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"!