getting greasy.  The bbq gospel according the Louie Mueller is 9 parts pepper to 1 part salt -- and his rub shows it. I personally prefer a little more salt but it's hard to argue when the food is so good. FYI -- if you like sauce, bring your own; the sauce here was no good (but you don't need it!).
Val's overall:2
Luke's overall: 3
Overall brisket: tied for 1
Val's brisket: 2
Luke's brisket: 2
Overall sausage: 2
Val's sausage: 1
Luke's sausage: 3

2.  Franklin Barbecue -- Austin, TX
You aren't seeing things; we had a tie for second place. Franklin Barbecue is pretty well-known (you can even get his sauces bottled in HEB).  The thing people know the most?  The line.  And it is a doozy.  We originally hadn't planned on stopping here because of the line but our stops earlier in the morning went faster than we expected so we decided to brave the line.  I'm not sure if our plan would work on a typical Saturday BUT it worked on ours (rain, ACL music fest and the Red River Rivalry game all contributed). We got in line around noon and finally got food around 3:30pm.  I will say, the staff at Franklin's were up-front about the length of the wait (and incredibly accurate).  They even let people know when they could stop guaranteeing food.  We ordered the trinity (brisket, pork rib and sausage).  WOW -- so good.  Aaron Franklin says he only uses salt and pepper in his rub but we both could taste a little espresso so we are thinking maybe the briskets are mopped or something post cooking. And he can pick a brisket -- it was a beautiful piece of meat, smoked perfectly.  The sausage was just okay.  We'd both skip it next time.  The pork rib was out of this world good (and remember I don't like ribs).  Franklin has three unique sauces: one with espresso, one that is vinegar based and one with a little more sweet.  All three are good...just choose your fave.  Now the real question:  is it worth the line?  I don't know.  We enjoyed our time: met the folks around us, chatted and had fun.  If the kids had been with us it would have been a nightmare.  And at the end of the day we stood in line for 3.5 hours for lunch.  Our recommendation:  go on a Tuesday or Wednesday and expect to stand in line (hope the line is shorter than on the weekend!) or just drive to Taylor for Louie Mueller's.
Val's overall: 3
Luke's overall: 2
Overall brisket: tied for 1
Val's brisket: 3
Luke's brisket: 1
Overall sausage: 9
Val's sausage: 9
Luke's sausage: 9

4. Snow's -- Lexington, TX.
No, I didn't skip a number; there was a tie, remember. Snow's is only open on Saturday until the meat's gone (usually by 11 so get there early!).  The pit master is Tootsie T and I love her.  She's an adorable silver-crowned lady who smiles and waves at all the customers all while tending the pits.  Some grandmas make great pies -- Tootsie makes great barbecue.  We ordered the trinity (brisket, jalapeno sausage and pork rib). To be honest, by this point in the crawl I wasn't feeling so hot.  8am bbq is hard on the tummy.  But I powered through.  The eating space at Snow's is picnic tables next to the giant pits -- an awesome experience as the smoke wafts over you.  Why Snow's ranks so high is because EVERYTHING was good...nothing was lacking.  So many of the other places fell short in one area (like Louie Mueller's sauce or Franklin's sausage) but not Snow's.  Everything was right on the money delicious.  Others ranked higher than Snow's earned their spot because they had something over-the-top spectacular.
Val's overall: 4
Luke's overall: 4
Overall brisket: 4
Val's brisket: 4
Luke's brisket: 4
Overall sausage: 6
Val's sausage: 5
Luke's sausage: 6

5.  Smitty's Market -- Lockhart, TX.
Located in the bbq capital of Texas, Smitty's has a long and somewhat  complicated history wrought with the kind of family drama in made-for-tv movies.  I don't know it all but I do know this is good bbq.  Smitty's had the best environment -- a real Texas meat market feel.  The pits had open fires on the floors (seriously...don't bring your young kids into the smoke room to order...just a pile of fire on the floor right by the walkway).  The smoke was so thick we (us and the workers) had a hard time seeing straight.  We ordered brisket and sausage; both were good.  The sausage is a very chunky grind which I love with a good bite to the casing.  They did a good job rendering the fat in the brisket and it had a nice bark.
Val's overall: 5
Luke's overall: 5
Overall brisket: 4
Val's brisket: 4
Luke's brisket: 4
Overall sausage: 5
Val's sausage: 6
Luke's sausage: 5

