Mothers day

I got to take the day off this year... someone else did the kitchen work!

yard work

This morning I heard that rain was coming... possibilities of showers and thunderstorms. That would make mowing the lawn tomorrow an impossible task, so I ran out and did it this morning. It actually was a great day to mow, as it is cool and cloudy. After mowing I finished cutting down a few volunteer trees, and moved two hostas that have been hiding behind the bleeding hearts. The kids helped to water the plants, and watered themselves as well.
I love gardening - well, not the weeding, who does? - for so many different reasons. I get to make my little patch of earth beautiful and productive. I get to be outside, gettting exercise while working. I get to be away from the kids... ;-)
I know people who say that anything they plant dies. I have been blessed - most of my plantings flourish. I also have been able to transplant things that were here when we moved in. I have found, though, that I prefer perennials (come back every year), and I prefer in-ground plantings rather than pots or baskets. (They don't die as quickly if you forget to water them!)
Last year I took out all my perennials and redid the flower garden. All the plants seem to be enjoying their new spots, as they are either blooming like crazy or getting ready to do so! I do need to cut back the tulip foliage... This year I am working on the new vegetable garden and also on the plantings around the garage. I need to work on getting a trellis for the clematis to climb. It will help to dress up the garage - it has beautiful white blooms in the fall, and the fragance is like perfume! Another task this year - planting grass where the bushes used to be... but we have to move the mulch and logs first!

vacation tips?

Ooooh, we can't hardly wait! Vacation is just around the corner!
It has been a long time since I have been to Hocking Hills. I have many fond memories of our family hikes there, and I look forward to introducing it to my children. The kids are excited about camping in the gypsy wagon, and being able to explore places where Native Americans once lived. It will be nice to go without the television and computer, to be away from the city noises, to live at a more relaxed pace. Peace and quiet.
Any tips on hiking with kids? Best parks? Good restaurants? Neat stores?
Want to join us for a day? Meet us at the wagon...

cute and easy craft

I was surfing, looking for patterns for Dot's fair entries this year, and found these really cute crafts. They promote them as easy enough for VBS, and they only take 1/2 sheets of felt and some embroidery floss. Cheap!

cleaning out the attic

Our attic is stuffed full of boxes of children's clothing, mostly girls. We have finally asked ourselves why we should be keeping this stuff... if we ever do have another child (no plans to do so right now), what chance is there that it would be a girl born in late summer? Or a boy, born in early summer? Why are we using up valuable storage space on tubs of clothing? So, the clean-out begins... who needs clothing? I have clothing for girls, up to size 7/8, various seasons. I have boys clothes up to size 2T/3T. I have tons of girls shoes, and fewer pairs of boys shoes. It's all free! Ask for it now, I want it gone by the end of May!

How to get what you want.

Grand Prix 2006

This afternoon we went to church for the Master Club Grand Prix. Dot and Jim worked this week on her car, and both seemed happy with the results. Dot won 3rd place in the primary division!

aaarrgh!

As if there wasn't enough to do already... now there's more! Can my children play without making huge disasterous messes? Apparently not! My list will have more items added onto it than crossed off. And I don't know what we're having for dinner...

latest project

I had time to relax yesterday, and I spent it downstairs, sewing. It felt so good to create something!
I needed a new purse, and I figured I could make one for less than buying it (and I wouldn't have to travel all over the place looking for it). Last year I made myself a purse, and it turned out pretty nice. Dot has adopted that purse for this year, although she is waiting for me to make a special tote bag just for her. We picked out material at Joann's last week, and found some nice ones on sale. I forgot to buy strap material, though, so I had to scrounge through my leftovers to put together this purse. I worked without a pattern or instructions, and it turned out pretty well. It's a little Lacoste, I think, although those are dragonflies, not alligators... and the zipper is upside down. It'll work. For now.

ministry fair results

I worked hard on my booth for the ministry fair, and it went over well. Unfortunately, other booths included powerpoint and sound productions, or puppet shows, and I couldn't compete with them. The gift certificate is in someone else's pocket now... oh well. I did get a few more women signed up for the nursery, though, and that is a very good thing!

new eyes

We've done pretty well with Jamie's glasses. He kept the same pair for about a year, without harming them too badly. However, he lost them in the field outside Fort McHenry not so long ago. We searched and searched, but could not find them. Earlier this week we ordered new glasses, and they came in early. What do you think?
(By the way, that's chocolate that he is drooling!)

Re-posting photos

Sorry to take down that incredibly cute photo of Jamie earlier this week. For some reason I was having trouble editing while it was up. I think the photos may be too high-res.
Here are the kids, close-up.

modesty

I love to sew, and find so much joy in making a new piece of clothing. It is a very relaxing and rewarding hobby for me. (I wish I had more time to indulge!) As I prepare to make a new outfit, I look at the fashion magazines. I look for what cut and style are popular, what materials are being used. I know and understand that I will never look like those models, and I will never be able to afford those clothes, but I can translate that style into a modest, up-to-date outfit for myself. (By the way, neither Jim nor the kids ever look at these magazines.)
What is modest? Many people would like to tell you their set of rules. Is it neck to knee? The entire body covered? Always skirts? You will probably dress in accordance with your culture... for example, an Amish girl would not feel comfortable in frilly, lacy, or tight clothing. Unfortunately, our culture seems to have trashed the idea that girls and women should be modest. It is incredibly sad to walk through the store aisles and see bikinis, halter tops and low-rise jeans for little girls. Even baby girls can have their own bikinis...

If it isn't for sale, don't advertise it.
People should be able to call you a "lady."
You shouldn't make your father / husband / brother uncomfortable.

Many sites across the web will put out their message of modesty. Some I agree with, some I find fanatical. Here is the latest site that I have come across. I cannot tell you if the rest of the site is worthwhile, but this series of articles is pretty good. Included is a good reminder to girls looking at "prom" or wedding dresses.

our family tradition

While at work this past week Jim told of the Rupert family Easter tradition (or, rather, the day-after-Easter tradition). While some laughed at our love for Peeps, others agree that they should be eaten stale. They were all interested in the idea of Peep jousting, and told Jim he should write a paper on the sport. While I could not find any Peeps Chicks, and was astonished at the lack of Peeps after this Easter, we have had fun doing online research. This is one you should visit!

blessed busy-ness

Lately we have been feeling way to busy. We found that we had one weekend free this month - and used it to work on the yard (that is turning out to be more than we thought... we might till and reseed the whole side yard!). This week was looking busy with two nursery planning meetings, a shopping day, a curriculum fair, and the Master Club regionals on Saturday. We knew we could get through it all, but wished for rest. We are looking forward to our vacation in May!
But... then we were stunned by a death. A man from our church, not old by any stretch of the imagination, suddenly died this past weekend. He had been in poor health, but was doing better of late. No one thought death was imminent. He leaves behind a wife, two college aged daughters and a high school aged son. One daughter will be getting married this summer - with no father to walk her down the aisle.
It is hard to find the words to say. Sometimes verses seem trite. (How many people tell them God will not give them more than they can hande? That he has gone on to a better place? ) Will they really take you up on your offer of, "if we can help in any way, let us know..."
Thankfully this man was saved, and his family is, too. They do have comfort and peace from God. They do have a hope. They even have joy in the midst of this sorrow!
So, even though this funeral adds to our busy-ness this week, we have to look at it as a blessing. We can be a blessing to this family, and we can count our blessings... we are able to be busy!

using -or losing- your brain?

Some days I feel very old. I feel as though I may be going senile. What did I come into this room to find? What did I need to buy at this store? Wasn't I supposed to punish you for something?
Brain foods - ginko biloba, blueberries, etc. - are supposed to help you keep your brain functioning well. Other studies have show that doing "exercises" such as crosswords or cryptograms are helpful. Anything to keep your brain from getting lazy!
My brain suffers from dealing with children. (Where did I put that? It doesn't matter - the kids probably hid it, used it or threw it away. Look under their bed, you may find it there. Oh, in the fish tank, I never would have thought to look there!) They do not follow my well-laid out neurological paths. They make no sense. all the blueberries in the world won't help. They would just stain the carpet.

clean your room!

I will admit that cleaning has never ever been a favored chore for me. I had quite the messy room when I was young - although part of that mess was due to two sisters living in the same room with me. Even today my room is not competely spic and span. (We need more bookshelves!)
Dot's room is a disaster. Literally. She has stuff all over the place. Not just clothes and shoes, but toys, books, papers, crafts... you name it, it's on the floor. We've tried to explain why she should have a neat room, but nothing has caused her to clean. We've tried rewards. We've tried punishements. We've tried everything. Nothing has worked.
If that isn't bad enough, Dot has managed to have her mess spread - Jamie's room is getting messier, and the living room and dining room are spotted with Dot's stuff. Where will it all end?
We are frustrated. What do we do now? How do we get her to clean? and keep it clean? (without going crazy?)

my little chef

A few minutes ago Dot called to me that Jamie wanted some "chock mook." I told her he would have to wait a little while, as I was busy. Only a couple of minutes later I walked into the living room to find Jamie hard at work, making himself chock mook. He had brought in the jug of milk and the bottle of chocolate syrup, opened both, and was busily pouring the syrup into the milk. I don't know what would have happened if I hadn't taken over, but I think it would have involved me using a carpet steam cleaner...

what a big yard!

