Have You Voted Today?

I just visited CafeMom, a wonderful website featuring countless forums on things like homeschooling, raising boys, special needs children, weightloss, shared hobbies and just about anything else you might imagine. If you don't find a group to suit you, you can actually start your own!

Ok... it's a great site populated by scads of moms from around this great nation of ours, but to my great disappointment I observed in a CafeMom poll that 23% of those visiting the site today say they are not voting! Seriously? I can't even imagine not voting in such a time as this. Why do you suppose they aren't voting and is this representational of our nation as a whole? Will nearly a quarter of our population not vote today?

I'd like to encourage everyone reading this blog post to get out and vote. If you're not certain who to vote for this year, just remember that one of the candidates will grow our dependence on the federal government, will raise our taxes, will increase the scope and function of government as a whole (costing us money and freedoms we've come to take for granted) and generally speaking is very liberal on social issues. The other candidate is my choice. I voted early for John McCain and have endorsed him here on my blog. He wasn't my first choice, but I strongly feel he's the best choice on the ticket this year.

Remember that the President of the United States serves as Commander in Chief and the leader of the free world. Who does it make more sense to place in that position of power? John McCain or Barack Obama?

Please vote and don't believe the polls. We don't know what will happen tonight and anything is still possible.

An Asperger's Blog on My Horizon?

If I had to guess, I'd say it's a definite. A week ago today my son was diagnosed by a child psychologist with PDD-NOS and signs of Asperger's. I don't know if he could have both, or if she couldn't decide what he had. These are disorders that fall under the spectrum of autism. Asperger's is like a high-functioning autism, but when she examined my son she suggested he might actually be more on the autistic side. I really didn't expect to hear her say that. I'm not sure I buy it either.

After reading up on Asperger's I truly believe this is the correct diagnosis. The PDD-NOS is like a non-specified type of diagnosis and I'm still trying to get a feel for how he may or may not fit into that diagnosis appropriately.

In any case, many of you know I've had an ongoing struggle with me 7 year old son for a very long time. Actually, things have always been a struggle. He's like having 2 children, sometimes 3. He's a handful!

What does this mean for our homeschool? It might actually be the nail in the coffin. I don't know this for fact just yet, but there's a very good chance he'll either be in school part-time or full-time next semester. If I could have it my way, he'd only start half days just to get acclimated. It's been suggested by countless people that he go to school. That he needs a lot of therapy that he cannot get at home. Therapy we can't afford outside of the school system. I could use a lot of prayer about this. Seriously, this would be a huge change for our family.

I want what is best for my son, but sometimes it's hard to know what that is. Especially when he's now been labeled special needs. We can't give him everything he needs here and I do recognize that. He needs speech therapy, occupational therapy, likely physical therapy, and the list goes on. Fortunately we live in a wonderful school district that excells with special needs children. So, while I hate the idea of public school, I am willing to consider that at least for a couple years it might be the right answer.

I'll keep you all posted.

Winner of Mia Bella Candle Giveaway!

Ok... our random, online number generator tells us the winner of our Mia Bella Candle Giveaway is number 11... which means Kristie wins! Congratulations to Kristie and thanks to all who entered the giveaway!

Keep visiting The Homeschooling Blog for new and exciting giveaways and homeschooling related information!

NEW School Prayer

I rec'd this in an email today and wanted to share....

WRITTEN BY A 15 yr. Old SCHOOL KID IN ARIZONA:

New Pledge of Allegiance (TOTALLY AWESOME)! Since the Pledge of Allegiance And The Lord's Prayer Are not allowed in most Public schools anymore Because the word 'God' is mentioned....

NEW School prayer :
Now I sit me down in school
Where praying is against the rule
For this great nation under God
Finds mention of Him very odd.

If Scripture now the class recites,
It violates the Bill of Rights.
And anytime my head I bow
Becomes a Federal matter now.

Our hair can be purple, orange or green,
That's no offense; it's a freedom scene.
The law is specific, the law is precise.
Prayers spoken aloud are a serious vice.