6. City Market -- Luling, TX
Do not be fooled by the Luling City Market here in Houston. That is an interlopper of the worst kind (and not good bbq). There's a story there but I don't have time to tell it. City Market, in Luling, is the real deal and one I've enjoyed in some form or fashion my whole life. As a disclaimer to this ranking -- Luke and I both agree this was an off-day for City Market.  We've been there before and it was way better; we'll definitely go there again.  Houston folks, this is your closest bet for good bbq (and it's easily on the way to San Antonio). We ordered brisket and sausage.  Both were good.  The sausage casing could have used a little more bite and the brisket was tender but lacked the usual flavor and marbling we've come to love. The sauce is a mustard-y original and one of the best out there (my personal fave...I could put it on everything).  Usually the smoke room is full of smoke (duh!) but this time it wasn't which is what makes us think something was off.
Val's overall: 7
Luke's overall: 8
Overall brisket: tied for 6
Val's brisket: 7
Luke's brisket: 7
Overall sausage: 7
Val's sausage: 7
Luke's sausage: 7


6.  Kreuz Market -- Lockhart, TX.
We have another tie, this time  for 6th. Once again we find ourselves in Lockhart. Kreuz's is part of the family feud I was talking about with Smitty's.  When you visit you'll notice some striking similarities (fire on the floor, though Kreuz's is somewhat covered; same uniforms; same butcher block). They are so similar it's difficult to rank them separately...except it's not really.  Kreuz Market has moved to massive new building in 1999, bringing with them the old vestiges of yesteryear lest anyone forget they have been around since forever (99 years at the previous location).  And the food was good...it really was.  Just not as good as Smitty's. There was nothing striking about any of it -- all very well done, but the brisket was a little dryer than others and the sausage not as seasoned.
Val's overall: 6
Luke's overall: 9
Overall brisket: tied for 6
Val's brisket: 6
Luke's brisket: 8
Overall sausage: 8
Val's sausage: 8
Luke's sausage: 8


8. Black's BBQ -- Lockhart, TX.
And another tie, for 8th. Located just one block from Smitty's, Black's is another Lockhart staple.  We ordered sausage and brisket.  The sausage was great with a nice garlicky seasoning.  Eat it on its own sans sauce.  They lost a few points from me when the cutter sliced off the bark from the brisket.  He also didn't like it when Luke asked him to leave the black.  The original flavor sausage was a happy accident as we ordered jalapeno but once again cutty-joe messed up.  There is a larger emphasis on sides here than any other place visited but the meat can hold its own.  I'm also regretting not trying the pecan cobbler.
Val's overall: 9
Luke's overall: 7
Overall brisket: tied for 6
Val's brisket: 8
Luke's brisket: 6
Overall sausage: 4
Val's sausage: 4
Luke's sausage: 4

8. Micklethwait Craft Meats -- Austin, TX.
Micklethwait's makes the list not for it's adherence to the traditional; this "new school" BBQ truck, located just blocks from Franklin, may not do it the way the founding fathers of BBQ do, but they are certainly doing it right.  The absolute impeccable attention to detail was remarkable.  Homemade pickles?  Yep (and absolutely incredible if you haven't had any before).  Homemade bread? Absolutely. The sauce was even non-traditional with an unmistakable addition of cloves.  The brisket was just okay and alone would not be reason enough to stop for a visit, but the sausage was awesome.  Micklethwait's offers a different, homemade, sausage daily.  For our visit, the offering was chorizo. It was great! The show stealer?  The cheese grits.  Oh my word!  These were the real deal -- nothing instant about the grits.  I think we ate more cheese grits than meat! And you have to finish the meal with dessert -- homemade buttermilk and pecan pies, and homemade moon pies. All so good!
Val's overall: 10
Luke's overall: 6
Overall brisket: 11
Val's brisket: 11
Luke's brisket: 11
Overall sausage: 3
Val's sausage: 3
Luke's sausage: 2

10.  Valentina's TexMex BBQ -- Austin, TX
Located behind Star Bar, on the infamous 6th Street in Austin, Valentina's is another "new school" bbq joint.  I have a soft spot in my heart for Valentina's primarily because of the commitment to cooking "what you know." I also love any place that does fusion food well -- and Valentina's does. We had the smoked brisket taco, the smoked carnitas taco and a cerveza fajita taco.  The brisket was done very well by bbq standards.  Obviously we didn't use bbq sauce -- but we didn't need it.  The carnitas were amazing too.  The stand out favorite was the cerveza fajita but duh -- cerveza and good steak are always a winning combo.  It's hard for me not to talk about Valentina's like a texmex spot -- the queso and chips were good, the tortillas were homemade, the tomatillo salsa was great.  Because of the fusion aspect, it's difficult to compare Valentina's to the likes of Louie Mueller and Franklin.  I will say the brisket was good -- definitely smoked like it should be.  On it's own -- I don't know; put it  in a tortilla with some onion and cilantro and YES! This is a must visit and one place I will definitely want to revisit when I can!
Val's overall: 8
Luke's overall: 10
Overall brisket: 9
Val's brisket: 9
Luke's brisket: 9
(they didn't have sausage, so no ranking for that)