A ton of work has been done at our house this weekend. Yesterday was beautiful, so Jim and Stuart spent the day taking out bushes - lots of bushes. The side yard was piled high with the branches... what to do? We don't have the truck anymore, so trips to the dump were out of the question. We tried a roll-off dumpster service - over $250! We tried a tree service - over $600!!! Yikes! We eventually found a friend with a truck who helped Jim rent a chipper, and this morning the pile of branches became a pile of mulch. The yard looks huge!
Today Stuart went to work on the basement door. He took out the old frame and replaced it. Jim replaced the old lock and installed a deadbolt. Now they are doing the finishing work.
What did we ladies do? Took care of kids, made breakfast, lunch and dinner, and went to the thrift store.

sympathy outpoured

Last week at this time we were still recovering from the initial shock of having our house broken into. Things have settled down considerably, but we are still trying to put things back together and make them better. The kids seems to have forgotten it even happened.
We are very thankful for all the sympathy that our family and friends have shown to us. A huge thank-you will be going out to the Greens, as they are taking a weekend to come out and help us fix things around the house. They have disguised it as a birthday treat for Jeanne (Happy birthday to you!), but we know that the gift is for us.
This makes me wonder, how have I shown sympathy to others? Is a listening ear enough? Was I too busy to help in some way? Would a batch of cookies help? A dinner or the offer to babysit? A note of encouragement? A phone call? Can I take my eyes off myself long enough to look at others?

not again...

Yesterday afternoon I took Dot to her gym class. Jamie and I spent the time at the library, where he picked out Rolie Polie Olies again. We picked Dot up and headed home, Jamie all excited about watching his dvd, Dot dreading it. (We've watched it a lot...)
As we waked in the door I noticed some food on the floor of the kitchen. "Who's been in the freezer?" I asked. Dot immediately piped up that her two year old brother had done it... ha. That sinking feeling hit me when Dot ran into the living room and called out that we had been robbed again - the dvd player was gone. She started sleuthing right away, trying to find what had been taken. She can't resist a mystery...
I called Jim, and then the police. This time the entry was forced - they broke down our door in the basement, and then kicked open the door that leads to the basement. For all that work (the doors are quite heavy!), they got very little. Obviously, they took the dvd player, bought for $40, but they also got my earrings (this time they weren't worth much), and the handmade quilt and baby dress that were ready to give out at the next two baby showers. The police officer came quickly and made her report, but it took a long time for the crime lab to come. While waiting Jim went out to buy supplies to fix the doors, and then I took the kids out to buy a new dvd player (another cheap one!). Finally crime lab came - and couldn't find any fingerprints, unfortunately. Jim then worked on the doors (we won't be using them anytime soon!), and I put away all the stuff that got thrown out of our drawers. Most everything is back to normal.
It's much harder to put your life back together. (I immediately put in a bid for moving, all the while knowing that it isn't practical at all.) How long does it take before you feel safe in your house, or safe to leave your house? How long before you stop "hearing things"? How long before you start trusting people again?

nursery promotions

At the end of April our church will be having a special day focusing on our in-house ministry opportunities. The evening service will conclude with a fellowship in the gym, where the heads of the ministries will each man a table promoting our ministry. Here's where it gets interesting: the church members will vote on which table they think is best, and the winner gets a $100 gift certificate to a fancy restaurant.

After my initial groan (not another responsibility!!!), I am now grudgingly beginning to plan out my table. While at the fair, we are drawn to the booths that are colorful and give away free items. The church will be providing hor d'ouerves for everyone, but I intend to have lovely frosted mini cupcakes at my booth. Everyone likes free food. I will also have the diaper bag tags that the church ordered last year, along with some favor for those who actually already work in the nursery... but I am not sure what to give them. As for decorating the booth, I first thought of balloons, stuffed animals, etc., the kind of thing you would see at a baby shower. Then I came to my senses. Ugh. Too cute. Now I am leaning toward a large cutout of Jesus and the children, you know, "Let the little children come unto me..." sort of thing. Other thoughts - children are the future, children are a blessing from God, arrows in your quiver... (I'm not sure where I am supposed to go with that last one!!)

Already it is all sounding like a lot of work and money. Any ideas on how to draw them in? Put your minds to work!

a funny little boy

Jamie is definately all boy - he likes to run, jump, hit, throw, wrestle, etc. Lately another boy trait has been emerging - he knows his sister has cooties.
Dot, our very affectionate little girl, has found it hard to give Jamie kisses and hugs lately. He will run from her, scream, anything to keep her from kissing him. When she does actually land a kiss on him, he cries and tries to wipe it away, and then comes to Mommy for a kiss to make it all better. Yup, Mommy does not have cooties. Mommy's kisses are okay, in fact, they are wonderful!

overwhelmed

Just a note to everyone - things have been a little crazy here at our home, and they will probably continue to be so. I am feeling a little overwhelmed by it all, and won't be blogging as much or responding to email as much as normal.

curriculum

If you have dealt with school systems before, you will know that now is the time for re-enrollment. Since we homeschool, we don't have to worry about that, but we do have to start thinking of what we are using. Are we happy with the curriculum? Is it appropriate for Dot's learning style and level? Is there something better?
We have used Calvert this year, and overall I have to say it was a good way to begin homeschooling. I didn't have to come up with anything on my own, and they took care of grading. There are a few areas I would like to change, though, and so we are out to look at other curricula (we looked this up, and the dictionary says you can also use "curriculums" - but it sounds funny) this morning. Thankfully there are a few good homeschool stores in our area. We are heading out to one in Severna Park - it is a Christian homeschool store. Not only do they have new curricula, but they also have a large selection of used, not to mention a play area for the kids. Another plus - in the same shopping center there is a toy store - with Playmobil and Thomas! Sounds like we'll all have fun this Saturday!

A dog we never take on walks

Even though our children would absolutely love to own a dog, we don't. For one thing, I'm allergic to dog hair. Also, I would have to do all the work of feeding, cleaning up after, and walking the dog... I already do that for my whole family; I don't need to add a dog to the list. I'm not sure we could afford a dog, either.

Lately, though, we have had a dog for free, and it is so easy to take care of! Jamie has started to use his imagination, and he imagines that he is a puppy. He makes a really cute puppy! He pants, gives doggie kisses, crawls around on the floor, and eats his food like a dog. Every now and again he gives a little bark, too. He is the best dog I could ever hope for!

I forgot!!

In lieu of the card I forgot to send...

Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday dear Joel,
Happy birthday to you!

Another marriage benefit

From the OSU Connect email:

Want to get rich -- or at least, richer? Ohio State research scientist Jay Zagorsky has some advice: Get married and stay married.

Zagorsky recently finished a nationwide study found that divorce chops a person's wealth by 77 percent, while marriage nearly doubles it, with a 93 percent gain.

Shopping Frenzy

After many weeks of spring-like temperatures we are finally back to winter. Well, not really WINTER, since I am still not using my heavy winter coat, but it is cold now. In fact, this weekend we are supposed to get a real winter storm! From the weather underground:

.. At this time... a swath of snowfall of 5 inches or more is likely across the area... with accumulations up to ten inches possible.

In our area predictions of snow are followed by a mad rush to the store to buy milk, bread and toilet paper. Apparently they think they will be snowed in for awhile... If you happen to need something at the store you would find the bread shelves would be empty - yes, the really long set of shelves that hold hundreds of loaves of bread - totally empty!
It is unfortunate that this is payday for us, and we need to go shopping. Fortunately, though, we don't need any bread, milk, or toilet paper.


Update Sunday, Feb. 12, 1pm
We have been busy! We got over a foot of snow last night - in our yard we measured one spot at 15 1/2 inches. The trees and bushes are bowing down under the weight of the snow - the trees in the schoolyard next door lost a few branches. Jamie had a very hard time getting around, and unfortunately it was too deep for his sled! Right now Jim and Dot are putting the finishing touches on a tunnel - made in the giant mound of snow removed from our driveway. (You can see Jim playing king of the mountain on it above.) The snow plow has made only one pass down our street, and it is still too slippery to go out. (While we were shoveling we saw a couple cars spin out and have a fender bender just up the road.) Tonight we will probably be suffering from all our hard work. Pass the ibuprofen... we will sleep well tonight!

