Carterhome

A Quiet Autumn Hike

2011-11-12T07:52:00.002-05:00

Just what we needed, an hour or so away from the hustle and bustle of the city. A short drive, a few dollars for admission, finding the right spot. We chose to hike the Vineyard Springs trail in Glen Artney, supposedly popular with the mountain bikers. We crossed paths with just three. The path was easy at the start, and other than one short but steep climb uphill, remained that way. The colors were beautiful, the air was crisp, the quiet was wonderful.
Enjoy photos HERE.

My birth, by Jamie

2011-11-10T09:07:00.001-05:00

I was born on June 17th, on a Tuesday. I looked cute like all babies. I was given lots and lots of cards and presents and Dorth got some too.

a third list

2011-10-03T13:13:00.002-05:00

Jamie would like:

just about anything Pokemon, but specifically the items found at this wish list.

Other things: Legos, Star Wars, fun/character t-shirts (size 10 or larger), science experiments (especially ones that explode!), nerf

another's list

2011-10-03T13:02:00.001-05:00

Dot's wishes

http://hopefullyhelpful2u.blogspot.com/2011/09/wishlist-for-2011.html

Christmas List

2011-10-03T12:43:00.003-05:00

DVD list:
Wizard of Oz
King & I
Sound of Music
Brigadoon
Hello Dolly
(any classic musicals!)
Young Victoria
Jane Eyre (new this year)
Sherlock (new BBC version, season 1 and/or 2)
(Of course, if you find the Jeremy Brett version of Sherlock Holmes at a thrift store, I wouldn't be opposed to that!)

plain gold hoop earrings
turquoise jewelry (not with silver)
sapphire jewelry (not with silver)

bathroom hand towels (cream or blue)
vintage pillowcases

as always: Fiestaware, vintage sewing patterns

Colonial Life

2011-09-19T14:39:00.002-05:00

This past weekend we took off on a mini-vacation (or, extended field trip) in Virginia. Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Yorktown were offering steep discounts for homeschoolers. We chose to visit Williamsburg and Jamestown over two days.

While Williamsburg is lovely, and large, I don't think I would suggest anyone pay full price for admission. There are countless other re-enactment sites throughout the nation that are just as educational, even if they don't have a wigmaker on staff. That said, we did have a nice time visiting. This year they instituted a new program, RevQuest: Sign of the Rhinoceros. We were given a bandana to identify ourselves and a packet containing a puzzle book, code book, and "colonial money." We spent about 2 hours to tour the town and figure out the who, what, and where of the puzzle. In the afternoon ceremony we were given a brass coin to celebrate solving the mystery.

At Jamestown we were signed up for a 2-hour tour. Again, the site is nice, but we wouldn't have gone at full price. Jamie was the most engaged on the tour (it was geared toward his age level), but we enjoyed seeing the sites as well. My take-away? Those ships were tiny! I can't imagine the trip across the ocean!

Overall, the kids thought the trip was fun, if sneakily educational. The best part, of course, was the hotel: pool, cable tv, and bacon for breakfast!

See Pictures HERE.

Rain, rain, go away

2011-09-08T14:49:00.002-05:00

Last week Hurricane Irene came and left her mark in our basement. Now we have an mostly empty basement ready for fixing up a bit, and a garage full of stuff with no room for a car.
This week Tropical Storm Lee has come to visit while Jim is in California. We tried out the new generator, and it keeps the sump pump going. That's all we ask of it, really. Keep our basement as dry as possible.
We could use a dry autumn now, as our ground is like a sopping wet sponge. A day of sun, with a nice breeze to dry things up a bit, now that would be nice.
Pictures from Irene, HERE.

Summertime creativity

2011-06-29T15:03:00.005-05:00

Even though we aren't doing school, the kids don't get to have the entire day to waste. We still meet for a short while each morning to read from a book (currently, Names of God), during which time the kids can draw or color. To help them, I have brought home Ed Emberly's drawing books. They have really enjoyed his thumbprint book. Here is Dot's "choir" picture, full of action.

Jamie, on the other hand, has decided to move into more 3D artwork. Actually, he only decided this during dinner the other night. (Our children do not like eggs right now, and I have been trying different ways of cooking them to see if they will change their minds. So far, no luck.) We had soft-cooked eggs, which while they weren't good enough to tempt them to eat, they were terribly fun to crack open and spill out over the plate. This is Jamie's "mess of eggs."

My sewing machine has been busy. Not only have I made many pieces of clothing, I have also begun a series of baby quilts (there are lots of church babies due this summer!). The first was for a mom of two boys who is expecting her first girl. She loves shabby chic, so I made a simple 9-patch quilt and added in blocks with rosettes. Very girly!

NASA visit

2011-05-17T14:05:00.003-05:00

Saturday was NASA/Goddard's open house, and after a trip to Dot's recital, we headed over to check out what they had on display. Lines, lines, lines... there were so many people! Jamie did not get to go to the Lego program (someone said that it was just an hour of letting 200 kids play with legos on the floor, so I suppose we didn't miss too much!), but Dot did get to hear a woman speak about being an astronomer. We visited quite a few booths and picked up lots of posters, stickers, and bookmarks. We looked at lots of models and pictures of satellites, and wandered through a rocket garden. The highlight, for Jamie, was what we took pictures of...

story time

2011-04-08T08:00:00.001-05:00

The Hidden Treasure

by Jamie

April 8, 2011

Two boys were playing in the back yard. One decided to dig a hole under the house. He wanted to trap people in their scary basement. While they were digging they found a treasure map. “Wow!” they said. The treasure was on an island, Australia.

The boys went to a pilot, and offered to pay him with gold coins after they found their treasure. He flew them there. As they followed the map, they found a forest. A boy ran by, saying, “Don’t go in there! There is a skeleton in there!” The boys were not afraid, and went on in. They found the spot and got out their shovels. They dug up the treasure. Then they met a skeleton that said, “Put me treasure back!” The boys said, “ If you come back with us we could make the ultimate scary house! We’ll pay you two gold coins!” The pirate skeleton said, “Only if they have a 10 on them!” The boys agreed. As they left the forest with their treasure, they met the scared boy again. He asked how they got the skeleton to come with them. They said, “We paid him two ten-gold coins!”

The boys paid the pilot and flew back home. The skeleton and the boys put on parachutes and jumped out over their house. They dug down to their basement and put the skeleton inside. “Tomorrow is Halloween. When you hear people coming, say ‘Aaarrr!’ and scare them! We’ll make sure they come in. This will be the perfect trap. It will be a rubber hole gag – they will fall in and you will get them!” said the boys.

The next day was Halloween, and the whole neighborhood fell into the trap. The boys were happy because they got all the candy, which they shared with the skeleton. They couldn’t wait to do it again the next year.

updated photos

2011-04-04T13:56:00.003-05:00

I wanted to take advantage of Snapfish's 11th anniversary sale (111 photos for $1.11 plus S/H), but had to get my photos ready first. I now have more photos up on Picasa, including this past Christmas, a couple of snowstorms, and a field trip or two. Check them out here. (Of course, they don't compare to the tropical beauty that KJ has posted recently on FB...)

Second grade writing

2011-02-18T10:41:00.001-05:00

My Funniest Relative
by Jamie

Uncle Andy is very funny because he makes things make-believe seem real! He tells jokes. he even told us to go on the table for breakfast! He is weird and funny. He is a Rupert.

A special treat for me

2010-12-09T17:27:00.002-05:00

Not eating anything made of milk is hard. All the good stuff has milk in it! Think of it: cheesecake, ice cream, cheese, just about anything Italian... Even going to restaurants with large menus can be tricky - most places believe that cheese makes anything better. Sigh. I have to agree. Cheese does make things better. But not for me.

Ice cream is wonderful. I can find Rice Dream every so often, but it is expensive! I'd make my own, but I hadn't found a replacement for cream. While searching online I found a new resource: Mimicream. I bought some on sale (clearance because they need to have dual language boxes!), and it was on the porch this morning.

This afternoon I used one box to make chocolate ice cream. Jamie helped me put in the salt and ice, and sat by as the machine went to work. Sadly, even when the machine is done, the ice cream isn't. Into the freezer it went for a few more hours.

After dinner we scooped out this treat. Some had plain chocolate, some had cookie dough tidbits mixed in, some had whipped cream on top. All enjoyed!