11.  Blue Ox -- Austin, TX.
We had to work to get some bbq from Blue Ox!  Yelp steered us wrong on the time it opened so we had to re-work our plan to get this one to work.  Blue Ox BBQ truck is located behind Buzz Mill in a quaint courtyard with homemade "backyard" games.  We grabbed some brisket and pork tenderloin to go (along with some bacon mac n cheese). The brisket was just okay. The pork was tender and very well done -- it will just never be the reason we visit a bbq joint.  The sauce was nothing to write home about, as well it shouldn't be (sauce shouldn't steal the show!).  We have heard from others that this place is really good but we found it a little lacking compared to others.  There is some suspicion that we got an off day.  According to the girl cutting our meat, the two days prior were HUGE for them so we have to wonder if the demand was more than they could handle by day 3.   If there is any truth to that, it's understandable.  Don't write off Blue Ox just because it made 11 on our list. It was really good; we'll definitely give it another shot when we are in Austin.
Val's overall: 11
Luke's overall: 11
Overall brisket: 10
Val's brisket: 10
Luke's brisket: 10
(no sausage so no ranking)

So that's it.  Our definitive word on bbq. It's taken me 2 weeks to write this post and I am finally able to think about eating bbq without getting sick.  Luke, on the other hand, is already planning more stops the next time we head to Austin!

On habits and focus and lent and writing

Today marks the beginning of Lent and if the world's social media feed reads anything like mine, it feels as if everyone is focused.  Focused on making habits or breaking habits.  I find it interesting, regardless of faith, so much of the world seems to groan and stretch this time of year, yearning with a desire to right and return order, like some giant bear waking from it's hibernation slumber.

For those of us with Christian roots, we understand that this is the Lenten season -- a time of preparation, through prayer and self-denial, for the remembrance of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection.  Our self-denial (we prefer the word "fast" don't we?) is done with the goal of a closer relationship to God.  Of course, if the self-denial also helps break a bad habit then we've benefitted from the proverbial two birds and one stone scenario.

It's all this focus and waking and fasting that has me thinking today.  Much like the world-bear, my life has been in hibernation for a while.  Not holed up in a cave in the woods (although, don't tempt me) but nonetheless disengaged in my world; I've simply been going through the motions and imitating emotions.  I can feel my spirit groaning and stretching; I can feel the desire to right and return order.  Y'all it's been a dry and weary land around here lately. And I'm parched, deep down in my spirit -- thirsty.  And that's what's driving this writing -- here, today.  If I'm longing to restore order and if I'm stretching and throwing off old and if I'm desperately thirsty for life-giving Water, then to Him I must run, Him I must seek.  So for Lent, I'm not giving up something like soda or sugar or even meat (none of those wrong, by the way). No, I'm giving up chaos; I'm giving up disengagement; I'm giving up anger (someone much wiser than me said it was my choice...what a duh moment for me).  And I'm running, I mean RUNNING, for the Well-Spring.  I'm taking up discipline (hello budget and to-do list and food journal). I'm taking up deliberate (hello devotional and daily prayer appointments). Daily choosing life and the Life Giver.

Maybe it's not typical but nothing has been too terribly typical for me lately.

And with all that, maybe I'll write again. Maybe along the way I'll rediscover my voice.  Maybe.

Pinewood Derby

Hi, it's Jack.  On Friday I had my Pinewood Derby.  My Pinewood Derby was at Kingsland Baptist Church, in the loft room.  The race was between 1st-5th grade.  My car was called the Blue Storm.  It won 2nd place out of all 3rd grade, and I came in eighth place in the finals.  It took me three days to make my car.  I had a lot of fun.