Creativity

Today Dot starts a new class. She, and two homeschooled friends from church, will be taking a pottery class. The teacher will be having them learn hand building and how to use the wheel. All three girls are terribly excited about learning pottery.

I don't mind saying that I am jealous. My creative outlets have been restricted in the past few years. I will always have my sewing machine out and ready to use, but I don't have as much time to use it now that we are homeschooling. I haven't been able to do calligraphy for quite awhile - I don't have the space to set aside for an ongoing project. (I can just imagine Jamie getting into the ink!) I still like to see others being creative, and I love to see beautiful handmade items. Timothy Botts is a wonderful example of what I would love to do it I had the time and the chance to take my creativity seriously.

diapers

For quite awhile we have used disposable diapers on Jamie, but now we are back to cloth. (We hope they make him more inclined to be potty trained!) I think that people are afraid of cloth diapers, but they aren't that hard to deal with... you don't even need to use diaper pins anymore. Granted, there is a big investment to be made up front, but after you buy your basic supplies you're done spending money on diapers. (Okay, yes, some people pay for a diaper service, and others pay for special detergent, but I wash my own with the detergent we use for our laundry. No extra expense.) Two other points in their favor - 1. What is cuter than a kid in a cloth diaper??? 2. Cloth diapers make the best rags when you're done potty training. Note: I don't expect others to do cloth diapering for me, and I don't do cloth diapers on the road or at night.

Anyway, last night I was washing diapers, and when I went to put them in the dryer I noticed something strange. Somehow a disposable diaper had made its way in the wash! (We think that Jamie was having fun with the diaper pail...) Ever seen a kid in a regular disposable diaper at the pool or beach? That diaper ends up 3 times its original size! All those little bits of stuff that soak up the moisture ended up in the washing machine... and our pipes. Thankfully they didn't clog anything! Yet...

Over Christmas vacation Dot took a trip downtown to visit Uncle Mike at the Statehouse. What a great field trip! Not only did they go all the way up into the cupola, but she also got a trip on the ferris wheel. Dot highly recommends making the trip if you are able to do so!

USPS

As you well know, the post office has raised its rates again. We had recently bought another roll of 100 37-cent stamps... about a week before they let everyone know the rates were going up! Thankfully there are plenty of 2-cent stamps to be bought, and now there are plenty of 2-cent stamps in our house.
If you ever send a letter to Linda, you will need to know that the postage is now set at 84-cents for an airmail letter weighing one ounce. (For peace of mind, sheets of office paper generally weigh 5 grams, or 0.176 ounces.)
Who can forget running ot the mailbox as a child, wondering if there was anything addressed to you? And the joy when you found that someone had written to you! Do your bills and junk mail bring you joy today? Cheer someone up, it's a bargain at 39 cents (or 84 cents for Linda)!

Polenta

Tonight my kids willingly tried something new at dinner. After all, anything fried is good, right? As I fried up the pieces of polenta I let them try a small bit. Jamie wanted more right then and there, but I told him he had to wait until dinner, "just a little bit." He ran to his chair and climbed in, ready for dinner!
Polenta, cooked cornmeal, can be creamy like mashed potatoes, fried or grilled. Some people use it as a "crust" for pizza. There are many recipes for different varieties of polenta - check it out on Recipesource.

Christmas pictures

Most Christmas pictures end up being shots of the living room full of people and gifts. These two turned out pretty well, don't you think?

Fredericksburg KOA

These are from our camping trip at the end of last summer. Note: the middle photo is Jamie, eating a s'more while standing in the "dishwasher." Just like his daddy...

Spring?

Actually, this photo was taken this past fall... but the kids are planning on playing in the sandbox this afternoon. The weather here is unseasonably warm - yesterday it was 62 degrees! I took full advantage of this and painted another wall in the living room. Dot went to gym class in shorts and a tee shirt, and didn't wear a coat! Wow! Is this January?

Art?

This week I took the kids ot the library. Not surprisingly, Jamie immediately headed for the videos (his favorite, Rolie Polie Ollie, is a "no check out fee" video, so I am happy to let him get it over and over and over again...), and Dot headed for the computer and then the Boxcar Children (She ended up checking out and reading three all in one afternoon!). I wondered around with Jamie, and found an interesting new book. Seen Art?, by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith (I love it when they team up!) is an eyecatching book. Not content to try to flip through it while chasing two children, I stuck in my bookbag. When we got home I sat down to lunch and started reading. The story follows a young boy in NYC as he tries to meet up with his friend Art... the adults misunderstand him and send him on a hunt through the Museum of Modern Art. It is a cute little story, with the pun "Have you seen Art?" making children laugh throughout the book. While I am not an enthusiastic fan of modern art, there is some that I like; this book gave a good overview of some of the art in MoMA (not that I've ever been!). I think this book is a good way to introduce children to modern art.

music to my ears?

Lately Jamie has been trying to talk more - but it is not always very clear. In fact, most of the time we can't understand him. Oh well. It will come in time. Hopefully...
Anyway, he is entertaining us now with a song - his own song... it goes something like this (no, it goes Exactly like this): "Na, na, naaa!" Imagine its tune being sort of superhero sounding and you probably have it right. Imagine it being sung loudly, in stores, over and over! Yup, toddler entertainment, there's nothing like it...

holidays

We are home again, and recovering from our trip. All of us have been sick in one form or another; when you get that many people together in one house someone is bound to get sick. Thankfully we are mending, and we hope to have a much healthier rest of the year.

It was very nice to see family, although we didn't get to see everyone this time around. Unk and Bean were much missed in Columbus (I think we might have been able to squeeze them into the attic???), and I wish we could've gotten together with the extended families. Hopefully next time! (Wouldn't it be so nice to live nearby?!!) It was nice to see friends, as well. Too bad that it is cold and flu season, or we would've visited more. I guess we have to make a trip in the summer!

Everyone seems to have enjoyed the holidays; we received wonderful presents and came away with too much to eat. God has blessed us greatly!

Santa comes early...

Okay, so we don't really believe in Santa in our house. Our kids are the ones who ruin it for all their friends. Yup, there goes another childhood dream.
We did our own Christmas tonight. A trip to Double T for dinner (James ate my eggs, but there was enough corned beef hash - absolutely delicious! - for me to have a good dinner too) and then home for stockings and presents. This year Jamie knew what to do, and he did it. He tore into those presents and had fun the rest of the night. Poor thing had to go to bed without his new Duplo train... lots of crying. Hopefully it will bring good dreams of playtime for tomorrow. Dot is happy with more playmobil and a copy of American Girl magazine. She can't wait to do her two new crafts, but we won't open them until we get back from our family Christmases.
Jim was eager to play with his new toy, a joystick that plugs into your tv - with Ms. Pacman, Galaga, and other "old" games on it. Even the kids wanted to play with it. I am happy with my new kitchen toys and cd. To top it all off, my long-awaited LL Bean slippers arrived today, and I am so happy! They are so comfortable and warm. No more cold toes while washing dishes!
Wonder of wonders, the house is still clean from all my work today. Let's hope it stays that way!

good books

Lately I have entrusted a lot of my reading time to one man - James A. Michener. His books, while long, are very good reads. They combine the fiction I like with the history I like. On top of all that they also have quite a bit of geography, but don't let that put you off; the descriptions often make you feel as if you have been there your self, and want to go back for more.
Michener was not a Christian, and it shows through in his books sometimes. For example, in Centennial there was a whole chapter dealing with the evolution of the animals of the west. It was hard to read, to tell the truth. Also, as he tells the stories of the people you sometimes get exposed to bad language and questionable morals.
Overall, his stories are incredible, pulling you into those families, following their histories, successes and failures. If you had the time, you would want to read the whole book in one sitting (but that is hard to do, since most of the books are well over 600 pages).
Right now I am in Mexico, with wonderful descriptions of bullfights. I keep wondering if this really agrees with what Mexico is like. Hey, Joel, what do you think?

ornament

Yesterday, late in the afternoon, I received an email from Jim telling me he had a task for me. I was to help make an ornament for the office Christmas tree, something to do with the theme of a security enhanced Christmas.
Last year I made a small tree for Jim. It had penguins (Tux, from Linux) and little cardboard cd's on it. Dot loved helping me make the ornaments, and wishes she could see the tree again. (Alas, we cannot go to his office, and he cannot take pictures there...) Why couldn't they just use last year's tree???
Anyway, by the time Jim came home I had a list of word ideas. He liked the idea of a safe, so we went to Joann's after we ate dinner. I found a small square unfinished wood frame ornament and some silver cardstock tags - all on clearance! When we got home I painted the frame silver and started cutting up the cardstock. Jim printed out a picture of Tux with a Christmas tree, and we mounted that in the frame. TaDa! Tux's Christmas is "safe"!

