Meet Emma and Scarlett

And last but not least on our "Meet The Family" series - are our two adorable pups, Emma and Scarlett - whom are both about to turn 2 this year! 

They were added to our family last year and have become my adopted kids, and Sarah's sisters and friends!

Last year I wanted a puppy for Sarah and I, so for Valentines 2012 I got my wish - and we adopted Emma as a puppy from a big litter at the Humane Society. I wished I could have taken all of her brothers and sisters, but that wasn't an option. I chose her because she seemed to be the least hyper of the clan. When I came up to the stall - all the puppies were jumping and scratching at me to pet them - but, Emma was being sweet and patient, and just coming up and nudging her nose at my hand and looking at me with this sense of calm. I knew right away she was my choice, I didn't want a hyper or loud dog - and her floppy ears and shiny soft coat was just too over the top cute for me! I still to this day hope that her brothers and sisters were given a new home and sweet family, just like her.

Emma just brought home from getting her shots and surgery sutures removed (neuter). {4 months}

She has always been the tender, sweet, and FAST one! She really has a set of legs on her. I am not sure what breeds she is mixed with. But, I've gathered min pin, jack russell terrier, and miniature grey hound - she is REALLY fast, and has a very sleek body - no matter how much she eats. Now when it comes to eating she is the pickier of the two. She's a real princess when it comes to her food - and what she likes. Usually, she gets corn free kibble and isn't too excited about it - she eats about a cup or less of food per day!

Emma 5 months old - Chasing her tail and barking at it! She always has energy to spare..

I haven't had the extra money to train either of then officially. Although, they tend to be really good dogs as a whole. They are both my protectors and followers, and will follow both Sarah and I around the house everywhere we go, especially Scarlett! They both sleep with us in our beds, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I know that they know I am the pack leader, and I don't expect them to feel isolated by having them sleeping separately from the pack. Especially, Scarlett, who is very attached, which I don't mind, considering she was a rescue and came from abuse (I suspect). I just want them both to know they are part of my family, and I love them as my children.

A few months after we got Emma - I was really itching to get a friend for her, and when we went to the pet store one afternoon - they were having a showing of puppies from one of the local rescue associations. I went over to the area they had the puppies being shown, many of them you could tell were rescues, they didn't look the best, or seemed sick/scroungy/barky/ect. - some of them were cute. Then I saw Scarlett all huddled up in a ball trying to lie by herself on the blanket in the center of the pen. The other puppies were just bothering her, trying to sit with her, trying to lie on her and she was the only doxie in the whole group. She was not thrilled with all the attention, and really would have preferred to be sleeping alone. 

She looked decently healthy, although she was visibly thin, shaken, and seemed touchy. I couldn't resist wanting to instantly scoop her up in my arms and comfort her, and look her in the eye and let her know everything was going to be ok - and I was able to get a feel for her personality a bit more as well. 

I have already written another post over on my Naomi's Nutrition Nook Blog about adopting Scarlett, and her back story - Click Here to read more and see a video...

 

April 2012                                                     August 2013 

In conclusion - thank you for taking the time to read my adopted babies stories - and as you follow us on our journey, I want our followers to understand that these darlings will be along for the ride - every step of the way. This is a grand adventure for all of us, something new and exciting, so any positive encouragement, tips, and love thrown our way will be greatly appreciated! 

I will be blogging about traveling with pets, and tips I learn along the way. I'm very anxious to start learning the ropes of traveling with pets in a safe and healthy way with their well being as top priority - and taking each of their individuals personalities and needs into consideration when prepping for our trips. As I said above, they are family members - not accessories - and I will be treating them as such during our travels. 

Peace and Love 

Remember

Go take your OWN adventure!

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Giveaway Winner and Sarah's Art of the Week

Congratulations to Jamye Smith in Washington! You are the winner of our first official giveaway! We hope you enjoy your new DVD. I will be sending you further details about receiving your prize.

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Thank you to everyone who participated in our first giveaway - our next giveaway will be Friday, Sept. 27th!

