Easter 2010

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

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

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

Washed up

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

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

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

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

What's the temperature going to be?

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

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

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

art + health = fun

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

Almost like being back in Iowa

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

Winter recital

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

The holidays are over

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

I'm dreaming of a White Christmas

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

Lucky, lucky kids

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

Holiday traditions

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

Plates of cookies for Christmas

(cranberry cookies - a favorite for many people!)

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

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

This is my list of Christmas treats:

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

Are you hungry?

Pop Culture for Lunch

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

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

Thanksgiving weekend 2009

(Added: find more photos HERE)

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

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

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

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

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

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

Homeschool, Holidays, and Houseguests

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

Reformation Day Party

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

Rose Hill Manor

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

Upcoming Reformation Day

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


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

Backyard Baseball

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

Influenza Care

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

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

Read that first recommendation again, if you would:

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

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

Minding your children

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


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