Homeschool Shus

Brought to You By the Letter "A"

2012-01-20T05:59:00.000-08:00

I always loved Sesame Street. It was kind of a bummer when my kids didn't really take to it. Then Elmo showed up. Man, am I ever glad my kids didn't take to Sesame Street. That puppet annoys me. It's the voice. But this isn't about that. This is about dinner last night.

It's no secret that hubby and I are trying to eat better. Yes, we eat organic, and blah, blah, blah, but we still have a long way to go to get where we really want to be. Anytime we try to incorporate something new and different into our diet, it gets kind of scary. Specially if it's something we don't know much about. We are exchanging our grains and pastas. We are looking into alternatives for some staples. Enter quinoa.

Quinoa (keen wa) is very flexible and can be used in place of rice and some noodles. Would I make lasagna with it? No. It's not that flexible. One of our favorite things to eat is Japanese sticky rice. Yeah, that is not the healthiest rice ever. But man is it good still warm with soy sauce. See, it doesn't get much better. We're changing that, too. One step at a time. My problem with quinoa is a texture issue. It's small, not quite like couscous but different than rice. It can get kind of mushy. Yeah, I m not a fan of mush. When it cooks, the smell reminds me of when hubby boils peanuts. I like the taste, but the issues are still issues. What to do, what to do? Hide it. Not hide it exactly, but cook it where texture isn't an issue, and hopefully the smell.

Most of my friends either are or are becoming more attuned to their health. One friend, in particular, has really made great strides. At the park one day, K had a quinoa cook book. I need to check it out from the library and see if I can come up with something. I have searched the internet and come up with some ideas. I tweaked an idea of hers to fit our family and an idea was born. K hides it with ground beef. Well, I can do that. And now that I've taken you on that journey, let's take a detour.

We don't have satellite anymore. No more Food Network or Cooking Channel for me. That doesn't mean I haven't seen some great cooking on TV. And lately, the one thing that seems to be cooking is polenta. I've made polenta before and it was good. I made it the mushy way. It's really just cooked cornmeal dressed up fancy. I wanted to try it the crispy way. After you cook it, you chill it until it's firm. Then you cut it into shapes and either bake it or fry it. Since my oven is on the fritz, I crisped it in butter and some olive oil.

Apparently while I was cooking I was a bit distracted. I inadvertently started making a double batch, but I didn't season it like a double batch. And I probably could have cooked it longer the first time. I didn't, and it was a little plain, but it was still good. The big girl helped. I do not have four hands, but I sure needed them. Polenta can be a little time and stirring intensive. My polenta recipe came from Food.com, which is one of my favorite recipe sites. I also found a sweet potato polenta that I am going to try.

I am also admitting that I freaked a little in the grocery store when I was buying cornmeal. I stood there on the baking aisle, looking at a bag of cornmeal, and I needed a moment. I started thinking about corn and how most of it is now a GMO product and I couldn't do it. I couldn't buy the regular cornmeal. I had to go over to the organic section and buy organic cornmeal. It was pricey and a big splurge, but I just couldn't buy the other with a clear conscience. I am such a freak.

Here's what I did with the quinoa. It was really good and even the baby ate it. She even ate the spinach. I never thought I'd see the day.

Quinoa and Beef

1-2 lbs of ground beef
1 cup cooked quinoa
1 small onion, cut up
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 portabello, diced
2 cups raw baby spinach
basil, oregano, and parsley to taste
salt and pepper to taste

Brown ground beef with onion, garlic, and spices until cooked through. Drain off grease. Add beef back to pan. Add tomatoes and mushrooms. Stir to combine. Add cooked quinoa and 1/3 can of water. Stir to incorporate quinoa and water. Reseason. Let simmer 10 minutes. Add spinach and cover. Lower heat to medium to medium low. Let sit until spinach starts to wilt, about 5 minutes. Remove cover and stir. Serve over crispy polenta.

This would be good with any ground meat, like chicken or turkey. It would probably be good with ground pork, but we have stopped eating pork. The quinoa clings to the ground beef and, texture wise, doesn't stand out too much. When I cooked my quinoa, I used veggie stock. It flavors the quinoa and cut down on the overwhelming nutty smell. That made it much better. Some of you may be freaking out that I used canned tomatoes. I used organic tomatoes from a company that has uses BPA free lining in their cans. It's ok. I know Big Sis is going to be mad I didn't add amounts to the spices, but I don't measure. I get a couple of good, healthy pinches and sprinkle that over the meat as I cook. I use a couple, stir it in, let it cook. Add some more when it's time to stir the meat. I season every time I move the food in the pan. I think this would also be good if you want to give it a southwest flavor with cumin and cayenne. It would also be good with maybe a curry flavor if you use chicken or turkey. If you don't have spinach, use kale or chard or cabbage or bok choy or whatever leafy green you have. If you have fresh tomatoes, use those. You could chop a medium size tomato or use grape or cherry tomatoes. This is so versatile, you could mix and match everything.

I have to say that this is probably one of the best things I've made lately. It was so pretty over the polenta. I would have taken a picture, but it was after 7 and my family wasn't waiting. I'm lucky we got through the prayer before they started eating. I would have had seconds, but I quit eating those, too. Next time I might get a bigger first serving. Now, there's a good idea.

Have a great day.

Organized Chaos

2012-01-14T06:30:00.000-08:00

Yup, that's my mind. Well, maybe not the organized part. But it sounds good, doesn't it? Several of my blogger friends used to belong to a blog that used a "daybook" style of writing. It gave you categories and you blog about those. I like it, so that's what you get today. That means an excuse for bullet points. Party on:

I am listening to...Matisyahu's "One Day". My iPod is cranked and ready for this blog. The shuffle feature is a wonderful thing.
Outside my window...it is a bright, sunny morning, but chilly as all get out. It won't break 60 today. I live in a tropical region so that's cold for us. By Tuesday it should be warmer, thank goodness!
I am wearing...kitty pajamas and my robe. And I'm still chilly. I'm also wearing my new slippers. I needed new slippers. My old ones were literally falling apart. I got two new pair! There was a sale and I had a coupon. Love that!
Around the house...there are piles everywhere. As long as Hoarders doesn't show up, I'm ok. I plan to work on that today. My bedroom is as bad as the kids', if not worse. I don't sleep well in a messy room, so hopefully cleaning up will help my insomnia. Please?!?
From the schoolroom...we are plugging away. We changed the big girl's algebra. Again. She felt like she needed to "reinforce her foundation". Ok, smarty girl. We are back to a full schedule, including extras. The boy started back his guitar lessons, the girls started piano, and we are all back to dance. I am having an awful time getting science plugged into our schedule, so I'm skipping it this year. The kids are more interested in continuing our art study. It's easier to put that into the schedule so I did. Loving it! We are also back to our history. We are expanding westward. Lewis and Clark just discovered the Pacific Ocean.
From the tower...I picked two strawberries this morning. I may eat them before the kids get up. They'll never know. Except the big girl who can read this on Facebook, but she's not here this morning, so I call hers! There are 6 heads of broccoli in various states of maturity. Very excited about that. We have spring crops that are seedlings and ready to go into the tower. We are going to try to wait until Monday since we have a couple of nights of low temps to get through. We did buy an aquarium heater to keep the water warm and we'll wrap the plants tonight, just in case.
I am reading...and reading and reading. Right now, I am reading Explosive Eighteen. I just finished Water for Elephants. Great book! I am not seeing the movie. Robert Pattinson just doesn't do it for me as the lead. I was reading Stop Dressing Your Six-Year-Old Like a Skank... by Celia Rivenbark. It is laugh out loud funny! I only get the Janet Evanovich book for a week, so I need to read it and get it back. I also started The Hunger Games for book club, but I gotta finish my book. Our after dinner book is The Bronze Bow. The whole family is liking it.
I am researching...coconut manna. I found it while I was researching prices for coconut oil. The name kind of intrigued me. I also found this article. Scroll down and read the comments, too. Very interesting. Then of course, the question comes up, how do I use it? Well, there's this, too. There are other brands, as mentioned in the article above, but these links were the first ones I found. I'm going to look at my vegetarian recipe sites and see if they have anything. I'm debating about it. It almost seems like a splurge, but then you look at the health benefits and what it can do for you and maybe not. More research ahead of me before I make a decision.
I am thankful...for my youth kids and our bible study. It has been eye opening. I am so proud of these young people that want so badly to learn as much as they can about Jesus and follow Him. I am proud of the young men and women they are and are becoming. We had a great discussion last time about vesting and investing in youth. All I have to say is that our church needs to wake up. You are missing a vital opportunity to watch amazing people grow closer to God, and you are missing the opportunity to be part of it.

That's all I have for now. I think that's probably enough, don't you?

Have a great day.

Lots to Say, Lots to Do, Lots of Pics

2012-01-09T09:58:00.000-08:00

We've had a nice break for the holidays. We got to spend some lazy days together. I swear the kids slept past 10 almost every day.The only time they didn't was when we had somewhere to go. Yeah, that didn't happen very often. Hubby and I had some last minute running to do. We turned it into date night and just took our time. It was lovely. We even found a nice sushi restaurant. Bonus!

This was my dinner. I like crunch. If I'm going to have a snack, I like a little crispness. I either get a tempura roll or a spider roll. I got the spider roll, which is at the top left. So, so good. I like the little bit of soft shell crab that sticks out. Yummo!!

This was hubby's dinner. You can always tell his plate because it has tuna on it. I'm not big on tuna, but this was good enough for me to take two bites! I can't remember what the roll is in the middle of his plate, but it got shared. I think we fought over the last piece.

There was nothing left but wasabi and ginger. I like that they don't use the pink ginger. Ginger isn't supposed to be pink. I could steal their dishes, though. You should have seen the boat the couple at the next table had. It took up the whole table. We almost invited ourselves to sit with them.