Sick

Last week Jamie had a runny nose, but seemed to get better by the weekend. However, Sunday morning he was running freely again, so he couldn't go in the nursery. We had to go to church for the morning service, so Jim sat with him in the foyer. By the time we got home, though, we were feeling quite tired as well, so we decided to stay home in the evening. (Skipping church, can you believe it???) It's a good thing we did, as I definately have caught the cold now, too.
This bug is mean for a cold. No temperature, so you're not really 'sick', but you are really tired, almost like when you have the flu. I wish I could spend the day in bed... but I have two kids and a mountain of laundry. So, caffeine is my friend. I am sure the kids will get away with more than they should, but I will be happy just to make it through the day.

*** Tuesday morning: Last night Dot woke me up around 1am to ask for anti-nausea medicine. I had just given her a dose when it came right back up. So now we are dealing with the flu, too. Just in time for Christmas... Oh well, she seems to be doing a little better this morning, but we'll take it slowly.
*** Tuesday lunch: Dot asked for tomato soup, then proceeded to eat it with animal crackers. I think it must have been a very short, possibly 12-hour bug.

Merry Tuba Christmas

This Saturday we went downtown for our own family Christmas Tradition - Merry Tuba Christmas. Here in Baltimore it is held at Harborplace mall - right on the inner harbor, out in the elements. It can get quite cold with the wind, so it's a good thing there is no seating for the crowd. We all cram together and stay as warm as possible.
The official count for the tubas was 175 musicians. They didn't count the crowd... but it had a good turnout. Jamie was particularly happy to see a few dogs enjoying the music, too. Both kids were surprised to hear the Constellation fire a cannon at 4 pm. (Someday we will take them on a fieldtrip to that ship!) We were all happy to get back to the car, though, in order to warm up!
To round out our family day we all ate soup (it's hard to beat tomato soup with grilled cheese sandwiches!) and watched Christmas videos... and ate up a lot of our Christmas cookies!

not for me... yet.

I get quite a few update emails from different companies, most of them dealing with foods. This one made me think of a few family members and friends. They, of course, are gourmands and wouldn't really be interested in something like this...
I am not interested enough yet. The email told me that homecafe now can make tea as well. However, it isn't that hard to make a good cup of tea.
I sure could use a good cup of Earl Gray right now... with a little milk and sugar... yum!

when the cat is away

As a stay-at-home mom and a home-schooling mom I have found that I distinctly lack time to myself. I have had to rework my schedule quite a few times... perhaps it is a good thing I am somewhat spontaneous. One thing I have had to "fit in" is my internet time. Obviously, when Jim is home the computer is generally being used by him. Dot is another computer hog, but she usually leaves it in Windows, and it takes a long time to reboot into Linux. When I do want to be on the computer I have to fit it in with cleaning, laundry, cooking, teaching, etc. I also need to decide if I can leave the kids by themselves.
Today I left Jamie in the living room watching Cat in the Hat so I could do my email. Of course, I found myself interrupted when I heard him taking his diaper off... I went out and reattatched it, and came back to finish online. However, when I was done, and went back out to check on him, I found him without a stitch of clothing, standing on the couch (minus cushions), having a puddle at his feet...
Some things you can take pictures of to use as "blackmail" in the future (i.e., teenage years); this was not one of them. I will have to remember this one...

commenting troubles, 2

Earlier this year Jim bought a "new" (used) computer for us. When he got it up and running he informed me that while we would have Windows on the system he intended us to use Linux for the most part. I have been learning some of the Linux programs, and it is easy enough to use for the internet, but a couple of my programs do not have a Linux counterpart.
One problem I have found is the increased security in the web browser. Somehow I cannot sign in on any MSN blogs - including KJ, Linda, and Andy... That is why I haven't posted a comment in ages. Good thing we still have email.

Castoff cast

This morning Dot became normal again. (As normal as possible, I suppose!) She no longer has a cast on her arm, which is good, because it was getting quite stinky. At this moment both Dot and Jamie are in the tub, splashing water all over the bathroom. I am sure the mats will need to be wrung out. After six weeks of incomplete baths, Dot is now clean from head to toe. Hooray!

Both kids have been sporting a new look after our visit to the doctors office. Dot has an ace bandage on her arm, and Jamie has been trying out the castoff cast.

gingerbread

Dot has been looking forward to decorating for Christmas. Last night we put up the tree and greenery, and they look pretty good. Our tree is getting the hodge podge look that comes from having kids - there are more handmade ornaments every year. It makes for good memories, though.
Today we put together the gingerbread house. I broke from tradition, though, and did not use the mold that I usually use. This year I got a pattern online for a thatched cottage. We even used shredded wheat for the thatching! Dot is a little disappointed, though, as she has to wait to do the decorating. We will add snow and sprinkles when we do our cutout cookies - lots of frosting in one day!
In the meantime the kids will enjoy the leftover gingerbread. Both Jamie and Dot love gingerbread, so it never sticks around long at our house!

goodbye... hello!

Traditionally the day after Thanksgiving is spent in the mall, or some other retail outlet, shopping for Christmas presents. While there were some very good deals to be found if you were willing to brave the early morning cold and the crowds, we decided to skip the stores this year (AGAIN!). Instead we jammed ourselves into the truck and headed to the Honda dealer out in Ellicott City.
We test drove a 2006 Civic, comparing it to the Toyota Corolla we had test driven on Tuesday. Jim was happier with the Civic, so he sat down with the car dealer to start the paperwork. The kids and I spent time in the play area, where there was a lego table, a toy box filled with blocks, two pint sized tables, and a tv tuned to Nickelodeon. We spent a lot of time in the play area... it took quite awhile to get everything taken care of. Part of that was due to the truck being a trade-in. It was worth only $500, but it was a 1994, after all. Goodbye, faithful Ford Ranger...
Hello, new Honda Civic! The kids were tired and hungry by the time we headed out to the new car. To reward the kids we went to Burger King for lunch... but we didn't go through the drive through! No food or drink in the car for awhile...

vacations

Have you noticed that our vacations tend to be visits to Ohio? We love y'all so much that we spend our time off with you!
While we do love to visit family, we also want to do other things on vacation, too. We have discovered that we like to camp and hike. How can we put both together??? Thankfully there are lots of nice parks in Ohio, so we are thinking of going to Hocking Hills for our summer Ohio trip - we can camp (in a cabin, most likely) and hike, and we can invite the family down to visit. Perhaps the cousins can all make s'mores together... Dot and Jamie would love that!
Truthfully, this is still an idea that is just brewing. Lots of planning will have to go into this, but what else will we be doing during the long winter days? Dreaming of summer... checking things out online:

Ravenwood Castle, for those who wish they could've come with us to Great Britain (check out the gypsy wagons!). This looks interesting enough to visit on it's own!
Honey Fork Log Cabins and Top O' The Caves cabins for a rustic experience.

november rain

Today started out very nice for November. We ran a few errands and the kids took their coats off whenever they could get away with it. (Truthfully, I was more worried about them losing their coat than getting cold...) The sun went into hiding, though, and the clouds becames heavier. When we went out again after lunch it started to sprinkle... and now it is a cold, grey and rainy November day.

Our family didn't take many vacations - at least, not ones that most people would call "vacations." We probably couldn't afford them - after all, it costs a lot to feed and board a family of 7! I have warm memories of our trips to Hocking Hills in southern Ohio. It was so much fun to hike up and down all day, climbing rocks, slipping on wet fallen leaves, pretending to be Indians in Old Man's Cave, peering down into the Devil's Bathtub. One year we stayed in a cabin - it was almost camping! I remember a great big set of checkers, and a game played with tops? Better memories from the house we rented... it was small, but we fit in somehow. The hill (more of a slope, really, but seemed big to me at the time) was a great place to play some baseball, or roll forever!

Maybe we didn't go at the best time of year - the leaves were past their peak, and most of them were on the ground already. It was getting cold, and often rained. Somehow that didn't matter. We were away from home, on a grand adventure, enjoying the great outdoors. What an amazing playground God made there in southern Ohio! Someday I hope to take my kids there to camp and hike, to give them a chance to imagine, to wonder at the beauty. Perhaps next year...

Start your engines

Okay, this morning when we walked into Wal*Mart I noticed a sign hanging from the ceiling - 6 Saturdays until Christmas! YIKES! Time to get a move on!

Not that things aren't busy enough around here, but now it is time to buy the supplies and crank out the homemade cookies. Yum! This year we will be making about 7 different kids of cookies and a gingerbread house. Sprinkles will be everywhere! Buckeyes are always on the list, as are cutout cookies. (What is the holida season without decorating kids with frosting? I mean, kids decorating with frosting...) One of Grandma's recipes will be showing up this year - Thumbprint cookies (updated to include chocolate chips under the morello cherry jam). Of course, what is Christmas without date pinwheels?