Fun with fondant

2010-12-06T07:28:00.002-05:00

Aah... the season of holiday treats! It's time to get into the kitchen and make something wonderfully delicious without worrying over the fat/calorie/carbs content.

This past week I went to work on our list of Christmas treats. I have two types of cookies in dough form in the freezer now. I also finished the two treats that need fondant, and that is what I want to share with you today.

Candy making can be tricky for those of us who avoid milk products. So many are based on butter, or sweetened condensed milk, or cream (I miss you, dairy products!). In trying to make an old-fashioned candy called Martha Washingtons, I found I needed to make my own fondant for the base, as all the modern recipes used sweetened condensed milk to start out. Traditional fondant is tricky when your candy thermometer is off by an unknown number of degrees! I searched the internet for another, easier recipe, and found marshmallow fondant to be the one. Originally meant to be used to cover cakes, it works well as a base for candies, too.

1 bag marshmallows + 2-5 Tbsp. water + confectioners sugar + crisco
Melt your marshmallows and water in the microwave. Stir until smooth. Knead or beat in enough confectioners sugar to make a smooth non-sticky dough, using crisco to keep it from sticking to your hands or mixer beaters.
*Flavorings and colors can be added before the sugar.

With one full batch of fondant I made my Martha Washingtons. In the food processor I chopped 1 cup pecans + 1 cup dried cherries + 1 cup coconut. These I formed into small logs to be dipped in chocolate. Yummy!

My small dark chocolate cookie needed a topping of mint, and I didn't want to use fudge that needed to be kept cold, or frosting that might be too sweet. I used a half batch of fondant, tinted green and flavored with peppermint. I rolled it out thin and cut it with a small circle cookie cutter. It needed a little smear of icing to stick to the cookie, and then a drizzle of chocolate to finish.

Christmas wishlist 2010: Laura

2010-11-09T15:08:00.002-05:00

It's hard to find things for my wishlist that aren't completely out of the usual price range. I have been blessed to be able to buy most of the small-ticket items I want... but I have come up with a few items that might work:

Half-sheet pan size cooling rack

Oneida Easton serving utensils

Large shawl, like THIS

Fiesta dinnerware

Emma
Wind in the Willows
The Railway Children
Under the Greenwood Tree
Tenant of Wildfell Hall

Christmas Wishlist 2010: Jamie

2010-11-05T11:19:00.002-05:00

from Lego:
army men
knights battle pack
lego minifigure grab bag
Meltdown
Preston Stormer
William Furno
Star Wars Echo Base
Shave a Sheep game
Creationary game
Ramses Pyramid game
Minotaurus game

from Amazon:

PS2 PacMan World 3
PS2 PacMan Fever
PS2 Snoopy vs. the Red Baron

Danny Dragonbreath: Lair of the Bat Monster
Danny Dragonbreath: Curse of the Were-wiener

any dvds of these characters
Tom & Jerry
Phineas & Ferb
Scooby Doo
Darkwing Duck (not volume 1)

thrift store / yard sale options:
legos
magazines for kids (Highlights, Cricket, Spider, etc)

Christmas Wishlist 2010: Dot

2010-11-04T09:02:00.002-05:00

Taize songbook
Final Fantasy III
Animaniacs DVD set
Artemis Fowl: Eternity Code book
Physics book

Items from Think Geek
plush microbes: Malaria, Clap, Sleeping Sickness, Black Death, Swine Flu
t-shirts: meh, keep out of direct sunlight, enough social interaction, no, I never finish anyth, 2+2=5

Nose off the grindstone for a week...

2010-10-22T11:26:00.002-05:00

It seemed like we were working hard week after week, looking forward to our vacation, and now we're home and back to working hard week after week. Oh well, it was a nice vacation, a wonderful break from the ordinary. We've never done the Shenandoah region in the fall before. The spring is a beautiful time to visit, with all the new growth and just awakening wildlife. Autumn is beautiful, too, with lovely colors spreading out over the mountains and valleys.
The Rocky Branch Retreat was a very nice house to stay in, more spacious than we expected, and well-appointed. The grounds were large and fun to ramble. It was a perfect place to relax. In my imagination, life would always be relaxed and easy in a place like that... (no, don't correct me! I like that life in my imagination!!)
HERE are pictures of our time; if you haven't had a fall vacation, live vicariously through us!

Summer 2010

2010-08-03T12:12:00.002-05:00

Life is going by quickly... and I need to catch up!
Some of our summer photos are HERE.

The future is here!

2010-06-23T09:32:00.002-05:00

JETPACKS!

Start saving your spare change now! You, too, can own and operate a jetpack, as long as you weigh between 140-240 pounds and have $90,000 sitting in your bank account.

Unfortunately for Jamie (who has always wanted a jetpack), we don't have that much money sitting around. Oh well, maybe by the time he's old enough...

kids pictures

2010-06-14T18:51:00.002-05:00

For those of you who normally receive photos of our kids, and have access to the photos taken recently, please pick out the ones you want printed up for you. You should pick one of each child, and one of them together, if you want. Comment on them, and I will get them printed up and delivered to you!

what a deer

2010-05-24T11:05:00.003-05:00

While in Shenandoah, we saw many, many deer. The kids got tired of us pointing them out, and are now totally unimpressed by the sight of deer, whether in the wild or not.

However, on one hike we got very close to some. In this video you can see some of the deer crossing the AT right in front of Dot. (She wasn't paying attention and would have run into them if we hadn't stopped her!)

Vacation 2010 photos

2010-05-15T15:29:00.002-05:00

I've begun the process of sorting through our many, many, many photos from this year's vacation. You can see the first 100 HERE.

Our trip itinerary:

Sunday: Winchester, Virginia - swimming at the hotel, went to see a movie

Monday: Winchester - Shenandoah Valley Discovery Musuem, groceries, travel to the Old Rag Cottage in Syria, Virginia, enter Shenandoah National Park - Limberlost trail

Tuesday: Shenandoah National Park - AT, rain/cold! Luray Caverns, dinner with the Shavers

Wednesday: Shenandoah National Park - Big Meadows, Ranger talk: Birds of Prey, hike to Rapidan Camp, more rain

Thursday: Montpelier, Shenandoah National Park - Hikes: Dark Hollow Falls, Stony Man, dinner at Skyland, hike the Meadow Spring trail

Friday: pack up the car, hike White Oak Canyon trail (just down the road from our cottage!), drive remaining northern portion of Skyline Drive, head home!

Easter 2010

2010-04-04T13:28:00.002-05:00

I tried to post a video of Dot's recital this past week, but something went wrong each time I was uploading... so, sorry, no video. She did well, no mistakes other than playing the piece a little too fast and forgetting to bow at the end of the performance. Good job, Dot!

Easter dawned beautifully this year - sunny and warm(ish - it was still under 65 degrees when we left for the early morning hymn sing). It was perfect for our new Easter clothes. Jamie got a Talbot's seersucker suit (very dapper! He got lots of compliments!), and Dot and I got new custom-made dresses (sounds expensive, eh? I know how to talk up my skills, don't I? Quite a few women at church seem to expect me to make them each year, and I don't want to disappoint anyone... ).

We didn't start the day in quite so good a mood... Norah was busy at work just before 6am, ridding our house of a mouse. However, we didn't stay cross at her long - we are very happy when she does her job. Perhaps our congratulations did something for her, because she got another mouse while we were gone at church. Hooray, Norah!

Washed up

2010-03-18T13:55:00.003-05:00

Last weekend was a very wet one. We had so much rain that the whole region was under regular and flash flood warnings. It's those flash floods that bring trouble to our house. And they brought trouble this past weekend. Thankfully, we had pulled up all the carpet in the basement, and had generally cleared the areas that are most often involved with flooding. We did have to shop-vac and mop, but it didn't take too much of our day (although it did tire us out!). To help with the drainage, we tried to clear some of the leaf debris from the drain at the bottom of the steps outside. That is where I found this little guy floating in the water. I thought he was dead, but fished him over to the lowest step anyway. Not too long later I saw that he was alive, and trying to get away from all that water.

We've had a couple of these snakes in our basement before. It's a Dekay's brown snake, stays quite small, and isn't dangerous (just smelly). We keep taking them to the garden to live among the bushes. I don't think Norah would appreciate one of them taking over some of her territory inside!