We had to rearrange the living room again this year to get the tree up. That meant moving couches and the TV and the entertainment center. We ended up putting the tree behind our sofa, but kind of in front of the front door. I didn't like it, but our other option was to unload the book shelf, move it, then load it back, Thank you, but no. Hubby had to stop by his parents' house to pick up gifts from them so we could get them under the tree. So after rearranging, last minute running and wrapping, and gift pick up, this is what it looked like.

I sure like to see the tree with lots of presents. And there was really good stuff there, too. There was some not so good stuff, but I am trying to focus on the positive.

I couldn't get the front of the tree because it was that close to the sofa. Trying to get between the two was quite the feat in trying to not knock down the tree. We definitely need to figure something different out for next year.

Last Easter, we had the opportunity to go see The Rock and the Rabbi. It was amazing. This Christmas season, we were able to go see their newest production, The Child. It was wonderful, too. It had a smaller cast, but the music just moves you.

Just like the last show, the cast was out in the lobby doing a meet and greet with everyone. I like that you don't have to have a back stage pass. The boy took over the autograph getting. How can you refuse that sweet face? Well, it's easy for me, but I'm his mama. We bought the CD again. Our favorite song is "Taxes". It's just fun to hear. The only autograph we didn't get was a young man that played keyboards and sang. he wasn't out with the rest of the cast.

But he was coming around the corner as we were leaving. Very nice, humble young man. He seemed confused as to why we would want his autograph and picture. Because he was awesome. The sweet young lady next to him is MC. This was the cast member she really wanted to talk to. I do what I can for my kids, including being an eagle eye. And listening to the boy when he says, "Look, there he is!" So it really wasn't me, but I'll take the credit any way I can get it. The girl next to MC is KT. That's what we call her anyway. And Baby J. And, of course, my eagle-eyed boy.

The weather got pretty cold. When the weather gets cold, I like to make soup. The big girl had been after me to make Italian wedding soup. So I finally did.

I usually combine two different recipes, but this time I stuck mainly to one. And I had everything I needed, including the Italian sausage, and that is rare for me. I used chard for the green because that was what I had. It was delicious and the big girl was happy. And so was everyone else.

New Year's Eve is a quiet night at home for us. I make a bunch of appetizers and finger foods and we eat all night long. Well, until midnight anyway. Usually we have soda and lemonade, but we are working at cutting the soda from our diet. I made fruit punch instead. We drank so much punch, we floated into the new year.

This is only part of the table. I wasn't done cooking yet, but if I didn't get a picture, you wouldn't have seen most of it. Bunch of vultures. Then when I was done with the rest of it, it kind of disappeared before I had the chance to get the camera. I tried, but I was too busy stuffing my face to think about it. Then it was too late. You should come over one New Year's. We throw a heck of a party!

I think that's about it for the end of the year wrap up. We may travel next Christmas. Maybe somewhere tropical and warm. Like Tahiti or Fiji. Wanna go? Start saving your pennies.

Have a great day.

The Highlights and Lowlights, or, 2011 in Review

2011-12-27T07:20:00.000-08:00

You know we're getting closer to the end of the year when all the review shows come out. The Biggest, Brightest, or Not So Much of whatever year is about to close. I usually find them sort of annoying, but this is my list, so how annoying can it be? I'm not seperating them by category. This is just the list, good, bad, or otherwise.

We started the year with great expectations and an impending move to Texas. So much excitement! You have never seen someone pack a box quicker than me. I had boxes stacked on boxes stacked on boxes. We cleaned out and purged and gave away and threw out. We had to clean out the shed to have room for the boxes. We said good bye to friends and family. We cried and laughed and touted the benefits of technology and the various ways of keeping in touch. The day before hubby and I were going to leave to find a home in our new state, hubby got a phone call. The job was on hold. Good thing we didn't leave. That was the week of the horrible ice and snow and we would have been stuck for at least that week, if not longer. The job remained on hold for another four months. Hubby finally called and asked for his name to be removed from the job. The hold had taken it's toll on our family and we were miserable. Two months later the boss called and said the job was finally released. Would hubby be interested? No, but thank you. The unpacking was just as miserable. All the hopes and dreams gone like dust and memories.
We stayed in Florida! Our friends are our family here. There were many tears shed when we announced our move. There were gatherings where goodbyes were said and then we stayed. At one point, I heard there were rumblings we had made it up, that we were never really moving. Then you don't know us, do you? It was comforting to be welcomed back into the fold of loving friends. Thank you for that!
The kids and I went to Texas and were able to spend many weeks with family and friends. I wanted the kids to be able to go to Mermie's and spend some time. I wanted them to spend time with their Auntie and their cousins. We don't get to see them often and I NEEDED them to have that connection. I needed to have that connection. It was glorious!!! I got to see family and friends. I got to help, and in some cases hinder. We absolutely loved it. The only downside: hubby had to stay home and work. We missed him something fierce! It was so good to see him at the airport. And he brought me a Cinnabon. Because he rocks that way. And he loves me. Crazy man.
We bought a hydroponic tower. Hubby has been into hydroponics for years, but never really did anything about it. This was like a starter kit for him. It has been trial and error, but we love it! He even has a few design modifications he wants to try when he builds another one. We see it as a step to self-sufficiency. We're already planning spring crops. Strawberries will be part of that. And bok choy. And spinach. And zucchini, and, and, and...
Hubby got a solar kit for Christmas. It is quite the little project. Our dream is to one day be off the grid. If we could afford the house to be solar, it would have been done years ago. I like that we can start small and work out the kinks. I like that we can make this a reality one day. I like the learning curve.
There has been a rift in the family. Hubby and I have distanced ourselves from his brother and his brother's wife. I have excused myself from all family gatherings, including holidays. I have tried three times to mend the rift, with no help from the other side and even some meddling from a parental unit. Instead, I get called all kinds of names (joy sucker being my favorite) and have become the one that caused the rift. Bite me. I have always thought that if you are big enough to say the words, you need to be big enough to say them straight to someone's face. Just trying to take some responsibility, but that didn't happen either. I hate this phrase now: it is what it is. No, it is what you make it. I can make this whatever I want. I choose to make it gloriously freeing!
For the first time in years, I can actually say that I enjoyed the holidays. It was stressful and touch and go there for a little bit, but once it was settled, it was settled. We had great holidays with our pod and lots of offers from friends to share in their joy. We declined, needing to make our own joy. And we did! It was one of the best holiday seasons we have ever had.
Music has filled our home!! We bought a piano from an auction house/thrift store in a neighboring town. When I say we bought it super cheap, I mean we bought it SUPER CHEAP. Her name is Mabel and she is beautiful. She was horribly out of tune and had sticking keys, but no longer. The sound of my girls playing just brightens my day. The baby was given a guitar early in the year, or at the end of last year. When the choice came to play piano or guitar, she chose piano. The boy, on the other hand, chose guitar. We were lucky and blessed enough to find a wonderful teacher for the boy. The boy is loving it. Since my dad plays, it had always been my hope that one or all of my kids would play. And that goes in the plus column.
School has been fun for us. There are the required books, but we started an art study towards the holidays. We needed to unwind and do something fun. We are going to continue that. The kids have really enjoyed it and so have I. I've enjoyed it so much, I may go get myself a sketch book. The kids all have one, and I'm a little jealous. I may sit down and lesson plan today. After the laundry and dishes. Hmmmmm...
We found two new libraries in our county system that have become favorites. One is very small and is about 10 minutes from the house. It is very comfy and homey and the people there are nice. They even removed a nasty note that one of the librarians at our other library had attached to each of our accounts. The second library is quite big and is on a junior college campus. The kids section is bigger than most and the kids beg to go there. The big girl likes the "youth" section. I still need to watch what she picks up. Some of those books should be in the adult section. I randomly picked one off the shelf and flipped through it. Yeah, not what I want any teenager reading, specially mine. The kids like the library so much and the selection of books, I have to limit how many books they can check out. It has reignited the love of reading in my kids. Yea!!
We are dancing again this year! We had stopped for awhile, one of the reasons being the move. Amazing what doing what you love can do for your spirit. The baby girl has turned out to be quite the tapper. I am just overjoyed that she chose to tap. Makes me miss my tap shoes. She taps everywhere we go: standing in line, shopping, waiting for an appointment, wherever. The boy is back to jazz. I think that is where his dance heart lies. He is such a great dancer. He is again the only boy in his class, and he is alright with that. But you should see his grand jete. Great height and extension.He may take some ballet over the summer. We'll see. The big girl has moved from the hip hop class she has been in for the last 3 or 4 years. She likes her new class, and in my humble opinion, is the best one in the class. Who would have thought that my sweet, quiet girl could be so funky? Um, me, for one. And even Mama is taking hip hop. It's something I've wanted to do for many years, but the scheduling never quite worked for me. This year, it works. I miss tap, but I fill that with hip hop. I just love dancing and am very happy about the chance to get to shake my groove thing.
And finally, I have become the mother of a teenager. Holy smokes, how did that happen? You should see her. She is beautiful. And very well protected from stinky boys. And hubby has guns. And he knows how to use them. And if you come near her, he'll use them. All of them. But that isn't where this is going. She is amazing and I love her and I am blessed to be her mama.

That's our year in review. Not much, but tons all at the same time. The new year will bring new challenges, but also new blessings and new beginnings. May yours be bright and joy filled and fruitful and prosperous and blessed. Ours will be!

Have a great day.

Parading Through the Streets

2011-12-21T19:33:00.000-08:00

We did it again this year. We were in the local Christmas parade. The kids loved it. I had a great time. Even hubby enjoyed himself. The rehearsal schedule threw me for a loop, but that's ok. This year the boy got to dance as well as the big girl. The baby is champing at the bit for next year. She'll be old enough to dance, too. Here's some pics for you. I don't like the shiny eyes, but I can't help that. I took these with my phone. You get what you get. I did manage to crop them without losing them, so I'll take it.