Sarah's Art Of The Week:

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Applying for Sarah's Passport

Today we took a trip to the local passport office to apply for my daughter's passport. I always get a little anxious when it comes to things relating to official documents, paperwork, ect. I gathered all of her necessary documentation, which I always keep handy in one large accordion folder for organization and portability. We drove down to Riverside, CA to the passport office and thankfully it was not crowded! There was only one other couple in the whole office, lucky us! 

I approached the desk and told the attendant what I was needing (a new passport application), and I grabbed a pen and sat down with all of her documents and started filling out the form. Sarah got a little bored waiting for me to fill out the form, so I suggested she watch the TV they had on in the office (Dr. Phil was on). The whole process took about 10 minutes, then I brought the completed application up to the desk to be looked over. Thankfully, most things were in order - the main issue I was concerned about on the application was the parental consent. Since her father isn't in the picture, I had to sign a special form describing why I was not able to obtain consent. The attendant looked it over and said it looked fine, and took all our documentation, pictures, and made copies, then I paid the fees. Whew, done!

 Now, I just have to wait and hope that we didn't miss some kind of important piece of information, and they will accept her application! "Happy early Birthday to Sarah" - we got back into the car, and I said "That was your early Birthday Gift, it is special!" and she responded with a grin and I could see she was proud and excited about the possibilities!

Next, we headed to the store to pick up our last piece of luggage for our travels. There were so many sizes, designs,  pockets, and accessories - it took me nearly 45 minutes to finally select a large enough piece. I selected a Jeep hard case large luggage piece - I really liked the size, durability, and set of 4 rolling wheels on the bottom for easier transport. We are slowly on our way to boarding our first international flight for our new adventures. 

What's your favorite piece of luggage and why? 

Which brands do YOU prefer? 

What tips do you have to make the passport application process less stressful?

Have you signed up for our 1st Giveaway Friday, yet? Don't forget to get your entries in before this next Friday, to win the First and Second Seasons of Gilmore Girls on DVD ($50 value)!

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Unschooling: What is it?

I have researched this subject for nearly two full years. My experience with unschooling and world schooling is a new and exciting one so far! I have been utilizing this method of home schooling with my daughter for two years. So, let me begin with a general definition of these two terms - there are many degrees within the unschooling community as to how flexible the 'non curriculum' is followed for each family. So, I will present the general definition of unschooling, then get further into the range of differing ways each family may interpret this definition. 

I'll finish with some recommended books, websites, ect which you can utilize to research the topic further if you are interested in trying this learning method with your child. In the end, any form of 'education' is for the purpose of giving the child or individual opportunities to learn new things in a variety of ways, and upon a wide variety of subjects and skills.

  "Unschooling" (according to Wikipedia)

Unschooling is an educational method and philosophy that rejects compulsory school as a primary means for learning. Unschoolers learn through their natural life experiences including play, game play, household responsibilities, personal interests and curiosity, internships and work experience, travel, books, elective classes, family, mentors, and social interaction. Unschooling encourages exploration of activities initiated by the children themselves, believing that the more personal learning is, the more meaningful, well-understood and therefore useful it is to the child. While courses may occasionally be taken, unschooling questions the usefulness of standard curricula, conventional grading methods, and other features of traditional schooling in maximizing the education of each unique child. 

The term "unschooling" was coined in the 1970s and used by educator John Holt, widely regarded as the "father" of unschooling.[1] While often considered a subset of homeschooling, unschoolers may be as philosophically separate from other homeschoolers as they are from advocates of conventional schooling. While homeschooling has been subject to widespread public debate, little media attention has been given to unschooling in particular. Popular critics of unschooling tend to view it as an extreme educational philosophy, with concerns that unschooled children lack the social skills, structure, and motivation of their peers, especially in the job market, while proponents of unschooling say exactly the opposite is true: self-directed education in a natural environment makes a child more equipped to handle the "real world."

According to the general definition homeschooling and unschooling are separate categories. Although, in my experience (since it is conducted via the home) I categorize it within a homeschooling method (which makes it much easier to explain, when I'm asked where Sarah goes to school or what grade she is in school). 

From there, within the 'unschooling' community there are many different 'camps' or particular degrees as to how "radical" each family can interpret this form of learning. As for me, I shy away from conflict and authoritarianism within anything, especially something as flexible as unschooling your child or children at home. But, via my research I came across these four people whom seemed to be experts/leaders on the topic within the unschooling community. Click through their links to learn more information about each person and unschooling. 