While our to-do list includes cards, cookies and present, it also includes shopping for a car... finally. Jim is getting a little anxious as the weather gets cooler. Will the truck make it through another winter snow? It seems like we have considered most every type of vehicle out there... but now we are leaning towards a sedan - small and economical, but enough room to haul the whole family if needed. Top picks? Camry, Corolla, Accord, Civic, Mazda3... Sedans seem to all look somewhat alike, and since it will be "Jim's car" I don't really care which one we buy. When it comes to be my turn I will have more to say...

commenting troubles

Due to the 'overwhelming support' from the spam community, you will have to do extra work just to comment on my many wonderful posts. Sorry! It's just a few more letters to type...

GB, part 4: V&A

Thursday had been quite the success, and we felt like we had seen everything we wanted to while in London. So, on Friday we headed out to the Victoria and Albert museum. Happily for Jim, it was free. We spent a few hours wandering through the displays, mostly giving everything a quick look. If we had looked at everything in detail we would be there still! Being the nice guy he is Jim didn't put up a fuss when I wanted to go through the special exhibit on fashion, which was centered on a collection of clothing from Queen Mary of the Netherlands (Victoria's granddaughter). We walked through the European collection, and paid special attention to the Tudor, the Georgian, and to the Victorian periods. They have a lot of amazing items there! Things I had read about, things I had seen in history books were there on display. (Imagine owning something that old, or being able to touch it and take care of it!) Things were starting to blur together again, and our feet were really tired, so we sat for awhile to rest. Eventually we started off again, and looked at a lot of ironwork - beautiful, but you can appreciate only so many window grills. After that we headed down to the cast courts - plaster casts of all sorts of different items - Michelangelo's David or Trajan's column, for example. It is a wonderful room to walk into, where you can be overwhelmed by so much history and beauty. However, by this time we were getting hungry, and a little tired, so we left the museum and headed back toward our hotel. I stopped in a tea shop to buy some rose tea and amaretto tea (and green tea for mom), and then we walked up to Harrod's. I probably couldn't afford much in the department store itself, but the food courts were irresitible. We ended up buying a few scones and a bacon-and-cheese baguette. Yum. Slowly we waked back to the hotel, and just rested for a few hours. Later, just before dinner, we went to the two local charity shops, but didn't find anything we wanted. We ate in a pub for dinner - they had a restaurant in the basement which had very good fish and chips - made to order!
Saturday morning we headed out for our very long trip home. After way too many hours sitting in trains and planes, we arrived in DC, where Mom, Dad and the kids welcomed us home. We were exhausted - it was the middle of the night for us! We let the kids open the Christmas crackers (I knew that would be the perfect souvenir for them!), look over the leftover coins, and then finally put them to bed - so we could collapse! What a trip!

GB, part 3: Big Ben, etc.

After we walked through Westminster (and visited the gift shop - where we almost bought a kitchen "Chopin board" for Joel, ha!) we set off down the street towards Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. We couldn't go in, but we walked around the outside and took a few pictures. Another amazing building!
Next up, Trafalgar Square, just a few blocks down the road. The kids would have loved it! Big lion statues, fountains, lots and lots of steps... there were kids climbing everywhere. We decided against the National Gallery, and went off through the Admirality Arch down to Buckingham Palace. Once again, another place we did not go inside, and it wasn't the time for the changing of the guard, so we didn't spend much time there. We walked around the outside, though, on our way to Hyde park. We didn't spend long there, just enough time to sit awile and rest a bit once we had crossed "Rotten Row." We hopped on the tube (the all day pass is a really good deal!) and headed off to the Tower of London and St. Paul's Cathedral. The Tower is very expensive to get into, and it wasn't really that high on our list, so we just took a few pictures outside, and of London Bridge, and then headed to the Cathedral.
St. Paul's is another really old church. It is bigger than Westminster - brighter and more open inside. The history of St Paul's starts in 604, when a wooden "cathedral" was built on the site. Obviously it was rebuilt (many times!), the latest designed by Wren and completed in 1710. They did have to do some restoration and rebuilding after WWII, when it was a target during the Blitz. It is beautiful! Our favorite, and most tiring - part of the tour was the Whispering gallery in the dome. The elevator was out, so we walked up way too many stairs to get there. It was worth the climb, though, as we looked out over the railing down onto the cathedral floor. Wow! WOW! Eventually we walked back down, and finished the tour.
At that point we were pretty much done for the day, ready to get some food and put our feet up. We hopped on the tube again and headed back to the grocery store and hotel.

Great Britain, part 2: Westminster

Once Jim's conference was done we checked out of the amazing hotel and headed up to London. Every time we got on a train we remarked that our kids would love to be there with us... but they weren't old enough to deal with all the walking we would be doing. Sorry, kids, maybe next time!

Anyway, we got into London that afternoon and went to our hotel -we had booked it through a travel agent, and prepaid, so we didn't expect any trouble. Oh well, things don't always turn out so easy, do they? Somewhere along the line a travel agent stopped using our name to book the room, and used a generic name ("Smith"). Eventually they figured things out and sent us to our room... We went through the maze (this was an old georgian? rowhouse turned into a hotel - fire doors everywhere, back stairs, front stairs, etc.) and opened room 8. How depresisng! It looked like they had built four walls around a double bed and called it a room! I almost cried... until we noticed that there was someone else's stuff in there. Jim went to check it out, and found that we were supposed to be in room 18, not room 8. A desk clerk error, quickly repaired, and we found ourselves in a much larger room (although not as large - or as nice - as our room in Brighton). The view outside our window? A bunch of mattresses covered in plastic, and the wall of the house next door. Lovely.
We did a little walking around that afternoon, mostly to find a map of London and dinner for that night. We ended up buying most of our dinners at the local grocery store - cheaper than eating out, and still getting to try cultural foods (we really enjoyed the sausage rolls!). In the evening we looked over the map, watched for the local weather forcast, and decided what we wanted to see the next day.
Thursday was supposed to be gorgeous, and it was. Sunshine and 70's, perfect for being out and about. We headed out after breakfast on our walk to Westminster Abbey. Surprisingly it didn't take long - it seems further on the map... We paid our fee and went in to find an amazing church. The architecture changes your attitude and demeanor. It is so overwhelming - so large, so intricate, so beautiful! You could see how it put forth the idea of the glory of God. Of course, it put forth the glory of man, too, with all the big memorials and graves. They were interesting, too, though, seeing how much history is in that one place. (Funny thing - Jim didn't know that the graves were inside the church. He imagined it like most churches - with the graveyard outside.) In our country it is hard to find old places that are kept up so well. It was hard to comprehend how old this really was! Most of what is there now was built in the 1200's! However, there were monks at that spot in the 900's. While we walked around trying to digest that thought, Jim added on the thought of places with even older buildings - like Rome, Greece and Egypt. Imagine!
Jim's favorite grave in the church? The Plumber's grave, in one of the cloisters. Just think, serve your church well, and you might get to be walked on for centuries. (Oddly enough, someone else found this grave to be amusing, too, and took a picture. I don't know the rest of the content of the site...)
Another interesting thought - they have a small gift shop and snack shop in one of the cloisters... right on top of some of the graves. Important people??? Not anymore!

Thanksgiving article

One of our homeschool links send a monthly "epistula" to us. This month they focused on Thanksgiving, with Marlin Detweiler writing not only about the history of the holiday, but also about his families memories. My favorite line:

These memories are not just warm, fuzzy thoughts of friends and family. They are not just sappy Thomas Kincade pictures in our minds. They are visible, clear demonstrations of the covenant faithfulness of the God we worship.
(Italics mine.)

Veritas, the aforementioned link, has another good article posted on their site. Are you afraid of the Big, Bad Book?

how is it possible?

We have just caught up on all the blogs, and wow! there was a lot out there... I was surprised to find that my family is getting tangled up with our past. Somehow Kevin Mungons, the music minister from our old church in Iowa, has shown up on Mike and Joel's blogs...

Great Britain, part 1

Perhaps it was a good thing to have our return from the UK coinside with the daylight savings time change... or, maybe not. This morning both kids were in bed with me at 6 am. Ugh. Time for the tea I bought in London...

Other than too much time spent in the air, and the huge time change, we enjoyed our trip. Other than one very rainy and windy day the weather was beautiful. Great Britain was having a heat wave - temps in the 70's with lovely sunshine most of the time. Just the type of weather you hope for if you plan on being outside walking around all day.