I sure wish everyone would have smiled. It could have been our Christmas card picture. If I did Christmas cards. But I don't. I still wish...

The boy and the baby with two of their dancing buds. They have danced together for about three years now.

That really isn't a smirk on the big girl's face. You would know it. She has "the look". It can knock you down from 10 paces. This is her "I'm going to humor my picture crazy mom" smile.

The big girl with her friend, K. K didn't dance, but she marched and held the sign. She said she's dancing next year.

LOVE this pic. We kind of look like we're plotting something. Yes, you should be scared...

This is the group of dancers. See how nicely they lined up and smiled. The baby's group, well, not so much. That was like herding cats. That was the 7 and under crowd. It was the under that was the issue.

The baby on the float with her dance buddy, I. Love the earmuffs. Felt and cotton balls decorated with glitter. My friend N made them. She said there was glitter in her house for weeks. I can believe it!

Ms. Val. She owns the dance studio and teaches tap and the under crowd, as mentioned above. There is no one better with the kids. If it wasn't for her, we probably wouldn't be dancing. Amazing woman and loves what she does. Cannot ask for more.

Love the blue lights. It made the float look icy. Yeah, like that happens around here. But it looked good.

The theme this year was "Winter Wonderland". I thought they did a great job. It made me want hot cocoa.

See this boy? I absolutely love him. I have very few pics of him just smiling. This is one of my favs.

The kids were practicing before the parade. I tried to get video, but it didn't turn out very well. You can see the big girl just at the right edge of the pic.

Liked it so much, I added it twice. Oops, my bad.

That is me with hubby. Or hubby with me. Or the two of us together. He walked with us. Aren't we cute?

A good time was had by all. So good in fact, I was thinking about asking Ms. Val if I could dance next year. We'll see. The kids always have a great time. It's time they shared the joy.

Have a great day.

What the Kale?

2011-12-17T09:08:00.000-08:00

One of the things I like about veggie co-op is that it has forced me to try new things. Who would have thought that we would like beets? I can get stuck in a rut quicker than you can think about it. I make myself buy something new and look up recipes for it. One of the things that I have found we all like, well except the baby, is kale. It is dark green and frilly looking and I had no idea what to do with it. I have several friends that like to make kale chips. I tried. That is not for me. I'll try again because I can never leave a recipe alone. I'll change a couple of things and hopefully that will do the trick and get us off those bags of yuck on the store shelves. If not, I'll figure something out. I hope.

The first time I bought kale, I used it like I would a cabbage. I cooked my beautiful, organic kale with smoked sausage and beer. Then we piled it on white rice. Yeah, there's a learning curve. Thank goodness it's a big curve. It was really good, too. But really, I was defeating the purpose, wasn't I? Fine. I'll try something else.

My friend K had a raw foods cookbook at the park one day. I know, it's an oxymoron, but what else am I going to call it? As she was leafing through it, I was sneaking peaks at some of the recipes. I saw a couple that had potential and asked her later if she would send me a copy of a kale recipe I had seen. Thankfully, there were only two kale recipes. Good thing because that book was huge and I couldn't remember what the recipe was called. I changed it, of course. I didn't have everything the recipe called for, I don't like some of the stuff in it, and really, that's just how I am. Here's my version:

Kale Salad

1 bunch kale
1 avocado, sliced and cut into chunks
1 zucchini or yellow squash or both, shredded
basil to taste, fresh or dried

Dressing

1-2 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup honey or to taste
lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbls Italian seasonings or to taste

Mix ingredients for dressing until combined. Take kale off stems. Cut in to small pieces wth kitchen shears if desired. Add kale to dressing. Massage kale for at least 5 minutes. Add avocado, zucchini and/or yellow squash, and basil. Mix and serve.

You have to massage the kale if you are eating it raw. It is very fibrous and tough if you don't. Wear gloves or the honey is a huge mess to try to ~~lick~~ wash off your hands. Always taste your dressing before adding the kale or anything else. If you don't like it, you won't like it on the kale. Adjust to your liking, then add kale. Kale is very salty, so easy on the salt when you make the dressing. The kale will more than make up for it. The original recipe calls for agave. Use it if you have it, but start with a measure smaller than 1/4 cup. I don't have any so I use honey. You could also add raisins or cranberries or almonds or walnuts or any combination of those.

Hubby liked it, but was a little skittish about the avocado. He isn't a big fan, but he ate it. He's good that way. My friend S had given me a similar recipe, so I just kind of combined them and it turned out great. The kids ate it which made me happy. Well, except the baby. But it has veggies in it, so really, she was done before we got started. But she did take her no thank you bite and survived. Crazy girl.

Have a great day.

Traditions- Old and New

2011-12-17T08:27:00.000-08:00

This will be a different Christmas for us. Hubby and I have stayed pretty close to tradition in years past, but this year we are making our own way and our own traditions. I'm actually looking forward to it. That is a new tradition, in and of itself.

The kids have been working on Christmas songs with their music teachers. I have said it before and I will say it again: I love music being played in our home. Some of the music has the lyrics printed, some don't. The ones that don't I'll look up on the internet and print for us. Then the kids will play and we'll do a sing along. The kids have been practicing and we even do a little singing with them as they practice. This is going to be fun!
The boy requested ham for Christmas dinner. Well, ok, then. The girls and hubby are fine with that. We normally have beef, but things are different this year. Hubby has requested crab legs. We'll have some, just not a ton of them. Those little buggers have gotten expensive. We are having pumpkin pie. I have two more pumpkins to process. I'm hoping to have enough left over to do pumpkin french toast Christmas morning. It was a big hit at Thanksgiving. Goodness, with some left over ham that would be super good. I think I'm drooling.
Hubby is off Christmas Eve! He normally has to work. It's hectic and crazy and we do not like it. He rushes home, takes a five minute shower, gets prettier than he normally is, then we fly out the door to church. We huff and puff our way to church since we practically run in the door just as they get started. Then it's flying after to the IL's to open presents. It's not relaxing and it isn't fun. No running this year!! And hubby might actually have six minutes for a shower. He's so happy.
We will still read the story of Christmas before we open gifts. We've all heard it a million times, but to us, it's important that the real reason for Christmas is emphasized. It's all great to have gifts, but we were given the greatest gift. EVER. BAR. NONE.
We are Christmas Eve openers. It's what we have always done in our family and I am not about to change that. I can't wait and neither can anyone else, so why bother? I'm glad Santa comes to visit or we would have an empty tree come Christmas morning.
One of our new traditions is to pop some corn and watch The Nativity Story. Good movie! And then, because it's been specially requested, A Charlie Brown Christmas. Gotta love that one, too.

That's about it for now. We are done with school until the new year. We will take some time to do some drawing. We didn't get to draw enough before the end of school. That does not hurt my feelings, let me tell you what. If I don't get back before Christmas, may yours be joyful. Merry Christmas, y'all!

Have a great day.

Gifted

2011-12-13T06:07:00.000-08:00

With all the brouhaha surrounding the holidays, alot of times we overlook the blessings and gifts that happen all around us. I am certainly no exception. I keep a piece of paper and a pen handy to jot down blog topics. I was looking it over and realized that I have been the recipient of some pretty special gifts. Ready? Here we go.

One of my dance friends sent me a message a few weeks ago. She had 5 boxes of curriculum. Did I want it? Um, heck yeah. You should have seen all the goodies. It is no secret that I'm a curriculum junkie. The best part? I am basically set for curriculum all the way through high school! I may need a couple of things here and there, but not much. The better than best part? I took the leftovers to the park for my park mamas. I had three very full, very heavy boxes. They were overstuffed, but I had limited room in the back of my minivan. When the feeding franzy was over, I had very little left over, and what I did was stuff I had been eyeing, but didn't want to be greedy or a glutton. Then she sent me another email. She had found one more box. Did I want it? Absolutely. And I love it when good books find great homes. There was much shuffling and sharing, borrowing and lending. What a gift! And it was enjoyed and appreciated by friends. Thank you so much, KK! My park mamas think you're awesome. And so do I.
I have a deal with a friend. I pick up honey for her, she picks up quinoa for me. She has never liked honey, but they have cut all sugar from their diet and needed a sweetener. So I gave her a jar that I had to see if she could at least tolerate it and if her family would like it. They loved it. I was so happy. Last co-op she asked if I would pick her up some more honey. Yup. She had found a great deal on some quinoa and wanted to know if I wanted her to pick me up some. Yup. We communicate well, don't we? At the park, I delivered her quart size jar. And she gave me a bag of quinoa wrapped with a pretty bow. Love it! That bad boy got opened the next night and we had quinoa pilaf. She's picking me up two more bags next time she goes. Like having an alternative to rice. I like my white rice, don't get me wrong. I just picked up a bag yesterday. But we don't eat as much as we used to. Thank you, KS!
Mabel. Goodness we love Mabel. She's our piano and she's beautiful. My friend N saw her online and called me. I went and looked at her and fell in love. She was horribly out of tune and had sticky keys, but you could tell she was a beauty. We happen to go to church with a very nice man who is a retired piano tuner. He took very good care of her. She sounds so pretty when the girls play. The big girl almost had me in tears with "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel". But I'm a sucker for my kids and an even bigger sucker when they play.
We have the gift of music in our home. The kids are able to take music lessons and we have some really great teachers. My friend N, as mentioned above, teaches the girls piano. So blessed to know her, but doubly blessed because she has a joy and passion for piano and shares that with my kids. Whoo hoo!! The boy's guitar teacher, Mr. R, comes recommended from friends. The boy is always happy on guitar day. Mr. R is so good with him. The boy is doing very well. You should see him with his gig bag. Oh my gosh! Mr. R loves playing music and wants as many people to learn to play as possible. We were gifted with music teachers that love what they do. You cannot ask for more than that.