On another note, Jamie received his glasses in the mail this week. His last pair bit the dust when he fell in DC. I let him pick out his back-up pair, and this is what he wanted:

Yes, camoflauge glasses. They match a lot of his clothing. I ordered very sensible glasses for him, but did surprise him with clip-on sunglasses that he has always wanted. We're all happy now. And very, very "cool."

What's the temperature going to be?

2010-03-12T07:12:00.003-05:00

Spring is trying to arrive here, and that makes for some awkward clothing decisions. It is still cold in the morning and evening, but the sunny middle of the day is gorgeous! What do you tell the kids to wear?
Layers.

Hmmm... maybe not that many layers. After deciding that a t-shirt and sweat pants was not warm enough, Jamie put on a winter coat, two sweatshirts, and a pair of slippers. He sat right down and started to do school, but not too much later he decided that perhaps it was too much. One sweatshirt was enough, after all.

He was happy, though, because he was warm enough, and because he finally got his box back. Remember kindergarten castles? (You know, those cardboard dividers that kept your neighbor from looking at your standardized test answers?) Jamie "needed" one so he wouldn't be distracted by looking out the window so much - or so he said. That's the joy of homeschooling. He can change clothes as needed, and can use a box to focus himself.

art + health = fun

2010-02-25T09:52:00.002-05:00

Jamie lost his second tooth last night. Unfortunately, the tooth fairy disappointed him - there was no money this morning. We decided to make it easier on the tooth fairy by making a tooth pocket for the door. I used some scrap fabric and cardboard, then let the kids go crazy with paint. It is now very colorful - and very personalized. The tooth fairy will not be able to miss the next lost tooth!

Almost like being back in Iowa

2010-02-07T13:25:00.002-05:00

Where do we live? Not Iowa anymore?! I wouldn't know it by the amount of snow we have... 24 inches this weekend alone. 6+ hours of shoveling to clear the driveway and sidewalks. A little time spent playing with the kids. Lots of time spent moaning and groaning over how sore our muscles are now. Church was snowed out, so we had our own service - Jamie wanted to take an offering! Now we get to relax!
Pictures HERE.

Winter recital

2010-01-27T08:13:00.002-05:00

Dot began piano lessons this school year, and has really enjoyed learning to play. This past weekend was her first recital, and she did well.

The holidays are over

2010-01-02T12:29:00.003-05:00

Our decorations are all put away now, and we are preparing to get back into the normal, everyday work of life. Jim will go back to work on Monday, and we will start back into homeschooling. It will be hard to get up on time; we have been enjoying our vacation time!
Our trip to Ohio was quick, seemingly. We were busy spending time with family and friends, shopping and site-seeing; we didn't have much time for relaxing. It was wonderful - and tiring!
Thanks to all those who fed us, housed us, gave us presents, and visited with us. We are grateful for all the time and effort you spent on us!
If I had my camera while in your presence, look for yourself HERE.

I'm dreaming of a White Christmas

2009-12-20T10:23:00.002-05:00

Baltimore will be having its white Christmas this year. There is more snow on the ground right now than we usually get in the whole of winter. The total amount for our area is listed at 20.5 inches.
To make our life a little easier (not much!) we shoveled twice yesterday while it snowed. This morning we shoveled the rest of the snow, the little bit that fell after it got dark, and the fort of snow at the end of the driveway left by the plows as they cleared the road. The kids played, of course, and went sledding.
See our snow photos HERE.

Lucky, lucky kids

2009-12-18T19:55:00.003-05:00

Our kids are lucky - very lucky. We let them open their gifts before we leave on our holiday travels! Ever since we wrapped the gifts last weekend the kids had been begging to open them. They had poked, squeezed, and shaken every package, and couldn't wait any longer! Today was rough on them. They knew Jim was coming home early for our "Christmas" but they didn't know just how early. All day they were trying to distract themselves... but it wasn't working well. They sorted out the presents... and put them back under the tree. They played on the computer. They sorted out the presents... and put them back under the tree. They returned their library books and dvd's. They ate snacks. They sorted out the presents... and put them back under the tree.They took "naps." They took baths. And just when they couldn't stand it any longer, Jim came home. After a quick living room clean-up we let them do what they had been waiting for all day long. Presents!

Holiday traditions

2009-12-16T16:46:00.005-05:00

We have quite a few holiday traditions in our family, and today we followed through with a Baltimore-based one. We headed up to Kenilworth to see the model trains they have set up around their center fountain. These are not beautiful, prize-winning layouts; they are FUN! It is as if you were told to use every toy figure you had (or could find!), and to somehow fit it all together. The kids had so much fun pointing out favorite characters (Bugs Bunny, R2D2, Jimmy Neutron, etc.) and pushing buttons to make different parts of the set-up move. My favorite? The Wizard of Oz section, complete with yellow brick road, flying wicked witch, and turning tornado!

Plates of cookies for Christmas

2009-12-10T11:56:00.004-05:00

(cranberry cookies - a favorite for many people!)

This year I did a better job of planning out my holiday schedule. I knew I would need to start on things earlier than in previous years - if I wanted to get it all done without a meltdown!

This weekend will be my marathon. The cookie dough is all made, portioned out, and frozen. I will spend one day baking sheet after sheet of cookies, and one day dipping sheet after sheet of chocolates. Then I will make up cookie plates for friends, family, and the office. Hopefully there will be some left over for us!

This is my list of Christmas treats:

candied pecans
Oreo truffles
Buckeyes
Martha Washingtons (new this year, a cherry-coconut-pecan cream filled chocolate)
cream cheese mints
date pinwheels
frosted sugar cookies
cranberry cutouts
molasses crinkles

Are you hungry?

Pop Culture for Lunch

2009-12-04T09:51:00.002-05:00

I had to sort through some stuff stored away in the basement recently. A good portion of the previously unopened boxes turned out to be things from high school, including a bunch of portfolios from art class. I wish I had time (and the studio stocked with supplies!) to do more of that sort of stuff. Oh well. For now I focus on the family part of life.

HERE you will find an interesting combination of art, pop culture, and parenting. Apparently some people have the time to keep up on their hobbies. Oh, if you look beyond the art you will find some unlikely match-ups; my favorite: Batman vs. Darth Vadar.

Thanksgiving weekend 2009

2009-11-29T15:16:00.006-05:00

(Added: find more photos HERE)

Things went so quickly this weekend - I don't think we had a moment to sit down and really relax and talk with each other! We enjoyed the fast-paced fun, though.

Thanksgiving morning was spent preparing dinner for 14 (8 adults and 6 children). We squeezed the sewing room table and card table into the living room, and had just enough chairs for everyone. Dot made up place cards, and with some help was able to put together a nice seating arrangement. Dinner was, as most Thanksgivings go, amazing; wonderful food and wonderful fellowship! After we stuffed ourselves we sat around and talked for hours. The kids blew through the "planned" entertainment - decorating gingerbread houses (I think they ate more candy than they used on the houses!) and a shadow puppet show (thanks to Mike for bringing the Monkey King!). At the end of the day we were still fairly full, and so was the refrigerator.

Friday dawned sunny and chilly. We took our time getting ready, and avoided the malls altogether. No Black Friday sales for us! We did go shopping, though. Jamie wanted to share the local Asian supermarket with Grandma, Grandpa and Uncle Mike. We found some treats, and then headed home. A few minutes later we headed out to the thrift store (yes, just one!). We didn't stay too long, but did find a few new things to take home. In the afternoon we played some, but mostly prepared for that evening's game night. No turkey made it's way to the party, but lots of games and friends did. Jim did get a chance to play Risk - all the way through - but he didn't win.

Saturday started too early for the kids. Jamie wished that we could move to Ohio so we could spend more time with Uncle Mike, Grandma and Grandpa. It was sad to see them go! I don't know if we would have made it through the weekend without them around to help. Thankfully Christmas is just around the corner, and we will see them again soon.

We were able to put up our indoor Christmas decorations. It was time to break out the Christmas music, too. At first the kids were helping to put the tree together... but then they got bored, and went to do their own thing. Jamie kept asking why we had to wait until Christmas to open presents...

WAIT for Christmas?! The days are flying by, and the holidays will be over before we know it! I hope we can slow them down enough to enjoy them all!