Christmas Decorating

Hi, its jack. The first thing I did for christmas decorating.Was put up the lights. 1st my dad me and Sam raked the yard. Then we bagged the leafs and there were about 6 bags of leafs. Then dad put up the roof lights. Then me and Sam straightened the strands of lights. Took the stakes attached to the lights and stuck them in the ground. Inside we set up electronic stuffed animals that sing songs.We also set up advent on the wall. In advent we have a countdown with fun things to do inside. Then we hanged up our stockings. Then we put christmas snacks in jars. Then we put nativity scenes by the fireplace. Then we brought our tree inside. Then we put it on our stand,and put our lights on.Then we put the ornaments and candy canes on. The house looks nice.   MERRY CHRISTMAS.

Question answering

Hi, it's Jack.  The first question I will answer is from Ms. Amanda. She asked, "did you dress up for  halloween?" Yes I did. "What was your costume?" I was Willy from Duck Dynasty. My costume was hot but people liked it. The second question is from Ms. Meredith. She asked, "what was your favorite football moment?" I had 3 really good runs, 2 of them I almost made it to the 1st down line (50 yard line). The other one I was tripped right before the touchdown.  The last question I will answer is from my Gigi Ruby. She asked, "what is your new puppy's name?" My puppy's name is Waffles, he is a black Golden Doodle with gold on his paws and I would describe him naughty.  Thank you for the questions. I appreciate you reading my blog "That's all we have for today folks! "

A case for the celebration of Thanksgiving

I opened my inbox this morning to a flood of junk messages proclaiming Black Friday deals and Thanksgiving store hours.  A radio station here is already playing Christmas music.  And teaching about giving thanks on Thanksgiving to a bunch of kindergartners was a little difficult since 50% of them already had Christmas decor up at home.

So in this mad rush to Christmas, I think it best that a case be made to celebrate Thanksgiving.  True, the holiday is a nice opening ceremony to the Christmas season, but I'd argue that it has a bit more value than that.  And I know that other countries don't celebrate Thanksgiving and I know that our Thanksgiving has some questionable history in it's origins.  But I'm not sure any of that is a reason to skip this particular holiday.

Like I told my kindergartners, the purpose for the holiday is in it's name.  Thanksgiving -- to give thanks.  There is something to be said for a purposeful, intentional slowing of our lives with the sole goal of giving thanks.   I teach my children after all, say thank you prompting them throughout the day.
Naturally, the act of being thankful should be, ought to be, a daily, moment-by-moment act.  But the designation of a specific day to be thankful doesn't negate our daily thanks giving.  In the same way that celebrating a birthday doesn't negate the love we have for the person of honor but rather highlights, emphasizes that love, so too the celebration of thanks giving.

Here's why I love Thanksgiving.  It is the one holiday that doesn't pull on family to celebrate.  I don't have to juggle schedules and timetables; I don't have to worry about things being just so.  No one calls to ask about last minute gift ideas and I don't have to worry about making sure there is enough room in the car for all the loot.  The few days before Thanksgiving, I am able to spread out on my kitchen table all my beloved recipes and choose just the right ones for the celebrations. I spend time in my happy place, cooking with love for those I love.  And then on the day of celebration, all we do is spend time together.  We don't have a time table, other than a rough time for the meal to start.  There is no pretense, no fancy clothes or table linens.  Just good food, and lots of family.  So many opportunities to look around, in quiet or in cacophony, and give thanks. The kids aren't focused on themselves (any more than usual anyway).  They understand that the day is just to be thankful; in so many ways, is just to be. I always wish Thanksgiving was a multi-day celebration, wanting just one more day to just be, to sit and be thankful.

I think it's important to slow, pause, be thankful.  The season of advent starts a few days after Thanksgiving.  A time to purposefully prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ.  How better to start than by thanking the God of heaven.  To spend time doing nothing but being thankful.  Not asking for anything, not expecting anything.  Just saying thank you.  Just acknowledging that every thing is from above.

I started a thankful journal a while back. My goal was to get to 1000 things.  I never made it -- not because there aren't 1000 things but because the act of being always thankful is so contrary to our lives.  I keep returning to it, though.  Determined, committed to finding those 1000 things, to seeing my life through a lens of thanks.  I highly recommend you read 1000 Gifts by Ann Voskamp; let her lead you into thanksgiving.  Actually read it twice, as a review I read said, it's red meat -- give it some time to digest.

So this week, despite my mind already swirling with the demands of the holiday season, I'm going to purposefully pause, intentionally quiet and give thanks.  When the din of dinner is all around, I'm going to let me mouth be silent and offer a prayer of thanksgiving.  For the good, for the bad, for all.  Because from Him comes all because of nothing but love.  And for that I am forever thankful.