We arrived Sunday morning, and got to Brighton before our room was ready. The concierge was happy to keep our luggage for us, so we went for a walk on the beach. Surprisingly, the beach had no sand - it was all pebbles and shells. At one point there were two piers in Brighton, but there was a fire a few years ago, and the shell of that pier sits crumbling and rusting in the water. It must have been lovely before the fire! The other pier is still intact, and houses an amusement park. At night it is all lit up and looks very nice. Finally, though, we stumbled along the boardwalk, crossed the street and checked into the hotel, where we showered and collapsed into bed. (We didn't sleep on the overnight plane trip!)

In Brighton we stayed at the DeVere Grand Hotel, a very luxurious hotel. It was beautiful! On Monday we awoke to the strong winds and the prediction of rain, and it did rain! I had gone out for a walk in the morning and came back soaked, despite having an umbrella. Thankfully I had planned on staying in for the afternoon - to experience a real afternoon tea. The Victoria Lounge, just off the hotel lobby, serves a traditional tea. After settling myself into a comfy upholstered chair at a corner table I ordered blackcurrant tea (one of my favorite herbal teas) and relaxed. The tea was lovely, and was accompanied by a selection of finger sandwiches (egg salad, tuna, cucumber, tomato, or smoked salmon), scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam, and a few desserts (chocolate cake, sponge cake, and a fruit and cream tart). Oh, I love clotted cream! Yum!
On Tuesday we took off over the lunch hour to visit the Royal Pavilion. This was the palace built by King George IV, and was finished in the early 1800's. The far east was popular at this time, and it is reflected in the architecture and interior design of this building. (They have a set of Chinese Court Officials, made of unfired clay, that are the earliest "bobbleheads" I have ever seen!) It is lavish, as you would expect a palace to be. Many people must have been totally overwhelmed by the decor - it was rich, lush and golden. Even the kitchen had decor elements - four large iron posts made to look like giant palm trees held up the center ceiling.
While in Brighton we also took the time to walk through "the Laines", a shopping district. These are very european style streets - narrow and winding. Most of the stores (and restaurants) were much too expensive to even think of going into, but some parts offered more affordable items. We, of course, stopped in the two used bookstores we found. While Jim didn't actually buy any books (can you believe it???), I did find one on Mary, Queen of Scots that I wanted. To top it all off we ate dinner at Burger King. I know... we can eat that here in the USA. It was funny, though, to see the "American" decor.

Not right now!!!!

My life is already fairly busy, but this week is really, really busy, what with parents coming in (must have clean house!!!) and interntional travel next week. On top of everything else, this week in gym class Dot fell and hurt her arm. I had her elevate and ice it that afternoon, gave her ibuprofen, and figured that it would heal fairly quickly. She, of course, milked it for all it was worth. Drama Queen... But, the next day she said it still hurt, so she had more ibuprofen and applied heat. She still wouldn't use the arm...
This morning she was still favoring it, so I called the doctor. Turns out we could get in this morning... Now we have a referral to go to the Imaging center for an x-ray. So, soon we will find out if it is just a sprain or if she actually fractured the arm...
I will feel really bad if it turns out to be fractured...

* So, I do feel really bad. It is fractured, a minor one, but it is fractured. Tomorrow we go to the Orthopedic office... Dot has decided to go blue if she gets a cast, but most likely it will be some sort of brace. More later...

Christmas lists

For those who need to know...

Jamie -
The Incredibles dvd
anything Thomas the Tank Engine
coloring books and/or stickers
books

Dot
playmobil, especially these: 7600 wheelchair 3136 superset police 4639 magnificent lady
3980 hospital room 3235 playground 4641 equestrian woman
American Girls mystery books
Boxcar children books
Narnia audio books (see Narnia post)
books by Richard Peck (or audio books)


Laura
earrings and necklaces (gold, not silver, if possible)
good sewing scissors
plain metal baking sheets (look at Wassestrom for good, inexpensive ones)
60 x 124 tablecloth(s)

Jim will have to post his own list...

health question?

This afternoon I took part in a health survey of our neighborhood. I was given a series of questions by two students from Johns Hopkins. Most of the questions were normal, not even specific enough to be asked by your doctor. Do you eat fruits and vegetables? How many? Do you get regular exercise? How much? or Why not? They did have one question that I didn't know how to answer... it came after Do you consider yourself religious or spiritual? They asked How much do your prayers impact your health? How much do my prayers impact my health? After all, it's not that praying keeps me healthy or that not praying makes me ill. Consider Job. Ah, well, it is just a survey, and I gave the best answer I could.

Burl Ives

Today in history Dot learned about Robert E. Lee. The enrichment activity for his biography happened to be the song "Goober Peas", which the teacher was encouraged to sing... I think the kids enjoyed hearing me sing the song (they certainly laughed along with me!), but the usual question arose - "what are goober peas?"

I remember hearing this song on a Burl Ives recording that Dad had. There were other American folk songs on there, too. With her interest in "old time America", Dot would enjoy hearing fold songs. I wonder if there are any good recordings out there now. Too many are geared toward kids, and are too cutesy. I guess we will have to look in Dad's records when we are home for Christmas... (another intro to "old time America"- Records!)

Peas! Peas! Peas! Peas!
Easting goober peas!
Goodness, how delicious,
Eating goober peas!

Narnia

We are eagerly awaiting our next drive around town - we have been listening to Focus on the Family's production of Prince Caspian. At home Dot is reading through the series, and is devouring them! We are thinking of getting the whole series of audio books. Anyone want to spend alot of money on our kids for Christmas?
On the horizon - Disney is coming out with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe as a movie this December. According to WebIndia123 the royals are getting in on the premiere, and The Stone Table is asking the question we all want answered: Is it Christian?

another forward

Answers given by 2nd grade school children to the following questions.

Why did God make mothers?

1 She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.
2. Mostly to clean the house.
3. To help us out of there when we were getting born.

How did God make mothers?

1 He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.
2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring.
3. God made my Mom just the same like he made me. He just used bigger parts..

What ingredients are mothers made of?

1 God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean.
2. They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly use string, I think.

Why did God give you your mother and not some other mom?

1 We're related.
2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's moms like me.

What kind of little girl was your mom?

1 My mom has always been my mom and none of that other stuff.
2. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.
3. They say she used to be nice.

What did mom need to know about dad before she married him?

1 His last name.
2. She had to know his background. Like is he a crook? Does he get drunk on beer?
3. Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?

Why did your Mom marry your dad?

1 My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my Mom eats allot.
2. She got too old to do anything else with him.
3. My grandma says that Mom didn't have her thinking cap on.

Who's the boss at your house?

1 Mom doesn't want to be boss, but she has to because dad's such a goof ball.
2. Mom. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the bed.
3. I guess Mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than dad.

What's the difference between moms and dads?

1 Moms work at work and work at home, & dads just go to work at work.
2. Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them.
3. Dads are taller & stronger, but moms have all the real power 'cause that's who you got to ask if you want to sleep over at your friend's.
4. Moms have magic they make you feel better without medicine..

What does your Mom do in her spare time?

1 Mothers don't do spare time.
2. To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.

What would it take to make your Mom perfect?

1. On the inside she's already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.
2. Diet. You know, her hair. I'd diet, maybe blue.

If you could change one thing about your Mom, what would it be?

1 She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid of that.
2. I'd make my Mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it and not me.
3. I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on her back of her head.

It's that time of year...

One of Dorothy's subjects this year is Greek Mythology. Her latest stories have been about Persephone and Hades, explaining the seasons of the year. (If Persephone is above ground it is spring/summer. If she is below ground it is fall/winter.) Dorothy has determined that it is almost time for Persephone to go back to Hades.

We are getting a bit cooler now, which is very nice. The highs are getting to be high 70's/low 80's now. The trees are starting to lose a few leaves, but the flowers are still blooming. This is the time for the crysanthemums to steal the show, and the poppies are starting to bloom, too.

Soon it will be time to clean up the garden. After all, it has been taken over by the neighbor's morning glory vines anyway. I also need to move some perennials in the flower garden, and plant some bulbs for next spring. If I find a good hauling company I will take out the overgrown bushes and the dead tree. It would be nice to get that done!