Homeschool, Holidays, and Houseguests

2009-11-22T14:23:00.003-05:00

We have reached the time of the year (and of the school year) where things increase in intensity. I would prefer to put aside school altogether until the holidays are past, but with some of the curricula we must push through, or we will not be done by the time summer rolls around. Thankfully there are only a few subjects like this; however, the student is not altogether willing to do the work, so it is still a struggle some days.
The holidays are such a joyful time - and yet filled with stress as well. The work of giving is hard. Buying presents, making holiday foods, going to special events; all can be fun or grating, depending on your attitude. Thankfully we have lovely decorations and beautiful carols to look and listen to as we do this work, to make it less of a chore.
This year we have a new experience - house guests for Thanksgiving. We never travel for this holiday - it is too short of a weekend for that long of a trip. (Besides, we will be making that trip in just a month!) We have enjoyed sharing our table with other families, just as others have done for us in the past. We will do so again this year, but we will also be adding in Mom, Dad, and Mike. Our house will be full - and full of joy. We are excited about the chance to work together on this holiday. It will be nice to have others helping to bring up tables and chairs, to prepare food, to corral kids!
All in all, I am looking forward to this holiday, to the beginning of the holiday season, to the work to make it all wondrous and exciting to my family, and in the end, to myself as well.

Reformation Day Party

2009-11-01T16:24:00.002-05:00

Our party was small this year, but fun nonetheless. We had many swordfights, great food, and wonderful fellowship.
Find photos HERE.

Rose Hill Manor

2009-10-23T18:27:00.002-05:00

This afternoon we took a field trip out to Frederick, Maryland to visit Rose Hill Manor. The historic house was the home of the first elected Governor of Maryland, and has been made into a nice museum. The kids enjoyed the hands-on aspects, and the carriage museum (no photos allowed, sorry!) was a nice addition to the normal historic home tour. Even though it was misty and grey, we had a nice time.
After the tour we headed over to the used bookstore Wonderbook, one reason Jim agreed to come along with us on this trip! We all found a few things to buy, but still made it out without filling more than one bag. Maybe we have learned some discretion?
For dinner we ate at a local favorite, Barbara Fritchie Fine Foods, a diner easily recognized by the giant candy cane out front. While the decor inside seemed hard pressed to make up its mind whether it was a 50's diner or and 80's restaurant, the food was good. We all came away overly-full.
The kids agreed that today was a very good day!
See photos here.

Upcoming Reformation Day

2009-10-21T12:11:00.003-05:00

Next week we will be gathering with other families from our church to celebrate Reformation Day. Period-appropriate costumes are encouraged. Last year the kids felt left out because I did not buy them the cheap-o knight/princess costumes from the store. I promised them that I would make some for this year. Thankfully the patterns were fairly easy, or I would have never gotten them done! (Oh, and Jamie will not be wearing jeans with his tunic!)

All this, and just in time to see that the Anglicans are welcomed back into the Catholic church. It's almost like the Reformation never happened...

Backyard Baseball

2009-10-09T18:45:00.003-05:00

With Jim finding a source for Ragballs online, and with me finding an aluminum tee-ball bat at the thrift store, we have been spending a few minutes outside on good nights, pitching a few balls (and hitting fewer!). The kids have enjoyed taking a turn at bat, and sometimes even made fielding fun.
If you don't mind a blurry one-minute video, take a look at how it went down the other night.

Influenza Care

2009-09-25T12:40:00.003-05:00

We were trying to be careful this year. We got our flu shots on Friday, and planned to get the H1N1 vaccine when it became available. The kids have been listening to the public service announcements given by PBS, and have started to try to sneeze into their elbows.
Somehow we still fell prey. Jamie has tested positive for flu - most likely H1N1, since influenza A is not really showing up in our area. Jamie is getting snotty and Dot is coughing sporadically. Tamiflu has been prescribed (and now they say that H1N1 is becoming resistant, and it won't do any good!). The kids want to "protect" Jim when he comes home, so they want facemasks. Hmmm. Let's consult this chart by the CDC:

Home Caregiver to person with influenza-like illness: Avoid being caregiver. If unavoidable, use facemask or respirator Other household members in home Facemask/respirator not recommended

Read that first recommendation again, if you would:

Caregiver to person with influenza-like illness: Avoid being caregiver.

Yes, the CDC wants you to avoid caring for others within your home. Truthfully, I think that if the kids start coughing and sneezing too much, and really want to be safe, we might rig up some facemasks out of scraps of cloth. As it is, we have already been exposed to each others germs repeatedly. Jim, on the other hand, might want to get a hotel room!

Minding your children

2009-09-01T13:17:00.005-05:00

Part of being a parent is to know what your kids are reading. Jim takes this job seriously... (reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid)

Another part of parenting is to involve your children in chores around the house. There are some that they find rewarding - like Jamie's carrots. He planted a whole row, and these are the two that sprouted and grew.
And here are the other things harvested that same day, ready to be enjoyed with dinner.

Secret Agents

2009-08-27T14:25:00.002-05:00

After being introduced to "Get Smart" Dot decided to have a spy themed birthday party. We made up the invitations to look like manilla folders with coded messages inside, printed out some fingerprinting forms, and put together a basket full of things to use as disguises. The girls had so much fun becoming secret agents, getting a "badge", and being fingerprinted.
The food was good, the company was great, and the presents were all well received. The party was over too soon for the girls (but not soon enough for Jim!), and the supplies were (eventually) all put away.
You, however, can review the remaining evidence, if you would so desire.
I accept this mission.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

2009-08-15T07:04:00.003-05:00

This Friday evening we went to a Bowie Baysox game with a group from our church. Jamie was thrilled to get to hug the mascot, and to collect his "prize" from the kids club. He was also happy to be able to sit with his friends - and be picked to play a quick game between the 5th and 6th innings!

Each of the three kids got a t-shirt and a chance to throw a rubber hoagie onto a large mat. Whoever threw it the furthest (with it still being on the mat) won an insulated lunchbag. Jamie and his two friends waited very impatiently for their game, and when the time came, they each did their best. The first girl got it halfway down the mat, the second girl threw it beyond the mat, and Jamie threw it wide to the left. He wasn't happy that he didn't win - but he finally realized that getting to play the game was a pretty big deal (Dot didn't get to play!!), and that he didn't need another lunchbag anyway, because that was the kid's club prize that night.

The game was long and slow, but it was fun to be with friends. The fireworks at the end were quite nice, and the kids love to get to run the bases after the game.

No haggling!

2009-08-08T09:17:00.004-05:00

Jim was quite tense this week, with all the uncertainties that go along with new car shopping, not to mention the cash-for-clunkers program. He can relax now, as we finished it up last night at Carmax. We are the owners of a new 2009 Toyota Rav4!
The kids were extremely sad to see the old minivan go (they both cried!), but are thrilled with the new car, although Jamie wishes it had a moon roof. Jim and I are happy that we don't have to worry about the van breaking down somewhere... and that the van was eligible for the CARS rebate!
Check out more photos HERE.

Kid's summer vacation

2009-08-07T08:15:00.002-05:00

Things are busy here, and much more messy since the kids got home. In between dealing with them, their messes, and the possibility of a new car purchase, I posted the photos from their time in Ohio this summer.

Check it out HERE.

Done, done, done!

2009-07-18T13:33:00.002-05:00

At the end of our hallway...

The bathroom door is done! We have privacy once again!

What does it take to slow you down?

2009-07-10T06:58:00.002-05:00

Oh, what plans we had for these weeks without the kids around! We would clean and organize, we would build things, we would re-do things! And what have we gotten done?
You saw the door. The door is still in the same condition, due to lack of more paint stripper and room to work. And neither one of those is easily resolved. You see, the van is nearing it's death, and it is not willing to go quietly. Last week I found it with a flat tire - so it spent a day in the shop getting a new one. Unfortunately we forgot (didn't think to) tell the shop not to open the driver's window - I had heard a familiar sound recently, the sound of the window's electric drive motor breaking. Thankfully the window was up, and I planned for it to stay that way until we traded it in for a new vehicle. But the tire shop didn't know that, and now the window is down, the van is parked in the garage, and there is no where to set up the door on sawhorses in order to strip the paint off the other side.
Our time is rapidly diminishing, and we haven't finished a single planned job. Oh well.