Leaders within the Unschooling Community

While I was looking for books, YouTube videos, blogs, FB pages, and websites to research unschooling or leaders within the unschooling communities - It seemed that at this time there are only a handful of leaders or people who are creating some leadership for the unschooling community. These are the following people whom I've ran across so far in my research upon the topic.

Sandra Dodd

Sandra Dodd has been unschooling her children most of their lives, and is an author of several books and handbooks about unschooling/radical unschooling and her experience, she also runs her own blog and website, and I've found many YouTube videos of her discussing unschooling.

Joe Martin and Dayna Martin

Joe Martin and his wife Dayna are administrators for a Radical Unschooling group on Facebook, and Dayna is a 'radical' unschooling mother and author of several books on the topic. They have YouTube videos talking about their unschooling experiences, radical unschooling, and also answer questions on the topic.

Laurie Coutier

Laurie A. Couture is an Attachment Parenting and Unschooling coach and public speaker and licensed psychologist - you can find her website here. She is the author of Instead of Medicating and Punishing, a book discussing ADHD and children, especially boys, in the traditional schooling environment and at home. She presents alternative approaches to addressing the issue through nurture and nature. She also has a YouTube channel where she uploads videos about her unschooling experience with her adopted son, and answers questions as to what is unschooling, and how do I do it with my child? I highly recommend viewing her video series on unschooling.

"So you want to unschool your child? Unschool yourself"

Video owned by: Laurie A. Couture

Videos I recommend 

related to alternative approaches to traditional school and why we need them

Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining and profoundly moving case for creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines) creativity.

Ted Talk video owned by: Ted.com

Here is an adapted talk from above by RSA Animate  

(Some important details are left out, so I suggest you watch the full lecture above first).

Video owned by: RSA Animate on YT

Unschooling: The New Class of Learning - EuroNews.com

video owned by: EuroNews (on YT)

Other Resources

- List of Unschooling related books on Amazon.com

- More videos on Unschooling from Unschoolers.org

Was this helpful? 

Do you have any questions for me? 

Comment below and let me know! 

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Our First Giveaway Friday and Sarah's Art of the Week!

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Meet My Daughter Sarah

Hi! My name's Sarah and I'm 9 years old. I will be celebrating my 10th birthday at the end of this month. I was born in Kansas and I grow up there until I was 6. I took ballet and cheer  and I have always loved arts and crafts and music. I liked being with my Grandma and Grandpa and also my 6 cousins while we lived in Kansas. 

My Mom's side of the family (Lenker Family Portrait)

We moved to Everett, WA (In the Seattle area) in 2009 with my Dad, who is an artist. My Mom and Dad tried to get back together after 7 years apart. 

   My Dad, Mom and Me before we left for WA - Me at the Space Needle on my 7th Birthday!

Downtown Seattle Plaza - Plaza Chess

 My Mom taught me how to play - Chess is cool!

I was enrolled into a local Catholic elementary school for 1st grade and I liked it, It was a fun school!

Well, after about one semester I was having some issues with my behavior, and I was expelled from the program. Meanwhile, things at home were getting pretty rocky, and I suppose that wasn't helping things at school! My parents were fighting, because of money issues and my Dad started drinking all the time and got abusive, and they had to separate (they were already divorced at this time).

Me singing a song (Age 8): "I'm On My Own" From Angelina Ballerina

After my Dad moved out my Mom and I kept busy trying to heal from the traumatic experience. I continued in school, and my Mom met some new friends that helped us out during the difficult situation. I started attending ice skating lessons downtown at the large ice rink! I really enjoyed it, and loved spending time on the ice with my Mom and exploring the outdoors together!

Ice Skating Christmas Eve 2011 (CA)

Basics 2 Ice Skating Lesson 2010 - Everett, WA

Eventually, after some time passed we moved from Everett, WA to Southern California. It was  quite a change in weather! Mom also started home schooling me. We tried a program through the computer, called K12.com. But, it was too fast paced - and I had a hard time keeping up with the material. My Mom found out about another form of homeschooling called Unschooling, and that is what we have been doing for the past year. 