Note for next year - cosmos are very tall in the flower garden - one plant has blooms over my head! Perhaps I will skip those next spring. I will plant more poppies, asters and coleous, as they did very well in the garden this year. If possible, I will also move the vegetable garden - I am tired of the morning glories taking over every year!

camping

This past weekend we went on a short camping trip, away from the city noise and hustle and bustle. We rented a one room cabin at a KOA campground in Fredericksburg, VA for two nights. This cabin had no bathroom (communal campground ones down the road) and no kitchen (picnic table and metal fire ring on the ground out front), just a double bed, a twin bunk bed, and a small table by the door. With all our clothes, equipment, and cooler inside there wasn't much room to move around. The kids were thrilled, though, and they were climbing the bunk bed and jumping on the double bed while we unpacked. The cabin also had one more amenity - a window air conditioner! It did help to have that, though, as the temperatures were in the high 80's and low 90's that weekend.
Why Fredericksburg? We didn't visit any battlefields, and we didn't do much sightseeing. We did enjoy a short visit with our Navy friends who live nearby (wish it could have been longer, we had a great time with them!). However, it could have been any campground - we just wanted a low key, quiet weekend. We got what we wanted, and Jim didn't have to sleep in a tent for it!
Memories are made from trips like this. We simply spent time together as a family - swimming, playing on the playground or in the gameroom (foosball anyone?), making s'mores at the campfire, telling stories of other camping trips.

fair wages

Dot made money this year at the fair, and didn't have to work hard at all.
We picked up her entries this morning and found that, aside from many "participation" ribbons, she had won third place for her quilt, third place for her beaded jewelry , and an honorable mention for her apron. All were entered in categories for children up to 11 years old. She now has $11 of prize money to put in her bank account!

Nashville fried biscuits

With Jim home for labor day I was able to try a few new recipes without "help" from the kids. Yesterday for dinner I made two grilled chickens (I will always let poultry soak in a saline bath before I cook it - always!), green beans with bacon and onions, broccoli salad (just enough for me, since no one else really enjoys it) and Nashvile Fried Biscuits. I had found this recipe in a cookbook awhile back, and it sat in my folder of "recipes to try" for a really long time. I thought it might be time to try it.
The basic recipe is for a biscuit made with yeast - usually these are found in the south, named "angel biscuits." The beauty of this type of recipe is that you can prepare a large batch and then freeze it for later use. Pull out a few biscuits, let them thaw and rise, then bake. No mess, no fuss.
While angle biscuits are baked, these, obvious from the title, are fried. They are somewhat like a donut, just not so sweet. (Although, if you put a glaze on them, they might come close to a krispy kreme.) It turns out lovely, light and fluffy, with a crisp golden exterior. The inside is not as flakey as a biscuit, but when you eat one you won't care. They are delicious! Perhaps not worth the work all the time, definately not worth the health risk all the time, but nice to try every now and again.

Fried Biscuits
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp yeast
1/4 c. warm water
2 c. milk
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
5 c. flour
1/4 c shortening
fat or oil for frying
Stir yeast into warm water; set aside to proof. Mix together the sugar, salt and 3 1/2 cups flour. Cut in the shortening. Combine milk with yeast mixture, add to flour mixture. Add flour as needed to make a soft, smooth dough. Cover and let rise one hour, or until doubled. Roll out 1/2 inch think, cut into rounds. At this point the biscuits can be frozen to use at a later date. As the biscuits rise, heat your oil to 350 degrees F. Fry biscuits until golden brown, drain on paper towel and serve warm. Yields about 5-6 dozen 2-1/2 inch biscuits.

Back to school

Aaah, summer is over... at least the school system seems to think so. Poor children, having to give up their summertime play. No more sandbox, no more pool, no more free time in front of the tv or computer...

At our house we have begun to homeschool. We may have an interesting year, one where we accelerate certain subjects. In spelling today, lesson one had Dot spelling words such as: I, for, of, the, etc. I am tempted to skip through to at least lesson 20! Jim thinks her math will be somewhat simple as well. She will need to go through this book, though, to learn multiplication and division, area and a few other math basics. Dot's handwriting will need lots of practice... That is one area in which she is not advanced!

This morning when I began working with Dot we sat at the dining room table listening to cars go by and children arriving at the school next door. The tv was on, but no one was watching it; Jamie was sitting quietly at the table as well, coloring in a few new coloring books. Perhaps he feels left out... I think he may be ready for school soon, if he would just learn to speak... :-)

We are taking a break now, or rather, a field trip. This morning we will pick up Dot's entries from the fair. I am sure we will blog later about what ribbons she won...

jiggety-jig

After a restful vacation we are back into the normal rush of homelife. Also, we are preparing for the start of homeschool, planning vacations, and trying to accomplish various home improvement projects.
Jamie and Dot survived a day-long trip in the car with just me driving. Amazing! They were thrilled to get out and swing at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Aunt Linda and Uncle Michael were willing to give them push after push.
On Saturday we travelled again, this time up to Meadville, PA for a 65th anniversary party. We surprised the Grimes and had a wonderful time. It was nice to see more family, and to catch up on what's happenning in the different families. It was interesting to see my kids (and neice and nephews) playing with the same toys I played with there when I was young! I made sure to get photos of the kids with great-grandparents. I wish we could have spent more time with them!
On Sunday Dot left to go to Norwalk, to spend her week being spoiled by Grandma. Apparently she had a very good time, made a new friend, and tried a new food. (Cucumbers are now acceptable.) Lots of hugs when she came "home", though. She must have missed us after all. :-)
Jamie and I spent the week with Mom and Dad, and it was a very nice, sort of quiet week. We visited the thrift stores (and found some really good bargains!) and went to garage sales, but we also helped clean chairs at NCS. Throughout the week we tried to get Jamie to talk more, and took him on walks to see the trains and dogs. He was thrilled with all the attention he got. Jamie is a surprisingly obedient little boy.
Jim flew in Friday night to spend a quick weekend in Ohio. He did get to visit both Half-Price Books locations, and still had time to go to a local boy scouts garage sale - where he found more books! :-) We played Dutch Blitz and visited with Doug and Lori. Just like old times!
Monday we packed up and travelled back to Baltimore, and the trip went well until we arrived in time for rush hour traffic. We pushed on through, and both kids were happy to see our home again, especially when they found surprises awaiting them! Jamie was thrilled with the new rocking horse and Dot loved her canopy over her bed.
For a week or so I lived a wonderful life - reduced responsibilities (no cooking, less cleaning/laundry). I had someone else around to help watch the kids, and the kids were happy to play with "new" toys. Thanks, Mom and Dad. I feel refreshed.
It would be so nice to live near family! We really miss them all!

rather than forwarding this...

The Guys' Rules

At last a guy has taken the time to write this all down. Finally, the guys' side of the story. (I must admit, it's pretty good.)

We always hear "the rules" from the female side. Now here are the rules from the male side. Please note... these are all numbered "1" ON PURPOSE!

1. Learn to work the toilet seat. You're a big girl. If it's up, put it down. We need it up, you need it down. You don't hear us complaining about you leaving it down.

1. Sunday sports. It's like the full moon or the changing of the tides. Let it be.

1. Shopping is NOT a sport. And no, we are never going to think of it that way.

1. Crying is blackmail.

1. Ask for what you want. Let us be clear on this one: Subtle hints do not work! Strong hints do not work! Obvious hints do not work! Just say it!

1. Yes and No are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question.

1. Come to us with a problem only if you want help solving it. That's what we do. Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.

1. Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument. In fact, all comments become null and void after 7 days.

1. If you think you're fat, you probably are. Don 't ask us.

1. If something we said can be interpreted two ways and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant the other one.

1. You can either ask us to do something or tell us how you want it done. Not both. If you already know best how to do it, just do it yourself.

1. Whenever possible, please say whatever you have to say during commercials.

1. Christopher Columbus did not need directions and neither do we.

1. ALL men see in only 16 colors, like Windows default settings. Peach, for example, is a fruit, not a color. Pumpkin is also a fruit. We have no idea what mauve is.

1. If we ask what is wrong and you say "nothing," we will act like nothing's wrong. We know you are lying, but it is just not worth the hassle.

1. If you ask a question you don't want an answer to, expect an answer you don't want to hear.

1. When we have to go somewhere, absolutely anything you wear is fine...Really.

1. Don't ask us what we're thinking about unless you are prepared to discuss such topics as baseball, the shotgun formation, or monster trucks.

1. You have enough clothes.

1. You have too many shoes.

1. I am in shape. Round is a shape.

1. Thank you for reading this. Yes, I know, I have to sleep on the couch tonight; but did you know men really don't mind that? It's like camping.

Bollywood

Perhaps you know how much I enjoy Jane Austen. I have read the books, seen the movies. Obviously, some of the movies are better than others, with those that stick to the actual story being the best. (For example, "Clueless" is not a classic.) I watched another one yesterday - "Bride and Prejudice."
"Bride and Predjudice" is an odd combination of American, British and Indian film ideas. There are song-and-dance sequences sprinkled throughout the movie, and, no, they are not traditional Indian dances. The songs are a combination of Indian sounds and hip-hop or pop. (If watching again, I would skip the song by Ashanti all together - it's a little too risque for my taste. It's probaby what gave it the PG-13 rating. That and a short dream sequence with Mr Kholi...) There are a few cases of swearing, but not many. Also, keep in mind that they will wear traditional Indian clothing at times, with bare midriffs in many scenes.
Overall I had a hard time taking the movie seriously. It was strange, but funny. Odd, odd, odd. I don't plan on adding it to our collection.
PS After a watching a "condensed" version, Jim thought that the main female character didn't look Indian enough... even if she is one of the biggest stars in Bollywood!