Summer 2009, project #1

2009-07-07T14:30:00.003-05:00

The reason we won't be having guests in our home anytime soon:

It's time to work on the bathroom door! In previous years we have done the walls and the window. The door needed to be stripped (and so does the door jamb, and I'll plan to tackle that as soon as we buy more paint remover), and this seemed like the best time to do it.

Peel Away 6 is the product we used. As promised, it removed the paint - and our door had a lot of paint on it, including 2 coats of gloss or enamel. It didn't have an awful toxic smell (almost pleasant, really!), and I didn't have to wear gloves while working with it. I applied the remover Monday morning, and after 2 hours of removing hardware and scraping (not hard) on Tuesday afternoon most of the paint was gone. Not bad, if I do say so myself.

Birthday wrap-up

2009-06-26T12:34:00.005-05:00

We finally fulfilled a promise made to Jamie - today he got to use his birthday money at the new Lego store. He was thrilled by the store! I think he could've spent all day (and all our money!) there, but we managed to get out after only half an hour.
His purchase: Anakin Skywalker's ship, complete with R2-D2.

In older news, Jamie's pool party was wet, but not because the kids got to swim. Due to a bunch of rain moving through our area we had the party indoors, which was a bit of a disappointment to all the kids, but they had a good time playing together after all.

Jamie chose the birthday candle himself -a duck? a quail? It has been sitting on our shelf for awhile. He was quite adamant that it be used instead of regular birthday cake candles!

We adults had a good time, too, talking and relaxing together. No one had lifeguard duty!

Eventually it cleared up enough for the kids to play outside a little - but the trees kept "raining" on them as they played, so they didn't spend too much time outside.

A little whining about not swimming, a little cleaning up after the guests left, and we were able to relax the rest of the Saturday afternoon.

Six Years Ago

2009-06-18T06:48:00.003-05:00

Six years old must be quite grown up. Jamie decided that he would get up on his own now, dress himself, and pour his own juice now that he is six. He did quite well. But six-year-olds may still need a nap, especially after a long day of playing with friends. I had to wake him up when Jim got home early - but there was no whining; presents could be opened!
And such lovely presents they were! Lego Batman! Indiana Jones game and musical toothbrush! Lego Star Wars shirt! Robot book! Money!!!
What fun it is to turn six!

Cheap summertime fun

2009-06-10T07:34:00.003-05:00

We do not have a pool in our yard, we do not belong to the neighborhood pool, and there are no inexpensive city pools nearby. What to do when the day warms up? Slip-n-slide. At Wal-mart you can buy $5 instant fun.
Apparently, though, my kids need a little more homeschool for the year. They don't know how to slide! After a few times of being "thrown" down onto the mat, Jamie has gotten the idea. Dot still needs some practice. Go do your homework - 10 more slides!

Graduation and Memorial Day 2009

2009-05-28T09:24:00.003-05:00

Our busy month of May is almost done. We have completed our traveling for awhile, and we are ready to be at home and back to normal. Well, as normal as summer break can be...
The graduation went well, and the work to set up and clean up wasn't too terribly taxing. "Many hands make light work" certainly proved true. The ceremony was a nice tribute not only to Amanda, but also to her mom and family. There were many friends and family members in attendance at the reception, and plenty of good food. It was good to see everyone!
In between preparations we were able to wash cars and do a little yard sale shopping. Amazingly, it was "The Great American Treasure Hunt" weekend in Norwalk, and we enjoyed looking over tables and tables of items in three blocks of downtown. Thankfully, we had a little extra room in the trunk of our car to stash away a few treasures.
On to Columbus, where we packed as much as possible into fewer than 24 hours. As always, Mom and Dad made us welcome, loved and comfortable, and Mike came over to help spoil our kids. Andy and his family came down for the holiday weekend, and Doug and Lori came over to visit for a little while as well. The kids were thrilled to be able to play with their cousins (and it helped them to run off a little extra energy before we got into the car for the long trip home!).
If you are interested, there are more photos HERE.

Vacation 2009

2009-05-18T15:58:00.002-05:00

We are home from a wonderful vacation. The mountains were lovely, so lovely that our photos cannot do them justice. However, if you would like to see way too many photos of the Great Smoky Mountains and the Biltmore, look HERE.

(It took me a very long time to get the photos ready, so as I find time I will add captions to explain them.)

Day in DC

2009-05-09T13:23:00.003-05:00

We spent over 12 hours away from the house on Friday. Most of that time was spent in DC. We watched a Chinese puppet show called, "The Birth of the Monkey King" at the Freer Gallery. Jamie thought it was great! We ate our sandwiches outside on the steps, enjoying the beautiful weather.
A short trip through the Natural History Museum let us see the dinosaur bones (and half the student population of DC, it seemed!) before we traipsed over to the American History Museum to see the Muppets and the Star Spangled Banner.
We hopped on to the trains again to make it over to the National Zoo before we were done for the day. Unfortunately, most of the animals must have been napping or hiding. We did enjoy seeing many colorful and interesting birds, although neither penguins nor pandas were to be seen.
The trains ran punctually and we drove up to Laurel to meet the Ensmingers for dinner. The food at Don Pablos was good, and filling. Somehow the kids all had energy to run after dinner, and there was a nice park behind the restaurant where they could. Jamie found that walking all day without socks can be painful - he now has a burst blister.
Jim successfully talked Dan into heading up to the Family Game Store with us, where we all were tempted by colorful and exciting games of all kinds. We are all on budgets, though, and can't buy everything we wish for, even if it would be educational. We did leave with a new game - maybe you could come by some time and play it with us?

More pictures HERE

More Uncle Fun

2009-05-08T06:34:00.002-05:00

Despite a little rain we did a lot of site-seeing on Thursday. The Walters Art Museum was lovely, as always, even if two children let themselves get bored at times. After a quick picnic in the van we headed up to Hampton National Historic Site so Mike could tour the mansion. Dot joined him, but Jamie and I went to the farmhouse to play since he had already done that tour earlier this year. (There is only so much "no touching, no running, no shouting" that a 5 year old boy can take!) The weather cleared enough for some playtime on the farmhouse lawn before we were all tired out. A quiet evening of games was almost enough to finish out the day. Mike introduced his Monkey King shadow puppet to the kids, and before long we had the sheet hung, the lamp unshaded, and new puppets cut out for the show.

Enjoy photos HERE.

How green was my valley

2009-05-06T14:02:00.003-05:00

Mike is in for a visit, and we began with hiking in a nearby state park. Check out just how green our spring is now that we have had so much rain!

More photos HERE.

Keep and eye out for more photos as the week goes by.

One down, a few more to go

2009-04-24T08:51:00.003-05:00

James has finished his first year of math! We have a few more lessons in phonics, and the caterpillars have yet to become butterflies for science.
We have a somewhat clean house, but some rooms need work in order to be ready for the very-best-loved uncle to come visiting. However, we have a project ready for the kids to do with him...

Easter 2009

2009-04-13T12:45:00.005-05:00

Note: this was supposed to be posted Monday.

Easter was yesterday and I liked it. I had to wake up at 6:40 or thereabouts and I had a nice dress. Jamie kept asking if he could have an Easter dress! Mom said he couldn't have an Easter dress but he could have an Easter shirt. Here are the pictures:

Meanwhile school is going on as usual.

love, Dot

New webkinz

2009-04-09T15:13:00.012-05:00

Yesterday I got a Webkinz and the day before that Jamie got one. I got a tiger and he got a canary; here is what it looks like. Her name is Tamara. This is what she looks like online. Today is Padme's birthday so Happy birthday to you happy birthday to you happy birthday dear Padme happy birthday to you. goodbye, Dorothy.

Ecstatic

2009-04-09T07:03:00.002-05:00

Jamie has been overjoyed on two occasions this week. On Tuesday he bought his much longed-for Lil'Kinz yellow canary after a seemingly endless tour of local stores to find it. On Wednesday his new glasses came in. Here is the result:

Maybe not the best advice.