So many gifts. And sometimes we don't take the time to appreciate the little things. Those little things can be larger than life if we let them.

Have a great day.

An Open Letter to My Park Mamas

2011-12-02T05:18:00.000-08:00

When we started homeschooling, I was as scared as I could be. How on Earth was I ever going to be able to teach my kids? How was I going to be able to give them everything they needed for their education? I barely got the baby potty trained and now I was responsible for filling my kids' heads with knowledge and information. There are professionals that do that!!

My friend MS said "Come to the park." Um, ok, how is that going to help me? I'm freaking out here!! With nothing better to do, I went. My life has never been the same.

Those women are a crazy, diverse group of incredible people that have all decided that their families are the most imortant thing in the world to them. It was like having the blinders taken off and seeing the big, wide world for the first time. The encouragement, the friendship, but, I think more like kinship, have become so valuable. I realized that they all started the same way. Even those that homeschooled from the beginning shared the same anxiety and apprehension that I did. But they also helped me realize that not only have I been teaching my kids since they were buns in the oven, I will continue to teach them by my actions, words and deeds, whether they are are homeschooled or not.

I'm probably the loudest, but by no means the only one with an opinion. I am probably the most dramatic, but by no means am I the only one with drama. I have leaned more from these ladies in the last four years than I ever thought possible. I have learned that friends are family, just not family you were born to. I have learned what intelligence is, and it's not just how smart I am. I have learned what true beauty is, and not just what I see in the mirror.

I could not have a better group of friends. You lift me up, you council me, you are there whenever I need you, not just on park days. This journey called Homeschooling, and the bigger journey called Life, could not be accomplished without you. Your love and support and friendship have been an amazing addition to my family. I live for park day when I can be surrounded by your beauty, intelligence, love, and laughter. Is it park day yet?

Have a great day.

Just Being

2011-11-28T19:58:00.000-08:00

I don't get into the family drama much on this blog. That's not what this blog is about. All of the heartache and angst goes on the other one. This blog is mainly about keeping family and friends updated about our lives and what we're doing for school and that kind of stuff. Someone commented to me one time that everything is always rosy on this blog. Our lives are by no means perfect, but we do the best we can with what we have. My kids are happy, well fed and well educated. Hubby is tired from working, but generally he's pretty content as well.

The holidays, however, seem to bring out the blech in everyone. I have heard more stories about dysfunctional families than I care to hear. This year, we are no different. While I won't go into detail (again, you should be reading the other blog. That's where all the good stuff happens), we are highly dysfunctional this year. So much so that we will not be having holidays with my in laws for the foreseeable future. It really is just better that way.

And before you weigh in, please make sure you have all the details. Suffice it to say, because some people didn't get the details but made up great stories in their minds, I am the pariah. I wear that badge proudly. Now they know I am not one to just sit back and take it. They should have known a long time ago. Yeah, I haven't been a door mat in many, many years and have no plans of starting now.

This holiday season, we are focusing on our family pod. For us, that's what's the most important. We are just going to be, however that needs to happen. I'm thinking that should happen with pie. And ice cream cake because I forgot to make one for the big girl.

Have a great day.

Prepping

2011-11-23T05:26:00.000-08:00

It is going to be so, so busy today at my house. I'm getting an early start, hubby has fired up the frig in the shed, and I'm blogging. What a way to spend a busy day!

The pumpkin has been cooked and is cooling. I was going to do a pumpkin pie and a cheesecake, but I think I'm going to do a pumpkin cheesecake instead. I can combine two things and it won't take near the time to make each one seperately. I'm halfway there already.

Next on the agenda is applesauce. I had made some on Monday, but we had a spillage accident. By accident I mean I opened the door of my overstuffed fridge, the bowl the applesauce was in fell onto the floor and went EVERYWHERE. By EVERYWHERE, I mean under the crisper doors of the fridge, under the fridge, and all over and under the dishwasher, which is across from the fridge. Let's just say I had a moment. Hubby was great and cleaned it all up. He even took out the drawers in the fridge and cleaned that mess up. So, I start again. And then it goes in the outside fridge. Where there's room.

Next is the pomegrante compote. I'm mixing pomegranate, orange juice and zest, honey, and water. I'm going to cook it down until it is super thick and sweet. We'll use that to put on top of the cheesecake. I may use it as a side dish as well since we aren't having cranberry sauce.

Then the brine. I am super excited about this part. A brine can make your turkey so, so tender and flavorful and juicy. This will be the first year I cook a brined turkey, so wish me luck. That, too, will go in the outside fridge.

The I prep the broccoli rice casserole. I have a feeling I may have room in the inside fridge for that. After getting rid of tons of stuff putting the rest of the dishes together, I better have room! The casserole will go in the oven tomorrow as the turkey rests.

Thursday all I have to do is make stuffing, stuff and cook the turkey, make sweet potato fries, mashed potatoes, warm the casserole and breads, put together the kale salad, and eat until I cannot eat anymore!!! I should buy bigger stretchy pants.

Have a great day.

Gobble, Gobble

2011-11-21T07:00:00.000-08:00

I'm sitting down trying to get my ducks, or turkeys in this case, in a row and figure out what in the world we're having for Thanksgiving. Then I get to figure out what I have and what I need. Then I get to go to the grocery store. The closer it gets to Thursday, the worse the grocery stores get. So far, here's what I've got.

Turkey!! Love me some turkey and a turkey coma. This year I am going to brine the turkey. I have had brined turkey before and it is super tender and juicy. This will be my first attempt at it so hopefully, all will go well. A brine is just a salt water bath for the turkey. You can brine any meat, but for a large cut, it helps to tenderize it. I bought a 20 pound turkey. It is so beautiful. And I am stuffing it. I'm pulling out the recipe that my FIL gave me that was his grandmother's. But where my FIL uses regular white bread, I like to use chiabatta. It's crusty and adds a different flavor and texture. Look at me messing with tradition. Like you expected anything less.
I am making a healthier version of broccoli rice casserole. I'm using fresh, organic broccoli instead of frozen. I made my own cream of mushroom soup, organic of course. And Amish cheese. It isn't organic, but it'll do. Not sure how it's going to taste, but instead of white rice, I'm using organic brown rice. Won't that be interesting?
Homemade apple sauce is going to make it's first appearance on the Turkey Day table. That's what I should be doing now, but as you can see, I found a way to distract myself. I do a combo of apples and pears. My kids don't know I use pears and we need to keep it that way. So mum's the word. They would eat it all in one day if I let them.
Thanksgiving isn't Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie. Tomorrow, hubby will cut the pumpkins and I'll get them processed and make a couple of pies. I was actually thinking about making mini pies in a muffin pan, but we'll see what happens. I may not have time for that, but that's my goal. Bite size pumpkin pie could be dangerous. At least when I eat three pieces, I know I've eaten three pieces of pie. But when they're smaller, I may eat the equivalent of ten pieces. I may have to rethink the mini pies. Or not, depending on how tight I want my stretchy pants to be.
Green beans. I'm not sure about those yet. I may actually use my brussel sprout recipe for these. I'm going to look at recipes when I check out the brines.
I'm making a kale and avocado salad. We like kale and it is so good for you. I have a couple of recipes and I'm pretty sure I know which one I'm going to use.
Instead of regular sweet potatoes, I'm making fries. I bake them in the oven and that's about the only way I can get my family to eat sweet potatoes. I think they're nuts, but what are you gonna do? I'm just glad they'll eat them because that gives me an excuse to buy them.
My last item, probably not, is mashed potatoes. I love mashed potatoes. I try to make them as healthy as possible. I could bore you with the details, but that just sounds like bragging. I'm pretty good at that, too.
And bread. You just cannot have a great big dinner without bread. Carb overload and a great big nap for Thanksgiving. Yea!! Instead of brown and serve rolls, we're doing cheese foccacia and chiabatta rolls. Yummy.

That's most of our menu. I'm going to try to make a cheesecake with a pomegrate compote to drizzle over the top. If I don't eat all the pomegrantes first. And maybe a chocolate pecan pie. I like different and I like delicious. I try not to follow too many trends when I plan a big meal. Must be my high dollar tastes. Hopefully I can make a great meal with our low dollar budget. Thank goodness for coupons and sales.

Have a great day.

Artistically Speaking

2011-11-08T13:00:00.000-08:00

I know nothing about art. I'm about to find out, though. The kids have been champing at the bit to do more unschooling. Hang on to your hats, kiddos, because here we go. I've been preparing for an art unit study. I have a list of artists, I have copy work and notebooking pages, I have excursions planned, and I have art lessons that I downloaded. The big girl really likes to draw. She has so much artistic ability, and I am so jealous. She dances, sings, and she draws. There are certain things she has trouble with in regards to her drawing. I downloaded lessons that discuss those areas. She has a hard time with eyes and sometimes mouths. Not for much longer, I hope. The boy is in to Pokemon. I downloaded lessons that teach you how to draw Pokemons. And for the baby, I downloaded cartoon characters.

We are going to incorporate our origami. I would love to find an exhibit that displays origami. That would be way cool. My next step for library books is the history of origami. I think it's important that we know where the idea and the art behind origami came from. And I have a feeling we could always go eat Japanese food when we're done. Don't judge. I always want Chinese food after we watch Kung Fu Panda. I want to see how intricate our origami will get. Will we stick to dogs or go for life size elephants? Maybe not life size. I cannot even begin to think about the cost of the paper.