How I did in school after disney

Hi it's me Jack again. I had a hard time getting started on school, because I just got back from 8 days of          fun at disney. I forgot about some things while I was at disney. Some subjects were easy to start. Math was the hardest to get started on, because I forgot some fraction rules. I fought through all the forgotten things and, calmed down took a few deep breaths. I concentrated by looking closely, focused and used the things that weren't forgotten. Then things got easy; I was able to do school work; math turned out good and fractions went well.

Thankful things

Sitting at a picnic table in Mobile, Alabama...thinking of thankful things instead of Facebook things

-- soft breeze blowing across the water

-- in the shadow of the USS Alabama, reminder of others and their great sacrifice for me

-- stomp stomp of little girl feet

-- oohs and ahhhs of happy little boys, marveling at the size of it all

Test post

Trying out that app again. Let's see if it works this time. 

Apparently the app needs some work

I tried using the blogger app this weekend.  And did you see a new post Sunday?  Yeah me neither.  I'm going to try to work on it to see what I can find.  The whole post was about why I'm off Facebook and here more.  We'll see if I get around to re-writing it.  The condensed version?  I'm off Facebook because it was messing with my head.  I'm here now, trying to write more.  That is, if the app will cooperate.

Guest Blogger

Notice a short, random post from earlier today?  That was Jack, my new guest blogger.  It'll be a weekly thing, his posting.  For writing I'm having him compose weekly blog posts.  My rationale for this multi-faceted.  First, we live in a digital world and I want him to begin to learn to use the tools of that world.  Second, writing for an audience is always a good idea.  He won't get peer-reviews and such at home so this blog offers the next best thing.  YOU!

I will not be proofing his work before he posts it nor am I giving him any constraints regarding topic.  After each post, he and I will talk about conventions of writing and will discuss how to improve.  Obviously, if you read the last post you'll notice we'll need to work on cohesion and how to pick a main topic!

How can you help?  Comment! Ask questions, reply with your own thoughts. Don't worry about correcting him, that's my job as teacher.  But feedback from an audience is something I can manufacture here, which is why we need you! But remember, like too much correction can frustrate him, too much praise can do the same (especially if he realizes the praise is unwarranted or unequal to his ability).  The most important thing you can do is simply be real with him.  Comment if you are a commenter, don't if you aren't.  Comment if you have something to say, don't if you don't.

Hopefully we will see the growth of a writer through this process.  And if nothing else, at least there will be something new here weekly!

jack's week

I am going to Disney world in a week and I can't wait. Tonight is Halloween. On Saturday I have a
football game. I had guitar practice today. I have a new puppy.

Red Ribbon week wonderings

My facebook newsfeed is blowing up with pics of kids getting ready for Red Ribbon Week.  It's a week I remember well being a DARE graduate (DARE to keep a kid off drugs -- I can still sing the song). I've never really thought much about Red Ribbon Week other than the half-hearted acknowledgment that it keeps kids off drugs and all that.

Then something happened last week that has me wondering, does it actually work? We were on our way to Grace's gymnastics and rather than listening to KSBJ/AIR1/VBS preschool songs, I was actually listening to a classic rock station (stone me later).  Steve Miller Band's The Joker came on -- a song my kids have heard countless times.  The chorus came on and I was humming away when a little voice from the backseat said, "mom, what's a toker?" Uh oh.  I decided to handle the question head on and quite academically (read sans-jargon) like all questions of this nature.  I answered, "someone who smokes marijuana." Then Jack replied, "what's marijuana?"  It was at that moment I realized my son's first exposure to drugs was ME.  We can discuss all day whether or not that's the "appropriate" method.  It was the advent of Red Ribbon Week that got me thinking -- does Red Ribbon Week do the same thing for many of the public school kids who participate?

I'm not arguing that some kids are exposed to drugs early in life and would benefit from frequent and early messages of drug resistance.  But what about the other kids? In the name of prevention, are our schools the first "pushers" in our kids' lives?

This post isn't a warning against drug resistance education.  It's just something I've been wondering about today...any thoughts from reader-world?

Another one bites the dust

Curriculum that is...

We've thrown out IEW's Primary Arts of Language Reading and Writing.  I slogged through that for a semester with Jack before I threw it out.  I thought surely starting with a kindergartner rather than a first grader would be better so I hauled it back out with Sam.  9 weeks in and I'm tossing it out again.