2009-03-24T12:16:00.003-05:00

"An American woman who respects herself," said Mrs. Westgate, turning to Beaumont with her bright expository air, "must buy something every day of her life. If she can not do it herself, she must send out some member of her family for the purpose."

from An International Episode, by Henry James

Perhaps this was okay for the Mrs. Westgates of that time period, those women who were born into and married into such fabulously wealthy families. Not too long ago we American women were expected to do the same thing - magazines and tv showed us the fashionable outfits that were steals at just $500 (not counting the shoes), how our households should be decorated like a showroom, and the latest technology we could not live without.
For a short while we were expected to buy nothing but the absolute essentials. That could not last, not in our commercial society. While well-meaning people have shown us the DIY way of life, the way of recycling, the simple life, I do not expect to find Americans taking those suggestions anytime soon. Life is not hard enough for most of us, and we are not apt to suffer if we do not need to do so.
Even so, I will go out and plant my garden in the coming weeks. I will sew up clothing for my family, and will cook my own meals. I will recycle and re-use. In short, I will live as I have always. The current economic crisis has not hit my home.

Industrious Baltimore

2009-03-20T07:45:00.004-05:00

The Baltimore Museum of Industry has been tempting me for awhile. It seemed like it would be very interesting to visit, but the price of admittance was a little high. Thankfully, they schedule a few homeschool days a year, with lower prices! We visited this past Wednesday afternoon for a tour entitled "Running Errands." The focus was on the circa 1900 druggist store and grocery store. The kids were taught about some of the local businesses (Domino sugar, Esskay meats, McCormick seasonings) and inventions (Noxzema, Bromo Seltzer). They were given a list of era-appropriate groceries and sundries and told they had a $5 budget - and they "ate" well with that for more than one meal. The day finished out with craft time - a collaged paper grocery bag.
The kids really enjoyed running around the museum, checking out all the displays. They could get up close and personal with some really dangerous looking machines (complete with neatly printed paper signs that warned of that danger)! It reminded me of why living history museums are so popular, and why we probably won't be returning to this museum anytime soon (at least at normal full price). It was just too tempting to touch!
Aside from the danger, there was a lot of interesting stuff to see. Part of me wants those "good old fashioned days", and part of me is thankful for all our modern conveniences!
See more photos HERE.

History Field Trip

2009-03-09T13:13:00.003-05:00

Later this spring we will be going on vacation, and one of the places we want to visit is Biltmore House. We were a little concerned that it might be tricky with an energetic five-year-old boy. We decided to do a trial run closer to home.
Just north of Baltimore sits Hampton National Historic Site. The house recently reopened after being retrofitted with fire suppression and air quality systems. I highly recommend taking a trip there, if possible. The house is beautiful, and filled with original period furniture. The grounds are spacious and lovely to walk, though the gardens need a lot of work to be returned to their former glory. The rangers are friendly and informative, leading tours on the hour at the house. There is a good balance between the hands-off visual beauty of the house and the hands-on, physical beauty of the grounds. Thankfully, they also have a kid-friendly, hands-on display at the farmhouse.
Jamie did fine; we let him run around on the grounds prior to the one hour tour of the house. We just might be able to make it to Biltmore after all.
See more photos HERE .

Finally, a snow day!

2009-03-04T14:01:00.004-05:00

When March arrived on Sunday, we were commenting on how things were getting green in our yard. Even some of last year's lettuce was growing again! However, it wasn't to last. A winter storm warning was in effect for that evening.
We got somewhere between 4-6 inches of light, fluffy snow. Some of the surrounding counties got more, though, and it seemed as if everyone proclaimed it a snow day! Even Jim got the day off! (We still had school... homeschoolers don't really get snow days!)
After a bit of shoveling, Jim and I joined the kids for some fun in the snow. Check out the photos HERE. For now, enjoy this bit of a spill with Jamie:

Addendum to the previous

2009-02-25T09:08:00.002-05:00

For those of you who had not heard of the book and author from the previous post, here is an interview to read.
I highly recommend the books - and not for children only. I enjoyed reading Leepike Ridge and 100 Cupboards, and I am looking forward to Dandelion Fire!

For someone in Columbus!

2009-02-19T15:10:00.002-05:00

If you live in Columbus, and you plan on giving a gift to Dot this year, and can make it:

The time has come (the walrus said) to get out and push the new book. Dandelion Fire releases on February 24th, and I will be on the road celebrating that fact in the traditional way (with readings, school visits, a smiling face, a cramping and inky right hand). For those interested parties, here’s a list of the public bookstore events on the roster:
Saturday, February 28th, 2:00 p.m.
COVER TO COVER
Address: 3560 N. High Street, Columbus, OH
- from Nathan D. Wilson's blog

Dorothy has read his Leepike Ridge and 100 Cupboards, and enjoyed them greatly. However, she had to get them from the library... wouldn't it be great to have them (and the new book!) on her shelf, possibly signed by the author?

Just a thought...

What a sweetheart!

2009-02-17T07:51:00.005-05:00

Valentine's Day has come and gone once again. Once again we did not celebrate... yet. Have you ever tried to go out on Valentine's Day on a weekend? Everyone else is out there!!! We put it off for a week, and will go out this coming weekend when things have settled down a bit.
We used the long weekend to do some work around the house. While most of the work was piddly - cleaning, doing dishes and laundry, etc. - some was more substantial.
Our bedroom has had an ugly old pink ceiling fan for quite awhile. We were inclined to leave it be, as it did it's job. However, it had not been able to run without being noisy, and no amount of WD-40 would fix it. Time to go to Lowe's!
At Lowe's we found a Hunter ceiling fan that was named "The 5-minute Fan." It was 90% pre-assembled, and should be able to be installed in 5 minutes (or thereabout). They didn't plan on dealing with our old house! Here is what awaited us after we took down the old fan:

Yeah. And the old wiring really wasn't the problem. The mounting bracket had to be attached to something other than just plaster. After a lot of work, many trips up and down the stairs to find tools and fasteners, and another trip to the hardware store, Jim was finally able to install that bracket. That took a lot longer than 5 minutes. (Of course, that wasn't Hunter's fault... that is just how things go in this house.)

(The peanut gallery!)

Once that was done, the fan did go up in a very short time. It looks great and runs well. It is a marked improvement on the old pink one!

Other projects in the works - two quilts and a dress.

Even with just a little bit...

2009-01-31T07:47:00.004-05:00

We didn't get much snow - only about an inch. We did get ice on top of the snow, though, enough to make it very slippery, and enough to support weight without breaking right away. Jim came in from clearing the walks and told us to get ready for some sledding. The kids were ecstatic! We let them slide (sled is not quite right) down the driveway - as long as there was an adult at the end to catch them! Jim could not let the day go by without a try - he went down the driveway, too!

Snow!

2009-01-27T10:24:00.003-05:00

It is finally winter here in Baltimore. We have had a few days of cold weather, and a few flurries, but no real snow, no real storms. It is nice to see snow covering the bland greys and browns of winter.

Not much of a holiday

2009-01-20T08:47:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was a federal holiday. While Jim had the day off, it didn't mean it was a vacation. We worked anyway. Jim helped Dorothy clean her room. I did school with James, worked on my quilt top, and shoveled the snow that fell in the afternoon. Still, that wasn't the worst.
When we woke up we could hear that the street was wet - but not from snow or rain. We looked out the window to see a stream running down our street! Not long after we discovered that we had very little water pressure. Scratch laundry day.
After a while I went to prepare lunch, and found that there was no gas to the oven. No hot water, either, as the water heater is run on gas. Scratch baking and cooking other than in the microwave. Sometime later we lost all water to the house. Scratch doing dishes or running the dishwasher - or brushing your teeth!
We called both the city (for water) and BGE (for gas). BGE came out sometime in the afternoon. It took a while to get the problem located, but in the end it came down to a corroded pipe broke and filled with water. They worked through the evening, and sometime before 11 we had gas restored to the house (but the water heater could not be turned on, due to the lack of water!). It is very hard to sleep with jackhammers working outside your window.
Sometime after BGE was done the city came through. They worked during the night on the water problem. I heard the water come back on around 5 am - just about the time they began to use the jackhammer again! They will have to fix the large holes in the street soon.
Today we have to light our water heater pilot light so we can get back to work. And then it will be crazy, trying to catch up on everything that didn't get done yesterday!

These past few weeks

2009-01-08T15:27:00.003-05:00

This week has been busy - too much new stuff to put away, too many bowl games to watch, too much back-to-school! In a semi-quiet moment I sat down to edit some of our photos from "vacation." You can look at them HERE.

It was great fun to see everyone, and it actually was relaxing, other than the 8-hour trips to get there and back. We got and bought some really nice things - too much to fit into the car for the trip home. Thanks to those who hosted us, thanks to those who entertained us, thanks to those who gave us gifts. We love you all!