The boy and the baby have started practicing their guitar and piano together. And the piano tuner is coming Friday!! Whoohoo!! Piano on a piano instead of a keyboard that sounds nothing like a piano. After they do their practice exercises, they get together and play songs. They both know how to play Old MacDonald. Sometimes they take the guitar and keyboard outside and practice. I absolutely love it. The girls think piano is the coolest thing and the boy has a list of instruments he wants to learn. He and the baby are trading lessons. I've wanted the kids to take music lessons for so long. I'm glad that we were able to do this for them. What a great thing to be able to take through their lives.

The two big kids are going to be dancing in the Christmas parade of a neighboring town. They've had practice once a week and we have two more left. Then the parade. So proud of those two, let me tell you what. They've worked really hard and they will do an amazing job in the parade. The girl has this great funky side to her that most people don't know she has. That's too bad. The boy is an excellent leaper. You should see his grand jetes. He likes his new class and likes the challenge. He comes home determined to master whatever new step or dance they learned in class. The big girl has found a quiet comrade in her dance class. Well, maybe not so quiet. At least she doesn't have to say much. She is ok with that.

There's really not much else going on right now. We are finishing some things up this week so we can start our art study. You never know where this could lead. Hubby and I may have our own variety show troop on our hands, goodness gracious.

Have a great day.

Randomness

2011-10-26T05:13:00.000-07:00

Things have been busy around our house. We're coming into the holiday season and that means we get busier. Better get on with it, I guess.

We are taking a break from our normal lessons to have an easy week. We still have extras, but schoolwise, we are just having fun this week. I have a couple of fun Halloween ebooks we're working out of. So far, so good. Our extras, however, seem to be cranking up. We added book club back to the kids' schedule. Really just the two big kids. I had thought about starting a book club for kids around the baby's age, but I am not that crazy. I would actually like to be home every now and then. We weren't able to make book club so far this year because of the day it met. We are gone all day that day on the other side of the county and there was no way we were ever going to be in two places at one time. I'm good, but I'm not that good. The youth librarian changed the day so that we and another family could attend. Yea! It's only once a month, thankfully, and the kids enjoy it. And, because I just cannot leave well enough alone, I signed the kids up for the Christmas parade with our dance studio again this year. I asked first and all the kids said yes. We have four days of rehearsal that I have to fit around 8 million other things, but ok. Lots of B12 happening around here. And napping. Every chance I get, thank you so much.
We are also taking a break from our regularly scheduled currriculum to do an artists unit study. I am getting out of the books, except math, to learn about some people that we would probably not study unless they came up in our history or something. I have even downloaded a couple of full art lessons to teach the kids different styles and concepts. I have a list of artists and their accomplishments. We are even going to incorporate our origami. That is going to keep us until we take our Christmas break. I have a couple of outdoor lessons planned at different parks and secret locations. Ok, not really a secret, but it sounded cool. We are going to visit some art museums in our area. One of our local libraries is having an art show that is free to the public. I need to check the dates and see if we need to get there sooner than later. Who knows, it may spark something in my kids and one of them could become a famous artist.
And speaking of field trips (see art museums above), we are slacking on that end this year. I wanted to go to a bible translating place that is about an hour from here, but right now, there just is no time to go that far. That's two hours round trip, plus tour time. But I am gathering some info on some places that are closer. I just need to make some phone calls. If the leg work could do it's own work, that would help me out so much.
And since our extras are at wonky times for us, we have had to become afternoon schoolers. We are really not good at that. I plan light on those days. There is no sense wasting my time, getting mad, and trying to accomplish a hundred things when I know what the end result will be. One of our days, we just do our science experiments and a little math. Nothing complicated, nothing involved. Who needs that?
And off the school topic, we have replanted our tower. Being gone this summer and hubby working extra long hours while we were gone, the tower got the short end of the stick. It was also at the end of it's growing life when hubby cleaned it out. We planted our fall/winter crops several weeks ago and we are expectantly waiting for homegrown veggies. We planted lettuces, squash, peas, cow peas, okra, broccoli, and brussel sprouts. We tried bell peppers, but they never sprouted. I would love to have my own special supply of brussel sprouts. Oh, yummy. So far, everything looks fantastic. Our okra took a beating during some heavy wind, but we'll see how it does. Hopefully, it'll do just fine. We may plant strawberries for the spring. That might be dangerous. But, man, doesn't that sound good.

Ok, that'll do for now. I still have a couple of other things, but that'll be a great start for another blog. Besides, I need to pay bills, and update my calendar, and, and, and...

Have a great day.

Faulty

2011-10-20T06:56:00.000-07:00

I had really high hopes for this school year. I think what I absolutely love the most about homeschooling is that we determine what we are going to study and how. What we do is what we do and there isn't anything wrong with that. My high hopes were set on getting out of our books more and into some really great unit studies about the things we wanted to study. Well, so far, it's been books, books, books. But I'm changing that.

Part of what has thrown me off was the big girl's algebra. The curriculum we had been using just didn't seem to be enough for her. I have to say that after looking at some of the lessons, she was right. And it goes back to that saying, you get what you pay for. I wasn't even going to buy her math. She was going to do all of her math online. Then our desktop died. That leaves us with one computer. Mine. Although I was willing to share, I hated the thought of her online on my computer. It's really more of a territorial thing with me. Because it's mine. The curriculum we have now is working just fine for her, thankfully. It was a jolt to my confidence. I know every homeschool parent is going to have that at least once on their homeschooling career. That doesn't make me feel any better about it, though. I have tons of confidence in many areas, but I don't like when that's challenged, if you know what I mean. Specially where my kids are concerned. I started thinking that if I screwed that up, am I messing up in other areas of our school?

Then the boy, who is my little math genius, started having problems with his math. It's the same math we've been using for him. Well, there goes another chink in the confidence. Between solving for N and division, he was all turned around. I have to say, though, that wasn't the curriculum. We took a break for a couple of days to work on solving for N. That seems to have worked well and we haven't had but a couple of minor stumbles since. Now we work on division for a couple of days. This should be interesting.

I will say it seems to have made me cling a little tighter to our books. It also makes me glad that I lesson plan in pencil and have a very big eraser. My lesson plan book has never been this busy. Is it me? A little, but it's also that the skills they are learning aren't getting any easier. It starts to get really hard now. I have one who is in her last year of middle school and one in his last year of elementary school. It's prep time. Does that mean we have to stay in the books? No, it doesn't, not for everything. It means we focus on what we need to focus on and get out of the book as much as we can.

Next week is a fun week. I have a couple of fun Halloween studies we are going to do. I even have one called "Halloween in Spanish". That's going to be fun. We are also going to make some fun Halloween recipes for lunch a couple of days. While searching for those, I found some great Autumn and Thanksgiving studies I have. I found an ebook of scary Halloween stories on my school flash drive, and one about Halloween and the history. And, of course, there is the obligatory ebook with mazes and word searches and what have you.

And although we haven't found our groove this year, we are starting to settle, I think. Our days away from the house are starting to get easier. I have to give some of the feet dragging credit to me. Ok, most of it. The kids are ok with it, it's my failure to launch that's getting in my way. I'm working on me. I'm also working on loosening my grip on the books. At least my knuckles aren't white from gripping so tight anymore.

Have a great day.

Scheduling Conflicts

2011-09-27T16:55:00.000-07:00

Well, I did it. Why? Because I am a sucker. Because I want my kids to have access to things that I can't teach them. Because I love them and I want to give them everything they want. I don't just so we're clear. That would make them spoiled. That isn't my job. But what are we talking about? Filling up our schedule. Again. Like I said I wouldn't do. If this were my other blog, I would say a dirty word. I sure wish this was my other blog right now.

We are back to dance this year! So happy about that! Between the money and the potential move, we sure missed dancing. This year is a little different though. The baby is taking tap. She is so good. I'm so proud of her. She absolutely loves it. This year I'm taking hip hop. I just could not do another afternoon, but I'll get to that later. I am really liking it. I knew I would. The big girl is back to hip hop this year. And the boy is taking jazz. At first we were three days in town. Not happy about that. And the boy's class is early evening. If he works hard, she'll move him back to his regular class. The big girl got moved out of her class into a different one. That worked because now we have three classes in one day. Great. Just in time to fill it up with something else.

The girls are taking piano. Hubby likes it when the girls are practicing when he gets home. Love to hear the house full of music. I asked the boy if he wanted to play piano. He said no, he wanted to play guitar. OK. That doesn't hurt my feelings either. He starts this week. He is champing at the bit, ready to go. A friend told me that at one time, the boy's guitar instructor also gave banjo lessons. Really?!? I am so checking that out. That may be something you hear me blog about in the future. Can you imagine? The only problem with the piano and guitar lessons is that they're in the morning. Just trying to adjust a little to that. I think I almost have it figured out. You should see my poor lesson plan book. So glad for pencils and really big erasers.

The big girl has a performance with the praise band coming up. They are playing at our youth director's club house in his subdivion. I invited my BIL and his family, but his wife is singing that night as well. Gonna miss a great time, let me tell you what. Let me know if you want to come and I'll give you details. I am so proud of the kids in the band and what great progress they have made. For some reason, I'm having issues getting the video off my iPod, but when I do, I'll post it for you.

Uh oh. I just realized that the big girl sings, dances, and now plays piano. If she plays her cards right, her brother may teach her how to play guitar. Then there's the banjo. Maybe. That's going to take awhile to process. Where are those dirty words when I need them? Oh yeah, next door at the adult blog.

And speaking of my beautiful, talented oldest offspring, she is now the proud owner of a cell phone. It was supposed to be free, but hubby wanted the warranty, just in case. I concur. She does need a case for it. We were a little pressed for time when we got the phone. We'll get one soon. She is a happy, happy girl. I don't know about her mama yet. Don't ask about her papa. He's dealing with it in his own way.