I sooo wanted  this to work but after 9 weeks I can honestly say that it's not.  Sam isn't learning phonics rules and truthfully I think his reading is suffering (he was progressing better before we started this); he seems stunted.  So I'm chunking it out in favor of Explode the Code.  Grace is using the preschool version and I've been very impressed with what she's been able to learn with just a little instruction every other day.

Not one to wait around once a decision has been made, I postponed the start of school today and drove to Mardel to buy the books.  We started this morning; three pages in and I'm hooked.  So much success so early!! Hoping this does the trick!

And yes...I know I only talk about homeschool.  It's a safe topic around here while we still work through a lot of the mess the last 2.5 years made. I'll get deeper at some point!

Two weeks in review

Here's a shot of our homeschool room.  All my little ducks working hard.

After 2 weeks I can definitely find some positives and some negatives.  

Positives:

1. Rosetta Stone for Chinese.  In the pic, Jack is actually working on typing but he'd just finished Chinese.  He's already speaking in phrases and understands quite a bit of what he hears/reads.  I'm impressed. How much will he retain?  I don't know but he's definitely learning.

2. Rod and staff preschool for Grace.  Simple, basic.  She loves it.  She's my workbook kid so this fits the bill.

3.  Our word wall catepillar.  I started this with Sam (and realized while writing this I should've posted a pic).  He adds a "body" piece each time he learns a new sight word.  I found the idea here.
This has been the best motivator for that little boy. 

4.  Our morning routine.  I bought, from Teachers Pay Teachers, a booklet of morning work for Jack and Sam.  In the morning, the kiddos, independently (read -- without mom) say the pledges, recite a weekly memory verse, fill out "today, yesterday, tomorrow" and complete one page of morning work.  FABULOUS!  They love the independence; I love the last few minutes to finish my coffee or fold the laundry.  I also love that the morning pages provide simple review for skills that either I overlook or that could use a little enrichment or that don't require a lesson but still need a little practice (like rhyming or alphabetizing).


I love most of my curricula choices -- Tapestry of Grace is awesome; Jack is in love with Growing with Grammar; Kay Arthur's Bible study is tough but so rich. There are a few negatives though.


Negatives
1.  This biggest negative -- and this is a doozy in the homeschool world -- is science.  I just do NOT like Apologia.  I know, I know, I know. Everyone loves it.  It's great.  The best.  Blah, blah, blah.  I think it is soooooo boring.  Dry, dull, snooze fest.  And I like science.  So Apologia is on the cut list for next year.  It's like first round draft pick that just didn't pan out.  I paid too much money to not let it finish the year but I don't think I'll be renewing that contract.
2.  IEW's PAL.  This isn't a HUGE negative.  I actually think it's a fantastic curriculum.  Sam is learning a lot and his reading is improving with leaps and bounds.  BUT...it is very, very, very cut and paste heavy.  And Sam (just like Jack) is so done with cutting and pasting.  It's hard for a kid to learn if he hates the method of teaching.  I'm improvising and I think it will work but I don't like having to even do that.  This is the only year we will use IEW for Sam so I don't have to think too heavily about that choice.  And I'm pretty sure I'll use it with Grace -- although as much as she likes arts and crafts, she may love it -- turning that negative into a positive.
3.  Muzzy Spanish and our typing software are kinda stinky.  Muzzy is odd -- very short lessons but games that are too difficult.  The teaching seems incomplete.  The typing is just boring.  It takes too long to get to the games; it also presents this fantastic "island" to explore but then forces you to master one section before exploring another.  The kids are bit burnt out on that one.


Other than that our first two weeks have been a success.  Enrichment Fridays were a great idea, allowing the kiddos to either do something fun like Foam Dart Physics or to catch up on work from the week since we have so many doctor appointments with Sam.  If the first two weeks are any indication, I think we are looking at a great year!

Second week slump

It's official.  We've hit the second week slump. Maybe not all homeschooling families experience this, but we do, annually -- hence the actual name I've given it.

The first week of school is always rough for me.  The kids are uber-excited to get started and to learn new things and to crack open those books they've watched me collect all summer long.  Their excitement can be a bit exhausting, between the what-now's and the what's-next's and the can-I-just-do-a-little-more's, mama needs her space by the end of the day.  We spend the first week working and reworking order and routine and procedure back into our days.  Ex.haust.ing.

The second week is always rough for the kids.  Truth be told, the second week slump can actually last a month.  The second week is when they realize that school work is actually work.  The new has worn off the books, the lessons are no longer reviews, and the call to return to summertime play is louder than ever.  Yet mama-teacher insists that this work be done, daily.