Lego sets

2008-12-18T12:54:00.003-05:00

"It's just what I wanted!"
Jamie was thrilled to receive two Star Wars Lego sets, and even more thrilled to have Daddy help him put them together this morning. Jim wisely warned us to get a picture of them then, because they wouldn't last long in their original, intended form. And he was right - they now cover the computer room floor as they get changed into another "ship."
Here you can see Jamie playing with them at the end of the "photo shoot." Check out the cheek action as he does his own sound effects!

Christmas at home

2008-12-18T12:45:00.002-05:00

It's not fair to your kids if you open your presents and then order them to leave them at home as you go on vacation. And it's not good to take all those presents with you - invariably they will lose pieces, and they'll be getting more presents anyway...
So, we opened our presents last night. The kids were happy with their loot, and were very happy to be able to play with it all today. Even Norah had fun...

Merry Christmas!

The plate 2008

2008-12-16T12:17:00.002-05:00

Every year I put together a plate of Christmas treats for a certain number of people. Here is the result of this year's work:

date pinwheels, molasses cookies, lemon-iced cranberry oat cutouts, frosted sugar cookies, fudge snowtops, oreo balls, buckeyes, and strawberry candies

Those of you from Calvary, do you remember these strawberry candies? I found that the recipe was in the older church cookbook, and they seem to add a nice dash of color to the plate. They are incredibly sweet, though! I remember loving them as a kid - I guess my taste buds have changed some.

O Christmas tree

2008-12-09T09:04:00.003-05:00

Years ago we strove for an elegant Christmas tree; that was before we had kids. Kids bring home hand made ornaments. Bright, multi-colored ornaments. Now we have a bright multi-colored Christmas tree so all those kids' ornaments match. It works - we actually like the overall look of the tree. It's fun! It's kitchy! It's green - we have upgraded to LED lights set on timers. The kids *like* to help decorate the tree - they pick out their favorite ornaments: the ones they made, the ones with their pictures in them, the ones that are their favorite characters (robots, unite!).

Family movie night

2008-12-03T07:48:00.002-05:00

Prince Caspian came out on dvd this week. Redbox had a copy, thankfully, and we quickly snatched it up. After dinner we all got our chores done and our pj's on - the movie is a long one, and we wanted the kids ready for bed when it was done. We turned off the lights, piled on the couch, and started it up. Nearly 2 1/2 hours later we had a hard time getting ready for bed - the movie was so exciting!
We thoroughly enjoyed the movie. They did a very good job on it. Even Jamie stayed to watch the whole thing! We can't wait for the next one (which isn't supposed to come out until 2010!).

New PJ's

2008-11-21T20:19:00.002-05:00

Today Jamie helped me to cut out a pair of pajamas. The fabric has been in my stash for a while, I just never got around to using it. A very excited boy looked over the patterns with me, and picked out a vintage kids' pajama pattern. He told me that he wanted it all, even the hat.
Yes, the hat. An old-fashioned elf-style hat, complete with pom-pom. And he's thrilled to wear it.

Gym Class

2008-11-14T08:40:00.002-05:00

This year we tried to come up with a gym class for both kids that didn't take up too much of our time. Many little league sports not only demand your weekly practice, but also every Saturday (or Sunday!) afternoon, along with a fundraiser on top of your regular fee. We weren't interested in that sort of organized sport, and truthfully, neither kid was either.
Our local park and rec department offers many classes, and one interested Dot. Both kids would be in the same beginner Aikido class, and the fee was economical. I signed them both up for one month to try it out. Jamie decided that there was not enough running and talking for him, but Dot really took to it. For the first month or so she was the only student in the class. The teacher brought in his girls to help out, and now Dot regularly practices with/against them. Dot really enjoys the class, but comes home sore from all the falls they have to take!

Winter visitor

2008-11-10T08:03:00.002-05:00

We have an old house. Old houses often have problems with winter visitors such as mice, bugs and spiders. Our cat Norah delights in taking care of mice and bugs. She doesn't seem to notice the spiders much. This year, however, we have a different kind of visitor - one we have had before, and don't mind too much - a snake! (Last time the snake stayed near the sump pump, but this year it seems to be enjoying the laundry area. In the picture it is on the hem of a dress.) We investigated, and found that the snake is a Northern Brown Snake, or DeKay's snake. It is small, and will remain so, as adults grow to 13 inches long. It is not venomous, but we will not be playing with it. We are happy to let it deal with any bugs in the basement. I'm not sure how Norah will deal with it if she ever sees it, though!

National Arboretum, 2008

2008-11-08T10:04:00.002-05:00

Everyone has a place they go to enjoy the fall colors, it seems. For us, it is the National Arboretum in DC. Last year we hit it at the peak of color; this year we were ahead of the change a bit. It was still beautiful, and we walked forever! Dorothy's friend Tashy came along with us for the day. See more photos in my album.

Planning ahead

2008-10-28T09:47:00.003-05:00

Call me crazy, but I've already been planning for the holiday season. Yes, Christmas will be upon us soon, in the mere blink of an eye! Don't miss out on the most important event of the season, the most memorable, the most fun and family friendly! Yes, I'm talking about Merry Tuba Christmas!
Make sure to check out your state's offerings HERE.
As for me and my family, we will be downtown at the Inner Harbor on December 6th. We are already looking forward to the music and the biker Santas. (What better way to hammer home the *truth* of Santa than to show your child more than 50 Santas in one location, many in odd themed Santa outfits... "Gas-mask Santa", anyone?)

Almost finished

2008-10-22T13:13:00.004-05:00

We are finished for this year, at least. I think we did pretty well for our first real stucco job. While Jim and I did most of the work, even the kids had a hand in the finished product!

bounty

2008-10-21T13:54:00.002-05:00

This year was hard for my garden. While we did enjoy eating fresh produce, there wasn't the usual over abundance. We had trouble with a fungus or mildew attacking many of our plants. I thought that potato bugs had eaten the blue potato plants - we didn't have any of them left in the garden. Oh well.
I dug up many sweet potatoes and looked to see if there were, perchance, any blue potatoes at all. There were! Yay! While it's not enough to get us through the winter if we have another great depression, we will enjoy quite a few good dinners from that harvest.

So far we have eaten blue mashed potatoes, baked sweet potatoes, and a medley of roasted potatoes. Our favorite so far? Baked sweet potato chips! They are easy to make and delicious to boot.

Last night I scrubbed the largest sweet potato (it was a monster!), cut off the pointy end, and used this dangerous old tool to slice it up. (Do you remember the one Mom used? I have one made by the same company. Lots cheaper than buying a new, good quality mandolin!)

After tossing the slices with a little oil I put them in a single layer on the baking sheet. A little salt and pepper went on before they were popped into the oven while I fried up some tilapia.

And here they are, the finished product, just begging to be eaten. Well, they don't have to beg - they get eaten quickly at our house!

It's done!

2008-10-09T12:25:00.004-05:00

Oh, did you think I meant the stucco? Or the basement? No, we still have miles to go on those... it's Jamie's quilt that is finally done. I had finished piecing the top wa-a-a-y back in February, and worked on hand-quilting it together all summer. I was able to put the binding on this week. After a quick turn in the washer and dryer it was happily received and put to immediate use.
Did you know that you are supposed to label your quilt once you have finished it? Giving it a name is also highly recommended... this one is "Yellow Katamari" (check out the Namco Katamari website if you need help to understand why!).

As to the basement - the carpet is gone. The painted floor is peeling, which means we must remove and repaint. That means we cannot put the sewing room back to normal yet. Which leads to me not knowing what to do with myself!

Ah, but the stucco job is nearing it's end. We have figured all the surfaces covered with at least one coat, some just need their texture coat. We did figure out how to do that, after much head-scratching and experimental applications. Hopefully we can get that done before the frosts come!

update on the Christmas lists

2008-10-08T07:39:00.003-05:00

To add to the kids' wish lists:

Playstation 2 "Beautiful Katamari" or "We love Katamari"
David Macaulay's books: Mill Mosque Ship

Work Progress

2008-09-29T07:46:00.006-05:00

We got up the first coat of stucco last week. The recipe for stucco is simple, but it still took us awhile to get it to the right consistency. Jim and I worked for a couple hours, finishing up in the dark. Sometime later this week we will put up the second coat, and possibly the top coat. It all depends on the weather - and our schedule.