Museum of Natural History of LA County

La Brea Tar Pit Museum - La Brea, CA

I'm excited about my Mom's idea to start world schooling me, and to see the world and meet new friends! I'm especially excited because my Mom said we could visit PARIS! I am in love with Paris ever since I read the Fancy Nancy books, and I am in LOVE with fashion design. I'm excited to try an official Parisian crepe or fruit tart, and maybe even get to see a real fashion show! I also love drawing anime and I have included a video of some examples of my current work. 

I think it would be fun to teach other kids how to draw!

Thank you for taking the time to read my story! 

I look forward to our journey's and getting to know you all better. 

Please comment below telling me where YOU are from,

  I can't wait to have you as my new friend!

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Meet Naomi

Hi! We would like to introduce ourselves. We're Naomi and Sarah, a dynamic mother and daughter duo who are almost always together. We would like to invite you to join us on our adventures and to begin, I would like you to get to know us better - and understand a bit of our "Real Gilmore Girls" history. 

Meet: Naomi

Chef Naomi

Thank you for taking the time to get to know us better by reading our history. 

My name is Naomi and I'm Sarah's Mom. I'm 30 years old, already twice divorced, with an Associates of Arts Degree and am currently a Holistic Health Coach, and Blogger at my other website NaomisNutritionNook.com - and I am an advocate for the Non-GMO movement. I am very curious, and always interested in researching and learning new things, and value keeping an open mind! Some of my favorite pursuits are: knowledge, learning new things (anything from language learning, to how to knit). My favorite past times (other than blogging) include organic gardening, sunbathing on the beach, traveling, and exploring the world with my daughter, language learning, history, antiques, classic films, and enjoying anything related to fine arts!

I was raised in the Midwest and my family moved around a lot when I was a kid. I was born in North Dakota. I have two older brothers whom are 4 years and 7 years my senior. 

Me (on the bottom left) and my two brothers - with our cousins in South Dakota.

We lived in South Dakota (Winner and Sturgis) from age 1-7,  then because of my Dad's changing jobs (He was an Accountant and a Frito Lay Route Sales Man) we moved from there to Wyoming (Gillette). I really enjoyed growing up in Wyoming, the kids were great, we lived in the country and in town. It was nice to go out to the mountains on the weekends for family camping trips - the nature is amazing. The winters were cold, and I remember one year the snow drifts came all the way up to our windows (about 6 ft) of our house - suffice it to say when we had "Snow Days" off for school, we really earned them!

I finished out elementary school in Wyoming and entered middle school there, which I really loathed! Thankfully, despite the bullies and jerks that I encountered I had a 'safe place' in my pursuit and love of art and music. Ever since I was little I was surrounded by music in my house - both of my parents were singers, and we always had a piano in the house that my parents taught me how to play. 

Piano Recital - Age 15

I loved those times when I could just absorb myself in my art or music in school and at home. I was also involved in sports most of the time, I joined the volleyball team in Jr. High - and I was really enjoyed it! I remember one game I served almost the whole game, 12 (15 to win) straight points with no volley from the other team!

To be honest, ever since Jr. High and the bullying incidents, along with my wearing glasses and having a gap in my two front teeth, I always struggled with low self esteem or not 'fitting in'. As I aged, thankfully, my pursuit of music and art helped give me a platform to express myself and be happy in my own skin. (Oh, and braces and contacts, really helped that, too.) 

For my 9th Grade year we moved to Wichita, KS, because my Father felt "called to the ministry". So, we all followed him as he became the new Area Director for Child Evangelism Fellowship. I started in a new private Christian school, which was very small - and had limited access to Art classes, which I missed. But, I do remember that because of their more challenging environment, my grades went up exponentially and I started getting A's and B's in all my classes, and really gained an interest more in the Biological Sciences!