So it's during the second week slump that I start to hear lots of agains, can'ts, don't-know-hows. The second week slump is when the tears begin to fall for minor reasons and a simple math mistake is cause for quite the temper tantrum.  It's usually during the second week slump that my math-minded kid forgets basic addition facts, making his pre-algebra almost impossible.  And it's during the second week slump that my blossoming reader forgets what letter his name starts with, the whole ordeal ending with tears because he insists it's an F.  And it's during the second week slump that my preschooler no longer sits contentedly and practices matching but decides to be a bit avant-garde in her definition of what color a watermelon is.

For me, the second week slump is hard because I don't want them to be miserable.  I like giving in to their wants.  It's also a bit hard because I start to look for reasons why the slump has started, which means I grow discontented with my less-than-fave parts of our curriculum...the curriculum I've spent all summer researching and procuring.  We're 3 days into this slump and I've already got plans to scrap things for next year.

The silver lining in the second week slump is that it begins with regularity and it always ends.  In about a month, the fog of the slump will disappear, giving way to the comfort of routine and consistency.  Here's to hoping this is a short slump!

A little venting about our medical team

I heard from Sam's rheumatologist today. Well, actually I heard from her nurse practitioner.  She passed us along to him after the first visit.  No diagnosis but not sick enough to warrant her time?  I don't know the reason for sure so I shouldn't speculate but it's hard not to think that might be the reason.

We just repeated bloodwork (for the 3rd time in 4 months) and a bone scan; all to re-check for malignancy (doctor speak for cancer).  I've mentioned before how tired I am of hearing the word "cancer" in Sam's medical visits.  We've checked for malignancy before and everything came back clean.  I guess because we have since ruled out arthritis we are returning to other possibilities to make sure nothing was missed.

Anyway, all the re-checks came back normal.  Now we are expected to re-do an MRI (pelvis and spine) to check for lesions and possible malignancy.  The best part of this is when the original MRI was done, a lesion was seen and deemed an undefined contusion, probably a bruise.  Now, that lesion is cause to re-scan.  I'm struggling to logic that one out.

We've also been referred to a neurologist to investigate possible nerve issues.  If the neurologist comes up empty, then it's on to a musculo-skeletal specialist and a urologist (an urologist? unsure of the proper article there...) to search for more, rare possibilities.

Here's where things begin to stick me a bit.  We are re-scanning for cancer -- kind of a big deal.  But since the newest round of testing was normal, and the upcoming scans are presumed to be normal (but still necessary?) we don't need to be seen by the rheumatologist until November.

So let's get that straight.  Son has been in pain for 15 months; we have no diagnosis; search for diagnosis leads to potential cancer diagnosis; quickly perform scans; no cancer found but kid still in pain; we don't need to see the doctor for 2-3 months despite not having a diagnosis.

Urrgggghhhh

I don't mean to complain.  I just need a place to purge all the things that rumble around in my brain. I'm grateful for the doctors; I'm grateful for the no-cancer diagnosis; I'm grateful that despite being in pain, my son is really healthy.  I'm just ready for some answers.

Random Thoughts -- Cooking fail

I like to cook and bake and do all things kitchen-y and I'm pretty good at it.  But every cook has an occasional mess up, a flub, a flop, a big ole ugly FAIL.  There are few things in life that make me as frustrated as a cooking fail.  Luke doesn't get it. I think to his science-bent brain even failures are an experiment from which to learn.  To me, it's just a fail.  And I hate to fail, avoiding it if all possible.  Neurotic much?

This week has seen two fails and I'm about ready to hang up my proverbial apron (not real because that would mean I'm a clean cook and nothing could be further from the truth).  Monday saw the dinner hour arrive with the chicken breasts still solidly frozen in the sink, despite being thawed all.day.long. (Just remembered to check the settings on the freezer, might be set a bit low...)  So we ate out and I sulked over my can't-remember-what-we-ate dinner.  Wednesday I tried a new recipe from Pinterest (failproof right?!?! wonk).  My pizza rolls turned into pizza scented hockey pucks. Knowing I make rockin' good cinnamon rolls, the fact that the pizza rolls failed just about ruined my night.  I soothed myself with some brownies...I won't mention how many.

I tried to explain my issues with kitchen failures to Luke.  Tried to compare it to him failing at his job.  He's sweet and reminded me that cooking gourmet food (ha! as if) is not actually my job, that it's much bigger than that.  It didn't do much to salve my wounds.