Library

Both kids took part in our local library's summer reading program. They do not have to write down each book they read, they simply have to complete a series of reading related tasks, such as talking about a story with a friend, learning to ask a librarian for help, and, of course, reading a book. When they complete a series of tasks they turn in a coupon (signed by a parent) and receive a prize. The under-4 crowd has one coupon, school aged children have four. We turned in the final coupons yesterday. Jimbo received a soft zebra striped ball and Dot received a small panda flashlight keychain and a coupon for a free meal at Old Country Buffet. They are both happy with their prizes.
I remember getting a free ticket to Wyandot Lake... Now that's a prize! I doubt they give those away anymore...

Summertime fun

Today marks the return of true Baltimore summer weather - hot, humid and unbearable. Following a rainstorm late last week we had a welcome break over the weekend, with temps in the 80's and partly cloudy skies. It was very nice out! I let the kids play out on the deck while I grilled. They filled the kiddie pool and ran through the sprinkler.
Remember when life was good and the sprinkler was great entertainment? Catching fireflies at dusk? Discovering discarded cicada skins? When does it change over to worrying about getting the lawn mown and having dinner ready on time? When do bug spray and sunscreen become important?
I love rediscovering summer with my kids... but I'm also glad we have air conditioning.

Jealous

I am fighting jealousy this week... first off, Jim and Dot went to Six Flags today, while Jamie and I went grocery shopping. How unfair is that?! Oh well...
What is worse, though, is that our friends are moving back to Pennsylvania, to live near their families. Oh how we wish it was possible for us to move to Ohio! Ohio is the promised land for us - family, friends, good churches, Cedar Point... However, Jim's job is a good one, and it would be tremendously hard to find another employer willing to match the pay and benefits we are getting here. Plus, where would everyone go for vacation if we moved to Ohio? :-)

Poor me...

Poor, poor me. Yesterday someone broke into our house while we were gone. What they took didn't amount to the deductible on our insurance, but it was mostly my stuff! My earrings and bracelet , both presents from Jim, my camera, my savings bond, etc. The kids are mourning the loss of the dvd player. They did enjoy seeing the police at work, though. Word to the wise: they can't take fingerprints from dusty surfaces...
We began the tedious paperwork and legwork to get our life back in order. Credit reports are on the watch, just in case, official paperwork was filled in and filed. Insurance was called. Kids were bored to death at SSA.
Now we deal with the other side of things - Dot is inclined to worry. Every thing must be locked up tight! New locks will be put on windows (they came in through the bathroom window).
Over all, we have much to be thankful for. This isn't a huge deal - most of our stuff is still here, we are all safe. Sure, I'm out some jewelry (sentimental value outweighs the price), and that picture of "snaggletooth" will never be developed, but we'll live. We still have too much stuff! Too bad they didn't take the worthless junk we have stashed everywhere!
Something we laughed about last night - they actually used one of my pillow cases to carry the jewlry!

Dedicated Sale Room

Our local library has a room that is dedicated to storing seasonal books and back issues of magazines and newspapers. This same room has a couple of shelves for the sale of their withdrawn items, too. We rarely make a visit to the library without visiting this room. Their prices are very reasonable - 4 books for $1, cd's are $2, videos are $3. Every once in awhile they have a special sale where books are 10 for $1!!!
Previously I picked up a book on daily life in medieval times (I like history, what can I say...). Jim looked it up online and found that as a new hardback it can sell for over $100. Mine, sadly, is an old paperback copy...
Anyway, we went down there yesterday, and found a few books for the kids and a couple cds. I picked up Michael Card's "Starkindler" cd. I have heard some of the songs on our local (mostly ccm) Christian radio station. These are hymns played with a celtic flair, such as "Be Thou My Vision", "The King of Love My Shepherd Is", and "Jesus, Lover of My Soul". While it seems to be a short cd, only 10 songs, it was well worth the $2 I paid. Very nice.

Oh yeah...

I meant to post this last week, after we had visited our local Chinese buffet (yes, can you believe it? Jim even enjoyed some of the food! Of course, Jimbo ate mostly french fries... and Dot asked if pizza was Chinese!) We all enjoyed reading our fortunes, but mine was the only one that actually seemed to fit:

Traveling more often is important for your health and happiness.

It might bankrupt us, but I would be happy and healthy! I can afford a walk around the block if not a trip around the world. The kids would enjoy the walk more anyway.

homeschool

Last night we went to Chick-Fil-A. After we ate dinner the kids played in the playplace while we had a meeting with another couple from our church. The "G" family has been homeschooling for quite awhile, their 6th child is entering the high school years now. They answered alot of questions for us, and made it all look possible. They gave us catalogs to look through and some things to think about. They also encouraged us that this is a good path to go down.
Homeschooling is so open nowadays. While many parents will choose the Abeka/BJU path, there are others who will choose to make up their own curriculum. We are leaning toward a more "classical" education, and we have found some promising resources. Veritas Press (their catalog features an article by none other than R.C. & Denise Sproul, jr.) has many interesting things for sale, and their curriculum looks challenging - in a good way! The Calvert School, even though it is secular, looks like a good choice to start out with. They provide a lot of help for homeschooling parents, sort of an "umbrella program". A bonus - they are here in Baltimore! Of course, we will go with Saxon Math - I enjoyed it for high school math, and it is highly recommended. Would you believe we are leaning toward teaching Latin?
So, here we go, heading out into a new world... it's sort of frightening and exciting at the same time!

new car/used car?

We are in the process of looking at cars. Both of our vehicles are getting older, and neither one of us is a mechanic. Soooo... what do we buy? We have a truck and a minivan at this point in time, and we plan on keeping both (Jim can choose which he wants to drive to work). Therefore we have the option of a smaller vehicle, if we so desire. We have looked at wagons, small SUVs, and even those little crossovers. At the top of our list, the Honda CR-V or the Subaru Forester/Outback. (Of course, someday we'll look at MGs and Jaguars, right?)

The deals offered lately have been tempting - employee price plus customer cash? It makes a new vehicle the same price as a slightly used one. (What is the use of us buying anything that isn't slightly used? We want to get something that won't need work anytime soon!) We've browsed Carmax, and would probably buy there if we choose used - one of our friends is a mechanic there.

Someday soon we will have to brave the dreaded car dealers...

bad attitude

Okay, so I realize that I am at fault here. I shouldn't dread VBS this much. However, I haven't had to fight rush hour/construction zone traffic for a long time now, and the kids have been sleeping in... It's hard to get my housework done... It's payday/shopping week... It's hot...
Dot has been thrilled to go to Neighborhood Bible Time, and wants to be the ultimate memory champ (or some such thing). Jimbo is having fun in the nursery - although he is very territorial now. Sharing is just one of many concepts being taught in our house right now. I did get the nursery toys and books sorted through and took a bunch as donations to Goodwill.
After hearing that they had enough teachers, I decided that I don't have to feel bad about not helping out all week. I can use my Thursday and Friday mornings as shopping days while Dot has fun at church.

Symphony in shorts

Last night we went to the BSO's Star Spangled Spectacular up at Oregon Ridge Park. We were able to hear a very nice concert and enjoy some very nice fireworks. Impressive, and fully worth the money we paid.

The park was beautiful, a good choice for a concert venue. The stage was set at the bottom of a wide sledding/ski hill, and there were plenty of picnic tabels and bathrooms. The concessions were not numerous, but they were affordable; most people brought their own food, however. While they did have kids entertainment that required a $5 wristband, the park's free playground was large and new enough to keep our kids happy. The park did have parking, but they encouraged the use of their shuttle service - it was a well planned service, too, and we didn't have to wait too long before we were back at our vehicle.

The concert was very nice, with most of the music being well recognized patriotic favorites. Singing was encouraged, and they even started off with the pledge to the American flag. The second half of the concert included well choreographed fireworks. No cheap white noisemakers here, these were very nice fireworks. (Another benefit of being out of the city - no booming echoes off surrounding buildings.)

We met up with our friends from church, and enjoyed spending the evening with them. It is good to get out and do things together with friends and family! Dot danced along to the music at times, and "Jimbo" was so tired that the fireworks were a little scary... snuggling up in Mommy's lap helped. This was his first time to see fireworks! Dot fell asleep on the way home, but Jimbo stayed awake the whole time... even wanted to play when we got home. Funny kid... it was close to midnight!