No co-op this year for us, except of the veggie kind. The baby does have a girls' club that she belongs to. My friend M is facilitating. It's almost like Girl Scouts, but not really. They aren't a member and pay dues or anything like that. They don't camp, either. Thank goodness for that! The baby girl loves it. I like that it's right before her dance class. We knock out four activities in one day. Then we just have three more weird days to get through. Technically, I guess every day is weird in our home.

We are back to being busy. A lady at the park said she didn't know how I got through our schedule with as much as we have packed into it. Some days, I don't either. But I do.

Have a great day.

Creating a Monster

2011-09-16T06:01:00.000-07:00

While we were in Texas, we got to visit a store that I have always wanted to go into, but was way too scared to venture in. What could that store possibly be? A shoe store, perhaps? No, it's Build A Bear. So much cute stuff in there that we soooo don't need. But, Big Sis had coupons and my nieces' bears needed new clothes. So what did we do? We tagged along and got bears. I knew we shouldn't have tagged along, but we did, and once we were in that store, give it up. Here's the deal. I took pics with Big Sis's iPhone, forgetting I had my iPod with me, so I only have pics of the big girl making her bear.

The big girl with her foot on the pedal that controls the stuffing. I wish we had a stuffing machine. Feeling heavy, let a little stuffing out. This part was kind of cool. Made me want a bear.

There's a little routine you have to go through when you get your bear. Hug it, kiss it, rub the heart on your knee, your heart, your hair. The bear will know it's loved, needed, and will always have a great hair day. It was fun to watch all 3 of my kids go through the routine. Made me want a bear.

LOVE the smile on her face!!! The bear got her heart and was sewed up. Third bear complete and ready for clothes. Can't have naked bears running around. Made me want a bear.

This is the boy picking out a shirt. I told the kids someone had to get the Texas tshirt or all the bears were going back. That's a good boy, right there. So much cute stuff. I should have shopped there for baby clothes. Made me want a bear.

The baby picking out a shirt for her bear. It's a hoody. I don't know why, but that baby really likes hoodies. Whatever floats your boat, baby. Made me want a bear.

The big girl dressing her bear. She went for shiny. Duh. It looks really good on her bear, too. Made me want a bear.

Big Sis helping the baby register her bear and get the birth certificate. The kids loved that part. Kinda cool. Made me want a bear.

The big girl and the boy registering their bears. We had to carry around their box houses and birth certificates around the mall. When I was packing to come home, the kids made sure we had all of their stuff. And, of course, the girls got free bows to match the shirts before we left the store.

Ladies and gentlemen, may I present Piper, Sir Stuffsalot, and Victoria, the three cutest bears ever. That's why I didn't go in the store before that day. How stinking cute are they? I could have bought one of every kind given half a chance. I did tell the kids we would make time to get a Build A Bear so we can get pants. Who wants to see a furry, bear butt? It's just not proper. And the boy, because he loves his Papa Bear and was missing him something fierce, said we should get hubby one. That's a good boy right there. Makes me want a bear. I'm naming mine Lady Fluffington.

Have a great day.

Happy Birthday!!

2011-09-08T19:51:00.000-07:00

When we planned our trip to Texas, my sister had planned a birthday party for my youngest niece. It was for the weekend after we left. We would miss another one. She asked if I wanted her to move it up a weekend. Yes, please and thank you!!!

This is the invite. My niece wanted a dolphin themed party. Ok. Big Sis mailed it to my kids at Mermie's house. We were at her house while she was filling them out. I told her we would just take it. She said no. The kids like getting mail. And they did.

This is her front entry way. She hung these curtain streamer things in colors of the ocean. The kids loved playing in it. And pulling it down.

I had planned to crop these pictures, but my photo software is all wonky. After I crop a picture, it disappears. I cannot find it anywhere. The point of that was to not pay attention to the mess on the table. She hung the streamer thingies in front of her laundry room to block the view. I never knew such a thing existed. I am enamored with the streamer thingies.

The woman that normally makes the birthday cakes wasn't able to this time. Big Sis had to drop back and punt.

This is what she came up with. It turned out pretty good. We made a pretty blue frosting that's on the outside of the top layer. Upsets me a little the color is washed out in the picture. On a bright note, there are Mrs. Baird's buns in the background. I am not one for white bread anymore, but that is one fine bread. That's what we ate growing up. We would drive by the plant when they were baking. Flying by the bakery at 65 mph on the interstate, windows up, and the smell would just over take you. That wonderful scent of baking dough would just surround you. Sorry, I got carried away.

The water slide from the infamous frog incident. The kids had a blast. They would go back and forth from the slide to the pool, from the slide to the pool. The kids slept very well that night. So did I.

The princess. That's really all I have to say. Except, gosh, I miss her! And her sisters, too!! And their mama!!! And their Mermie!!!!

Give the kids the camera and you never know what you're going to find. The dolphin is from a "toss the ring on the dolphin's nose" game. It came with three or four rings. Apparently, the dolphin was thirsty. You would think it would have gotten a Dr. Pepper.

You have got to love the self portraits. Really? This one is crazy so look out for her.

Yeah, he got into the game, too. I am so glad he cut his hair. He's crazier than the girl in the last pic.

Group pic of the kids that came to the party. Nice turn out. The pool wasn't nearly as crowded as I thought it was going to be. Of course, having the water slide helped.

I got the "Best Present at the Party" award. Big Sis (that's her on the right. Isn't she pretty?) said N wanted a dolphin pillow pet. So that's what she got. She loved it. My kids didn't want to let it go while we walked through the store. I like the dolphin, too. It's soft and cuddly. I might have to get myself one.

We had a great time. We were so excited to be there. I am so thankful Big Sis changed the date. All my pics didn't load or I would show you the tiers of cupcakes. They were so good. I think I had four. I went into a cupcake coma and the rest of the day is a little fuzzy. But I know it was awesome!

Have a great day.

Pacing Myself

2011-09-01T06:31:00.000-07:00

Goodness knows I wouldn't want to push myself to actually get anything done. I sat down and did lesson plans for the next three weeks. All of our extras will have started and there are a couple of, um, extra extras that I added to the schedule. Those aren't things that we participate in on a regular basis. Those are extra things in case we sit too long and get bored. Wouldn't that be interesting? Our extras fall at weird times this year. With some of them it seems like they cut our day in half. I gotta figure something out with that.

Before we get too much further with our history, we are going to do a 17th century lapbook. That bad boy is huge. It's a big 3 folder lapbook. I have a different one, but it's also a unit study that's over 200 pages. Not sure I could keep the kids attention for that thing. As it is, it'll take us three weeks to finish it. All of our books have been requested from the library and are on their way. Can you hear the boy cheering? Yeah, I can't either. That's one of the reasons I requested a book about the gross and disgusting side of colonial America. I figured it would keep his interest. I'm kind of looking forward to it myself. Then we start expanding westward. The kids have become fascinated by the Donner party. Great.

We still haven't done any of our experiments. I'm actually ok with that. We have watched alot of How It's Made and Discovery channel and Animal Planet. That's just going to have to do it for now. I'll get it worked in. Sometime. See why I plan in pencil? I'm actually looking forward to science. We haven't done many experiments in the past and it's something the kids want to do. I'll get to it, I'll get to it.

Just like I'll get to cleaning my house. Have you seen my bathroom. Ugh! That is on my agenda for today. Yesterday before we started school, we had to clean the house. Not all of it, just the parts that we use everyday, like the living room. Laundry piled as high as it could go. It all got folded and most of it put away. I was going to wipe down the kitchen, but that's today. If I didn't know me, I wouldn't eat anything that came out of my kitchen. Ok, it's not that bad, but it's bad enough. Then we had to run errands. We schooled when we got home. As much as the kids drag their feet in the afternoon, we actually got done in record time. We'll see how today goes.

And because we have so much free time, I'm working on field trips. There are a couple of interesting local museums. Don't go to the antique car museum, though. Kids aren't allowed. They might touch the cars. Really? I marked that one off the list. I think that's just crazy. Apparently, they don't want anyone coming in that is under 60. You have to love field trips, though. Get me out of the house and away from the books.

I am re-evaluating the big girl's math. I'm not sure it's everything she needs. I'm not sure that there's enough practice involved. That is something you won't hear from me often. I am the "show me you mastered it in 10 problems, we'll skip the rest" kind of gal. But after her quiz yesterday, I'm having doubts. Not about her. I'll give it a couple more weeks, then make a decision. She's done well with this curriculum in the past, but this is kind of a crucial year. I don't want her to start geometry next year and have no clue. I looked at an algebra book at the book store the other day that I may use instead. This is the part I don't like, the second guessing. Currently, her math is on computer, but it would be easier to take it with us if it were a book and not on my laptop. It looks like I've already made my decision. I'll take her to the bookstore so we can peruse. If I'm buying new math, I want to make sure this one fits her style and she can learn from it.

I have bored you enough with the glories of homeschooling and messy houses. Guess I better get started on both of those things. Oh wait, I'm pacing myself.

Have a great day.

If I Had a Hammer...

2011-08-29T04:59:00.000-07:00

One complaint from my kids about being homeschooled is that they would like to have a locker. Ok, really it's the boy and the baby complaining. Of all the things they could have picked, this was an easy one. I'd like to get all the kids a locker they can keep in their room. IKEA is calling my name, but it's just going to have to wait for awhile. I had signed the kids up for a workshop at Lowe's for Saturday. Guess what they built? Lockers!! It's not what they wanted, but they had a great time.

The big girl is so tolerant. I don't know how she puts up with me. It could be she doesn't have a choice, but still. Here are the kids with their kits.

You gotta love these kits. They even have some for sale. You can make all kinds of things. Just not sure I'd want to pay for them. I'm cheap that way.

This is the all the pieces and parts spread out with the instructions. Doesn't seem like much, but I almost screwed it up from the get go. This is why I leave building to the professionals. And the kids.