10th Grade Class Photo

After two years at the private school, and Dad changing his job again from the Area Director to an Accountant at Lear Jet. I finished out High School at a public school which was 5x the size of the private school! I didn't get on their volleyball team, and I remember feeling pretty bummed about it. But, thankfully, they had a wonderful music and art program that I became really absorbed into! By my Junior year I was dead set on pursuing a degree in Graphic Design. A local community college came to our choir practice one day, and the kids in the Broadway style choir came to perform, and talk about their music program. I am so glad that they came, because I found exactly the program I was looking for. After I auditioned for All-State Choir my senior year (and did not make it) my choir director DID recommend me to perform in the All-City choir (Which was just as fun). 

After I graduated High School, I auditioned for the vocal scholarship program via Cowley County Community College in El Dorado, KS. I was so thrilled to get selected for the full ride scholarship, and really had some of my best two years there - performing for the program and enjoying school! 

 

Freshman year in college Renaissance outfit for the Madrigal singing group I participated in Dec. 2001 - 

1st Christmas 2002 with my ex (Sarah's Dad) when we first started dating.

During my 2nd year in college, I met and started dating a fellow art student - and well, in no delicate terms - along came my pride and joy (Sarah).

I was being irresponsible with my classes the rest of the semester, and lost my scholarship and decided to try the married route/stay at home Mom routine. Well, life got a bit rocky from there, including a divorce. I went back to finish my Associates Program in 2005, and graduated. 

I'm now a single mom, and pursuing the things I love, and really focusing on being an entrepreneur and great Mother, striving to give my daughter opportunities I didn't have.

Through many trials and errors and going through trials and tribulations, trying to go back to school to finish a Biology Degree, and many things in between. I finally discovered a program (7 years later) that fit in with my interests in natural health, cancer prevention, Alzheimer's prevention, and obesity prevention! I joined the Holistic Health Coaching program through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (online) - and really enjoyed the program! The more I studied about natural health, and disease prevention via school, documentaries, books, magazines, online I ended up naturally slowly transitioning our diet to a mostly vegetarian (plant-based) and even vegan way of eating. 

Now I am a Nutritional Consultant/Holistic Health Coach - and really love the versatility of this profession. Helping people, is really where my heart lies, and empowering them with useful information that can save their lives, or even just clear up their health issues is such a gift that I don't take lightly!

 I'm honored to help others, and honored to be a strong mother for my daughter! and I hope to give her the tools to be a loving, kind, generous, and independent woman when she is out on her own, pursing her own interests (so far) art, fashion design, all things anime, and her love of animals and the outdoors!

Sarah on her bike 2012

Aside from my interest in health and nutrition I am also a home schooling mother. This didn't happen overnight, exactly. I always had Sarah in Daycare, Preschool, and elementary school, up until 2nd grade - when she was having trouble in school with her behavior. Over time I finally put two and two together, via my personal research (and knowing her father struggled with a bit of the same thing) I realized she has a bit of Asperger's (A form of autism, that is high functioning, but usually has a hard time socially - and she has toe walked ever since she was little - I blame the ridiculous immunization schedule, along with her Dad's genes). So anyway - I finally realized that she needed more one on one attention, and for me to be in a more stable situation to give her the attention she needed.

We moved from the Seattle Area to Southern California in Fall 2011 with my best friend, Joe. I enrolled her into an online program via K12.com. The program was individually based on their speed, but, for Sarah it was too fast paced - and we only ended up fighting and arguing more than getting any real learning accomplished. So, the teacher we were working with, recommended some other options, including informing us about unschooling! 

That began our journey into unschooling, and now our journey into slow world schooling! That is basically a synopsis of me and my life so far. Thank you for reading such a long story! I appreciate your interest in our story. Sarah's story is up next on the blog - so stay tuned to Meet Sarah.

"Between every two trees is a door to a new life." ~ John Muir

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Introduction

Welcome to our new site - follow my daughter and I (and our puppies) as we share our lives with you, "grow up" together via this blog, and share new experiences while traveling as a family. We will laugh together, cry together, love together, Learn together, Make mistakes together, and dream together!

In this blog we will talk about a variety of topics such as:  

World Travel
Natural Parenting/Health
Unschooling
World Schooling
Fashion and Style 
Dining Out and Dining In 
Photography
Fine Arts

Vintage Appreciation  
Budgeting Tips for Families

-We are the Real Gilmore Girls -

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