For praying in a public hall
Might offend someone with no faith at all.
In silence alone we must meditate,
God's name is prohibited by the state.

We're allowed to cuss and dress like freaks,
And pierce our noses, tongues and cheeks..
They've outlawed guns, but FIRST the Bible.
To quote the Good Book makes me liable.
We can elect a pregnant Senior Queen,
And the 'unwed daddy,' our Senior King.
It's 'inappropriate' to teach right from wrong,
We're taught that such 'judgments' do not belong.

We can get our condoms and birth controls,
Study witchcraft, vampires and totem poles.
But the Ten Commandments are not allowed,
No word of God must reach this crowd

It's scary here I must confess,
When chaos reigns the school's a mess.
So, Lord, this silent plea I make:
Should I be shot; My soul please take!
Amen

LeapFrog Giveaway

Listen up (or should I say read up?) homeschoolers of young kids! LeapFrog is sponsoring a giveaway over at Punnybop to celebrate the launch of their new Learning Path, an online interactive that works with their electronic educational systems.

What are they giving away?

• One Didi Custom Gaming System
• One Leapster II
• A Tag Reading System and two books

To learn more and to enter the giveaway, hop on over to Punnybop by Friday (1 pm CT), October 24th, which is the entry deadline! Take note... you don't have much time!

BTW, I'll be adding a Prizey widget to this blog to keep my readers in the know on blogging giveaways from across the blogosphere. It's the best blogging giveaway site on the planet... guaranteed!

Breathtaking Photos of The Sun

This link is likely all over the Internet by now, but I still want to share it here! Just in case you've not visited the site yet, because WOW! Check out Boston.com's link for photos of the sun.

When you and your children study the sun, you'll want to have this site bookmarked. The photos are gorgeous and you can stare at them all day and not damage your retinas! lol

My 7 year old son is all about outer space and calls himself "space expert". My husband and I got a kick out of a sign he made yesterday for his bedroom door which reads:

"Space Expert"

our son's name

"Room free to enter,

but do not bug him too much."

Too cute!

Mia Bella Candle Giveaway!!

Giveaway over!

Winner will be selected and announced shortly!

Mia Bella gourmet candles are amazing! Trust me, I know.... I was selected to sample the Chili Vanilli Mia Bella candle personally and couldn't have been more pleased with the awesome aroma. YuMmY! Oh... and the way this candle burned so cleanly! There's absolutely no black residue left in the jar. Amazing!

Can you see the unique texture of the candle in this photo? What really took me by surprise was that after burning my candle for 20 minutes, the cooled wax retained the same texture as new. Can't explain that one, but I like it! lol

Thanks to our sponsor Jean, a Mia Bella distributor, we're able to offer one of our visitors a free 16 oz. Chili Vanilli Mia Bella candle... can we all give Jean a huge THANK YOU?!!!

Here are the super simple rules for entering:

• This giveaway is open to nonhomeschoolers and homeschoolers alike!
• Only one entry per individual.
• You must have a US shipping address (Sorry! This is a shipping expense issue.)
• Visit our sponsor's Mia Bella website and do some looking around. Come back to The Homeschooling Blog and leave me a comment sharing your favorite product! If you've never experienced Mia Bella first hand, simply choose the product you'd most like to try. :)
• If you're not a blogger, please note that we must have a way to get a hold of you or you will be disqualified. Please be sure to leave your email in this format: yourname (at) yahoo (dot) com. This keeps the spambots from picking up your info! We promise not to sell your email or to use it for any purposes other than notifying you should you be our winner. :)

Deadline for entry is Monday, October 27th at 11:59 PM (CST).

Sign up for Jean's "Preferred Customer" list and you'll automatically be sent a preferred pricing list. For a limited time you'll then be entitled to a one time savings of 50% over retail!

If you'd like to learn more about the business aspect of Mia Bella, be sure to request your free information packet with sample.

Also, you should enter the Mia Bella weekly giveaway too. This is another opportunity to win a free candle! Woo Hoo!