At one point, the boy realized he had a piece on backwards. I asked him what he planned to do. Start over was his answer. He took it apart, flipped the piece around, and went right back to it.

The baby loved it. To her it was like a jigsaw puzzle, which she loves. But this was better because she got to use a hammer. I'd like that better, too.

The kids working hard!!

The baby was the first one done. I think that was her favorite part. Normally her siblings are faster than she is. Today, she won the prize.

The boy was pretty excited about his locker. He already had grand plans for sprucing it up and he hadn't even cleaned up his mess yet.

I know she loves her mama because she does stuff like this for me. And smiles. Whether she wants to or not.

The kids had a great time. The next one we have a little conflict with the date. I'm not sure if we'll make that one or not. They're making a police car. The one after that, though, is pretty cool. It's a stand to use for test tubes for science experiments. That may come in handy in a couple of years. As a treat, we went and had frozen yogurt after. Always a bonus!! I got a real smile for that one.

Have a great day.

Amphibians on the Warpath

2011-08-23T04:08:00.000-07:00

Sounds exciting, doesn't it? It wasn't all that. My niece, N, had a birthday party while we were in Texas. That was the first birthday party for one of my nieces that we've been to. It was so much fun. The best part, besides the cupcakes, was that my BIL had cleaned the pool and we got to swim. I don't just mean clean the pool, I mean ripped out the old liner, releveled the ground underneath, and put in a new liner. There had been a floater in the pool and Big Sis was not about to swim with the old liner. We still don't know if it was a cat, squirrel, or whatever, but I was totally with Big Sis on that one. They also have a small blow up water slide that they bring out for the smallish kids.

The boy and my niece P were champing at the bit to get in the pool or go down the water slide or both. BIL finally gave in and asked them to clean the pool while he set up the slide. I don't think they could have moved faster. Then the slide needed a good scrubbing. They loved it. And at the top, they had help. Somehow, a frog had decided to be the first one down the slide. Absolutely not, according to those two. Once they caught the frog, they had to show it off. Thanks, appreciate that.

At one point, the frog decided he'd had enough of the photo op and took off. Of course the kids weren't happy about it and they retrieved him. Just let the poor creature run while he has the chance. They did let him go by the fence on the hopes that he would go to his home. We didn't see him again. That's probably a good thing. But he missed out on some killer cupcakes.

Have a great day.

Cheater Field Trips, Algae, and Science

2011-08-21T06:08:00.000-07:00

Just a quick one because I have to get ready for church. I know, though, that if I don't get this written, I'll forget, then I would kick myself because I didn't write it. That was a really long sentence. I editted it, so it could have been longer. Oh, comma, you are my friend.

Most of the famly is sunburned. We went to a place called Wild Waters yesterday with our youth group from church. That was fun! They have a handful of water slides, a wave pool, and a really cool kiddie area that made me wish I was a couple of feet shorter. You know it had to be good if I was wishing to be shorter! I like activities like this because we can go as a family. I didn't ride the slides. I like the cool blow up water slides, but I am not much in to the big slides. Hubby, bless that beautiful man, took the baby and her friend S on all the rides. Hubby said he needed to start spending more time with her and this was a great opportunity for that. One of the other moms had rented a cabana so we rented one next to her. It gave us lots of room to put our stuff and some much needed shade. I spent most of my time in the wave pool because they didn't have a lazy river. I like a lazy river, but the wave pool did the trick just fine. The big girl went with her two friends all over the park. The boy stayed with his ride "buddies" K & B (love them!!) for quite awhile, then he hung out with me. The baby stayed mostly with hubby. Showers when we all got home and lots of Burt's Bees After Sun Care. This morning we only look like we were out in the sun for a couple of hours instead of all day. Amazing stuff. I counted it as a field trip, well, because I can. I saved the admission tickets and they'll go in the portfolio. One of the best parts was that a local radio station sponsored a day at the park. It saved our family of five well over $100! We couldn't have gone if it had been a normal admission day. We had a blast!

We had algae in our pool. Can't stand that. We had so much rain and then sun and then rain, it made the pH levels and chlorine levels all wonky. We haven't been able to swim in it for over a week. Hubby went to the pool store to see what we could do. We had tried almost everything. So we shocked it. I didn't want to, but we had to. The process should be done today, so hopefully we get to swim in it tonight or tomorrow. I'm opting for tomorrow since we are all sunburned and we have quite the busy day today. The pool looks the best it ever has I have to admit. The water is super clear. I'm not sure I want to see some of the bugs that inevitably find their way into the pool. It's like swimming in the ocean. I don't need to see the creatures I'm swimming with. Sometimes oblivion is a good thing.

We still haven't started our science yet. It is what it is. We'll get to it when we get to it. I am learning to get over it and myself. I just marked it out and went on. No science this week coming up because it's a veggie co-op week. We might get to it next week. Or we might not. Some of our extras are getting started and I need to get that worked into our schedule. I think I might try to get our bible lap book done in one day, which is totally possible. If I just do it and not lollygag with it. The kids are, however, loving history. That's how science got left out. We watched and talked about our history for over an hour one day. ALT, you would be so proud!! Love it when their minds are opened and learning and imagination and creativity just take over. That is one reason I love being home with my kids. I would miss that if they were in school and that is just too amazing to miss.

So that's the run down. I did jot some things down for next time. Ooh, a list. Not that I'll follow it, but I have one!

Have a great day.

Four Favorites

2011-08-18T06:40:00.000-07:00

When we were on vacation, I got to spend LOTS of time with my nieces. Gosh, I love those girls. I wish I could spend almost every day with them. Spending every day with me may not be conducive to them being sane! My youngest niece and the baby were too funny. First they had to out princess each other, then they were singing, skipping, and holding hands. OK, you big weirdos.

This is my niece, C. For some reason, every time I look at her, every time I hear her little voice say "I love you, Auntie", I know that all is well and good with the world. She makes me smile. It's like she has happy glitter she sprinkles around my world. I kinda float when I'm around her.

My beautiful niece, P. You want to talk about smart and beautiful, talk about this precious girl. Love, love love to hear her laugh and see her smile. My heart just sings.

Look up "princess" in the dictionary, and you will see N's picture. It doesn't help that her middle name means "the princess". Too funny. She uses her beauty to her advantage and I have been her sucker more than once. I miss kissing her all over her pretty face.

DD. I dedicated a quick blog to her, so you already know how much I love this one. She is a super talented singer. She took on Christina Aguilera's Hurt and rocked it. She is so funny and is prone to her mama's "blonde moments". She makes me smile and laugh.

Look at those big girls. They had the best time together. When they were texting each other, while they were sitting next to each other, you knew they were plotting. It was probably how to take over the world.

I miss them, I miss them, I miss them. I need to hold them, and tell them how much I love them, and just spend time with them. One day, one day. Hopefully soon.

Have a great day.

Friends Are Friends Forever

2011-08-14T20:37:00.000-07:00

Funny enough, that was the theme for my senior prom. It wa a copycat from the year before, which was Friends Are Forever. Crazy people. Some are still crazy, some are crazier. Anyway, I got to spend time with friends while I was in Texas. There is no group of people better than those I call friend. They are amazing people that are intelligent, funny, beautiful, kind, loving, open hearted, open minded (you have to be to be my friend. Have you heard some of the junk that comes out of my mouth?).

This is my friend ALT. She has a great blog over at High Strung Musings. She has great insight and her opinions and statements are usually spot on for me. Smart and beautiful. Doesn't seem fair, does it? My only regret about this night was not getting pics of my other friends that came as well. May the kicking begin. It was so great to see her and spend time with her. I miss her.

The cute guy in the middle is my friend S. I have known him since the 5th grade when he woudl get all jacked up on red KoolAid. I love him like he is my brother. We spent many hours talking, working, and being bug nuts crazy. The handsome gentleman on the left is his partner, R. He is a very talented writer. He recently released his book What's Good for Gara? Loved spending time with them.

And this is my best friend from the fifth grade on, R. What an amazing woman she is. The cutie patootie on the right is her son T. I cannot believe how big he has gotten, but I have known him since he was a twinkle in his mama's eye. I absolutely did not get to spend enough time with her either. I miss her something fierce. Beautiful inside and out.

I have known these people since elementary school. There are so many more I missed. I went to school with most of my Texas friends through 12th grade. I love that. Of course, this was back when small town meant something. We all knew each other and everyone else's business. Maybe that wasn't a good thing. I'll have to think about that. Hopefully, next time, I'll do a better job of seeing everyone. I am excited about next time!

Have a great day.

TGIF!!!

2011-08-12T18:57:00.000-07:00

We are officially done with our first week of school. I could have picked a better week. Next week would have better, but what kind of fun is that? On top of starting school, the kids had VBS at our church this week. We also had veggie co-op. I figure it's good practice for us when our extras kick in. It also led to some quality naps, let me tell you what.

We started off light.We only did language arts and math. Next week we add in history and science. I am looking forward to that. I was going to start with a history lap book, but I changed my mind. See why I plan in pencil? Instead we are going to start history with America: The Story of Us. I borrowed the DVD from my friend K. The History Channel has study guides for each episode. We aren't necessarily going to follow the study guide, but we'll do some of it. I am looking forward to the discussions. After reading some different views on the history that I learned, I am looking forward to the series. Some of it may jibe, but some may not. That should be interesting.

I bought my supplies for the science experiments. I only really needed a 100 watt light bulb. I have every thing else. We are not doing science during a co-op week. Just one more thing to shove into 3 days, instead of four. We will, however, do origami. Since we have to make an aluminum foil "hat" for the light bulb to keep from burning ourselves, our first origami projects are hats. We are going to make two different kinds. I am going to try to find origami to either coincide with science or history. Or not. I'll probably change my mind 14 times.