This past weekend we used our Smithsonian Museum day card to visit the Calvert Marine Museum. It is an enjoyable museum. The kids really liked the ray tank and the hands-on play room.

After the museum we stopped by the Ensminger's house for a few hours. Our kids love to play with their kids. They hit it right off last time, and were so excited to see them again. They never want to leave!

But leave we did, because it's good to get home early on a Saturday, especially when you have to teach Sunday School the next morning.
So, back to the weather. We had such a rainy weekend! We awoke on Saturday to a downpour. When we left at 8:30 there was standing water in our yard, and a small rushing stream alongside our house. It tapered off throughout the morning, but continued to shower occasionally.
Okay, now back to coming home "early" on Saturday. As we were driving back into our neighborhood I thought, "How nice! It's only 6pm. I'll be able to clean up the house, get dinner ready for tomorrow, and maybe we'll be able to have someone over after church!" That was a nice thought. Too bad that the basement was soggy. All that rain had caused a bit of a flood in our basement - the bathroom was soaked, along with half of the the sewing room and laundry room. Most of our stuff was up off the floor, and was salvageable, but we still threw lots of stuff away. I have a pile of laundry to do yet - rugs, etc. Jim and I quickly grabbed dinner and went to work cleaning up the mess. Thankfully we have a steam cleaner - it pulled up the water from the carpet, and put down a nice bleach/detergent solution to combat any potential mold/mildew. By 9pm we were exhausted and disgusted with ourselves. After turning on a fan we jumped into the shower to wash off. The kids went right to bed without a fight, and we followed shortly thereafter.
So, how was your weekend?

Less damaging than my sister

2008-09-29T07:43:00.002-05:00

Jim let me know that this was my year... and that I will not be of as much importance as my younger sister was a while ago. I'm only subtropical, while Katrina made history as a hurricane. Oh well.

Christmas list addition

2008-09-22T07:35:00.002-05:00

I clicked on this link, showed it to Jamie, and he promptly declared, "I want that set!"

Christmas lists

2008-09-21T13:55:00.000-05:00

Jamie thinks that Christmas will never come - it's so far off! So many days! Adults know better... it's time to get to work on buying gifts so we don't have to fight last minute traffic at the mall.
Here are some ideas for us:

Jim
money
shawl-collar cardigan (in blue, grey, or tan/brown)
please email for his book list (it is much too long to post here!)

Laura
King Arthur Cookie Companion cookbook
Rolled hem foot for my sewing machine
Masterpiece Theatre Sense & Sensiblity dvd
any vintage sewing patterns (pre-70's, dresses and tops preferred)
Bible story pictures: Jesus miracles and parables and Early church
(these can be found on Amazon much cheaper)

Jamie
Hammer & Nails set
r2d2 keyring
(He'd be happy with just plain R2D2 as well. Toss in C3PO and he'll be ecstatic!)
StarWars legos, especially the people!
(specifically, Darth Vader and Droids)
*Anything* star wars
Webkinz stuffed animal (Lil' bluejay, dalmation, seal, charcoal cat)

Dorothy
Webkinz stuffed animal (chocolate lab, black lab, seal, black poodle)
a blanket/quilt (twin size) - blue, green or purple preferred
books
money

Nordine Baby Quilt

2008-09-08T10:05:00.003-05:00

Congratulations to the Nordines on their new baby!
Now that it is on its way to its new owner, I can safely post a photo of the latest baby quilt I made.

Jim thinks this is the best one yet. I took my time in working out the pattern - this site has a series of coloring pages for the most common quilt blocks, so you can actually see what your quilt will look like. I used the Antique tile block, with blue, 2 shades of green, and a froggy green fabric. I colored the pattern four different ways, hung them on the wall for the afternoon, and asked for opinions at dinner. Amazingly, the same block and the same fabrics can work out into very different quilts. Unfortunately, I threw away the "losers," so you won't be able to see just how much better this option was!

Labor Day 08

2008-09-05T14:52:00.003-05:00

Jim and I really overdid the labor part of Labor day. We started out by doing yard work, then took the kids to a park for a nice hike. We planned for it to be short, less than an mile. If you have heard our history of hiking, you will not be surprised to hear that we went the wrong way and ended up hiking for a lot longer than we had planned. It was a nice hike, though, and not too strenuous, so we didn't mind too much. (see more photos here - the same ones are on facebook)

After lunch we let the kids have the rest of the day off while we did more work. The trim boards along the side of the house were rotting off, literally. We had prepped some new boards, so we headed out to do the work of replacing them. Again, it turned out to be more work than we had planned. The underlayer also needed to be replaced! Some of our stucco will also need to be replaced, but that is a job for another day. For now, the prepped boards are the underlayer. Eventually we'll put up another run of trim boards and repair the stucco.
On top of all that, we didn't have a working refrigerator, so dinner was a little tricky. It was also trash night. So, the moral of the story? Plan less.

Dangerous activity

2008-08-28T10:55:00.002-05:00

Dot plus a new bike equals?
You'll never figure it out completely...

How did she fall and hurt her face? Yeah, most people fall on their hands and/or knees... but not Dot. A kind empty-nest couple in our church gave away their daughters' old bikes. Dot was very happy to receive one (especially since her bike was stolen earlier this summer). Jim took her out for her first ride on the "new" bike Saturday morning... she came back in after just a few minutes. Yup, riding a street bike is different than riding a mountain bike. Now she knows.

I hate to suggest it, but...

2008-08-20T11:29:00.002-05:00

McDonalds. You may or may not know my feelings on McDonalds. You may share my feelings -it would seem as though most adults do. I still have yet to find someone grown-up that would pick McD's over just about any other fast food restaurant. (caveat: they do have good french fries, if you can get them while they are still hot and salty.)
However... for those of you who will be giving my younger child a gift this Christmas, and you have to eat out somewhere, I suggest eating a happy meal and saving the toy for him. At this point in time they are offering Star Wars The Clone Wars figures, and we all know how much Jamie loves Star Wars. If he knew that McD's had these, we wouldn't get any rest from the incessant begging he would be doing. It's up to you, then. Bon appetit.

Did you know...

2008-08-19T13:37:00.003-05:00

that Lego has a special page for purchasing individual pieces? We just got our package in the mail, full of body parts. Lego people are hard to come by, unless you buy large sets. And, when your child has an affinity for taking them apart, you quickly lose legs, heads, etc. What good is a newly built ship if there is no one to man it? Enter Lego Factory Pick a Brick, with individual parts that are fairly inexpensive. It's fun to be able to build your own people! Let your imagination run wild and your inner child rejoice!

County Fair

2008-08-08T07:26:00.004-05:00

Living in the city makes one desire some "country" every now and again. This week I took the kids to a nearby county fair. We spent about two hours checking out the animals, eating fair food (Yummm, funnel cakes!), and looking over the 4-H displays. I timed our trip so I would have a very convenient excuse when the kids would inevitably ask to go on a ride - "oh, the rides don't open until after noon. Sorry."
Anyway, here's some shots from our rural experience, including a few for Andy ( a little older than his usual cars, but interesting just the same).

Finished Project

2008-08-05T07:03:00.002-05:00

Well, almost. I still have to sew together a little curtain to top it all off, but that is an easy job for me, one I will enjoy, so I don't really count that as work. Anyway, thanks to all those who helped me get the bathroom window done! Here's Jim helping to drill and screw the shutters to the window frame:

And here's the finished window - stripped, repainted, and shutters installed:

photos from this summer

2008-08-01T13:09:00.002-05:00

We've done our traveling this summer. How many times can you drive 420 miles (one-way) in one summer? We did it three times so far. Please, no more!! (It's not that we don't want to see family again, it's just that trip gets tiresome!)

Jamie and I enjoyed the last week in Columbus with Mom and Dad. We visited the Olentangy Indian Caverns, the Statehouse, the Central Ohio Fire Museum, and a few parks. You can see some more photos HERE.

Resources

2008-07-18T09:46:00.002-05:00

This is a great time to be researching anything. You can find instruction on just about any topic known to mankind, just by searching for it on the internet. What's more, many brick-and-mortar establishments have some sort of educational material available. Homeschoolers don't have to look far for interesting add-ons to their curriculum.
My list of links is way too long to post, but here is one of my latest finds - and it isn't just for homeschoolers. The photos are gorgeous!