Now I'm gun shy about trying anything new again.  My goal tonight?  Get the spaghetti on the table. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.

Anyone else struggle with this?

2013-2014 Pearson Academy First Day of Class

It's that time again.  School has started!  We have a brand new school room now that the boys have been moved back upstairs. I'm hoping the new space will help a bit since all the furniture is more kid-sized and the littles now have a place to play out of ear shot of the Jack.  Here are the obligatory first day pics and the curriculum we're using this year. 

 This guy is in third grade.  Thank God for grades at church or I would forget half the time.  Between the varying levels he does in all the curriculum I can't keep up! This promises to be a challenging year for him -- he's reading 99 books in 36 weeks! And that's not including any "for fun" reading he may do!  This year Jack's curriculum is:

Math -- Singapore 4A&B, standards edition

Reading/Writing/History/Geography/Worldview -- Tapestry of Grace, Year 3, lower grammar level

Bible -- How to study your Bible for Kids by Kay Arthur

Grammar -- Growing with Grammar, level 3

Chinese -- Mandarin by Rosetta Stone

Typing -- Typing Instructor for Kids

Handwriting -- A Reason for Handwriting C

Science -- Apologia Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day

Not a lot of change from last year as far as publishers go. We just added in a few subjects.  And it wouldn't be the first day of school if I wasn't already wanting to change something...but that will wait for another time ;)

 This little man is officially in Kindergarten, although if you ask him he'll tell you he's in first grade.  Some of his curriculum is first grade work but some is Kinder.  We are actually using this year to see how he progresses.  If he flies through stuff like he seems bent on doing, this may actually count as his first grade year.  We don't want to rush him or push him but I can only pull back on those reigns so hard! Sam's curriculum this year includes:

Math -- Singapore 1A&B, standards edition

Reading/Writing -- Institute for Excellence in Writing's Primary Arts of Language

Bible -- ABC Jesus Loves me (a free online curriculum)

Science -- Apologia's Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day

Sight Words -- a whole mess of stuff I've gathered ;)

Typing -- Typing Instructor for Kids

Spanish -- Muzzy Online

Last but not least, Little Miss isn't schooling much at home.  But she was not about to be left out of the picture taking this morning!  Grace will attend preschool two days a week but that doesn't begin until September.  The other days of the week she will be working through some Rod and Staff preschool books, Get Ready for the Code A (prequel to Explode the Code), busy bags and art projects.  She's also going to spend quite a bit of time in mommy's lap reading books.  We are slowly introducing her to Spanish through Muzzy Online, but only because she asked.  The same is true of typing.  I don't expect her to type at all but perhaps it will help with letter recognition and she likes it.  If ever she decides she doesn't, it (and Spanish) are easy to leave out.

Our schedule this year will be a little different than in years past.  We are only schooling Monday, Wednesday and Thursday on the "traditional" subjects.  Tuesdays we will participate in a local coop where Sam will do some Five in a Row, and Jack will work on Texas History and Science of Simple Machines.  Fridays are for enrichment and we will work on Health (it's that time for Jack...sheesh!), science (experiments with dad, fun lessons like nerf gun physics, lego building, etc), and humanities (artist studies, composer studies, cooking lessons, etc).  I'm figuring that by the time it all gets added together, the days will count as a very full school year.  

All in all the first day went well.  We all struggled to get the cobwebs out and as Jack said, we needed to "figure out how to get [our] brains working again."  even mom! It's now lunchtime and the kids are all basically done with the boys finishing up some co-reading during quiet time.  I'll call it a GREAT first day!

Where I've been

Things are slowly returning to a new-old normal around here.  That's where I've been...trying to upturn my upside-down life.  We've moved the boys back into their room, moved the school room back where it was planned to be, moved thoughts of forever to thoughts of experience.  Truthfully though, we can clearly see that the move to a family of 5 is a good thing.  Our kids are adjusting well.  They no longer strive to be older than they are, no longer look to impress.  They are learning to play together again, something that hasn't happened in a year.  We've spoken with the girls and they are thriving in their new-old home.  They have reconnected with friends (something they hadn't managed to do the year they were here) and family.  They have sparkle in their voices and seem to be fitting in nicely.

Other than all things moving, I'm preparing for a new school year.  Again, this will look a bit differently than those before it.  Sam is excited to start -- he's insistent that he's in first grade. In some areas he is; in others, not so much.

I'm hoping to be on here more now.  There are plans for Jack to make appearances here as a guest writer so look forward to that!