The big project that I started today was cleaning out the kids' dressers and closets. Mercy me. I've already done that once this year. You should see the pile of clothes stacked in the corner of my kitchen. You really shouldn't because it is a mess!! I unpacked a box so I would have somewhere to put it all. I'm glad I did. I found 7 pairs of jeans and two shirts for the boy. More importantly, they fit! Today started our tax free weekend. I have printed every coupon for every store I can. I have made a list so I don't forget what the kids need. I have coupons for shoes, clothes, underwear, and socks. I also have a plan. Yeah, we know how that goes.

Because I don't think we are busy enough, want to know what I did? I signed the kids up for some free workshops at Lowe's. Am I out of my mind? DO NOT answer that!! I didn't sign up for alot. I just signed up for a couple I thought the kids would like. And they're free. And the Lowe's I signed up for is right across the street from the frozen yogurt place and Five Guys Burgers and Fries. There is a method to my madness. Now if I could figure it out, wouldn't that be great?

I have bored you enough. I am on to researching field trips. I'll let you know what I come up with. Wanna go with us?

Have a great day.

See Her?

2011-08-07T12:12:00.000-07:00

That's my niece, DD. I love her and I miss her. I wish she could come live with me, but Big Sis is selfish and won't let her. Big meany.

Have a great day.

To Do List

2011-08-04T16:51:00.000-07:00

I am a list maker. I usually make them in my head which could explain why I don't always get everything accomplished that I want to. School is about to start. I'm excited even if the kids aren't. We are about to register for dance. Just one more day until that happens. That helps put the lesson plans in better perspective. I've ordered the curriculum we need. I have changed a couple of things and I'm going to switch some stuff around. We are also going to try to work piano lessons into our already busy schedule. If it works, I'll be calling my friend N to see if she can work us into her busy schedule. That means there are some things I need to get done before all the crazy starts. Here's what I've got so far:

I need to make stock. I normally make all my own. I usually make chicken and turkey, but I am also going to dabble in some veggie stock. Sometimes I have some veggies left over that may not look very appetizing, but if I boil them up, yummo stock. I have some turkey and chicken bones waiting on me. Great, now I have to clean out the freezer.
One reason I make my own stock is because I crock pot. Stock makes a really great flavor base. It can make a pot of lentils just that much better. I need to get my recipes together and go through them so I have them in one place. I am going to peruse my favorite websites for some new recipes.
I need to get back to making a menu. There are a couple of days we will need to be out of the house relatively early. I need to get my kids fed before we go. If I have a menu, I can plan quick and easy on our busiest days. My kids will be happy and I won't have to drive thru. That makes me happy.
I need to start making some time for me. Good thing making time is so easy. I was hoping by saying that out loud it would make it come true. Did it work? I usually get up with hubby in the morning, but so do a couple of our kids. It's on from there. Now they need to go back to their room. The early hours are mine from now on.
I need to relax. If we get it done when it's on the schedule, great. If not, it's ok. That's why I plan in pencil. Do our best. That's all I can expect from us.
I need to get back to couponing. Having been gone as long as we were, I got out of the habit. I've already started and have a nice little stack to start the great pantry stock up again. What's funny is that most of it isn't for my pantry, that's just where I keep it. Saving money is just another hat I wear. That's funny because I have way too much hair to wear hats.

I'm hoping that because I've told you all, I can make this happen. Wish me luck. I am gonna need it!

Have a great day.

Ala-BAM-a, Part 1, With Pics

2011-08-04T08:16:00.000-07:00

Not just talking about the state. I'm mainly talking about the battleship. And the USS Drum, the submarine. Hubby and I have driven by the USS Alabama many, many times on our way to Texas over the years. Every time we did, we would always say, "We should stop." But when you have limited vacation time and it's a two day drive both ways, it's hard to make the time. We stopped this time, by golly. We decided that when we were driving back, we would take a day or so to just hang out. What better place than Mobile and the USS Ala-BAM-a. And that's how we said it every time. After not seeing hubby for 5 weeks, we needed some time to be a complete family. We also needed some time to decompress. It was awesome.

We are not seasoned travelers like many of our friends, but we have our quirks. For instance, we prefer to always stay at a Hampton Inn. It's the free, hot breakfast that really does it. One word should say it all: waffles. When someone who has never made waffles looks at the waffle iron while it beeps loudly and annoyingly, my happy family calls out "Flip it!" Turn it over, beeping stops. Hubby is the king of the waffle iron. Now I have a craving.

We stayed in downtown Mobile. It took us 5 minutes to get to the ship. It was easily navigated and we even found our way back easily. Love it when that happens. We walked to restaurants and shops downtown. And we had a balcony. It was easily one of the nicest rooms we have ever stayed in.

The room was huge. We had plenty of room to spread out. And we made ourselves right at home, let me tell you what. I had to get pics before we turned it into our space. You know I mean trash the place. We were very good. There were no wild parties and nobody broke anything. When we reserved the room, we asked for a balcony. We were hoping for one with a view of the bay. What we got was one of downtown Mobile.

That actually turned out to be just fine. It was really neat to see the mix of very old buildings, not so old but old enough buildings, and very modern and tall.

Hubby and I were very drawn to the white building with the writing on it. We don't know why. We just really liked it.

The top of this building looked like it was made of glass. We wanted to go up there and see the view. Ok, not me so much, but as long as I looked out and not down, we were all good.

This is the coolest building. We don't know what it's for, but the very top floor had us wondering. If you look you can see lights on the top floor on the far right. There are people up there. The first night we were there, we could see several silhouettes. And then someone was taking pictures. We could see the flash. The next night there were people there again. You could see them gather on the balcony. We waved in case they were watching us, too. If you looked down at the street, you could watch people coming and going to or from a night on the town. Some people should just stay home, you know what I mean? We couldn't help but laugh at some of them.

The pics just do not do justice to the sights. This building was very pretty all lit up. Not sure how I cut off the top, but that was the best part. See how I am.

Whenever you take a vacation to a city that has a lot of tourism, you should get a map. We got this one at the front desk.

They were also at the battleship and a couple of the places we went downtown. They proved to be invaluable. It listed the attractions that were close, shopping, restaurants, golf courses. Downtown Mobile also has a free trolley to take you almost anywhere you want to go. The maps tell you how far away, or, in our case, how close things are. We wound up with three of these I think. Many of the roads in downtown are one way. It also showed that. That came in handy when hubby took a wrong turn.

And this we got from the nice lady at the gift shop at the battleship. She was a little tightly wound for some reason, but get her talking and she loosened right up.

Sorry the picture is crooked. I forgot to turn it. But, every time I go to crop a pic, I lose it. It just disappears. Not that that has anything to do with this blog. I'm just working through some frustration. This is a vacation guide to Mobile. Get one for whatever city you visit. Great information in this thing. It made us wish we had a few more days to spend.

We want to go back. There was so much we didn't get to do. We would probably stay at the same hotel. We had the best time. It was great to get to spend some time and just wander with no real schedule. We need more of that. And it's nice to know we can make it there in just a few hours. Lots of places we want to go, but if you are looking for a good time, I suggest Ala-BAM-a.

Have a great day.

Rodeo Pics

2011-08-01T07:49:00.000-07:00

We went to a rodeo while we were in Texas. I will spare you the retelling because, really, it doesn't need to be told again. Go look it up. If I was smart, I would link it. I just might go back and do that. Anyway, my camera died while we were there, among other things. All you really get is the opening and the view of some of the animals while we teetered precariously on a metal walkway. The big girl took the pics from up above the animals because I couldn't do it. I was scared for my life on that walkway. There are also some pics of the kids before hand. I didn't have time to crop these so sorry about the quality of some of them. That and my picture gallery thingy where I upload them is being wacky.

A skate park. This little bitty town that celebrates Jim Bowie has a skate park. Well, ok then.

The baby and my niece at the top of a climbing thing at the park where we ate. I really don't like those, specially when there's concrete underneath it. Get down now. Thank you.

I couldn't even look down. I tried. Once. That was all it took. Thank goodness the big girl said she would take pics. When I say rickety, I mean RICKETY!! Scared for my life, scared for my kids, scared for the people that actually had seats up there.

Beautiful horses. And just for you, Hillside Hollow, a butt shot. It's a little blocked by the fence, but there you go.

The bottom right hand side of this pic is the bulls. It was taken as we were descending the steepest stairs I have ever been on in my life. They were rickety, too. The big girl did a great job. What she didn't get, because I was so scared when it happened I almost pushed her off the stairs, was all those bulls starting to fight. They are alot closer than you think. I could have reached out my hand and touched them. If I would have let go of my death grip on the railing. That didn't happen til my feet hit the ground.

More bulls. I need to say it. Can you believe there was more bull crap in one place than I usually spout? Hehehehe...

Ok, here's the deal. The top left of this pic is the announcer booth. See the guy in the burnt orange shirt? That was the announcer. Good thing since he was at the booth. My point, though, is that was where we were on the rickety walk way. See all those people sitting above the chutes? Yeah, that's where we walked. When the horses and bulls bucked in the chutes, I cannot imagine how much that thing moved, nor do I want to imagine it. A good breeze could have blown that darn thing down.

We had the best of both worlds: a rodeo and a parade. I like the way they roll.

That is the most beautiful flag. Ever. Followed closely by the Stars and Stripes.

The announcer booth again. Good grief, I have goosebumps just thinking about the walk way.

The parade coming in. So many people and horses. I thought it was cool to see people riding with their kids. Their little bitty kids. Some could not have been older than 4. Some as young as 7 were riding by themselves. Go on with it then.

What good are pictures at the rodeo if you don't get one of the bull fighter? They are no longer referred to as rodeo clowns. This guy was great.

You might notice that the stands in the back ground are almost empty. That's because it was the sunny side. Who wants to sit in the blazing evening sun when it's at least 105 outside? Not me. Or anyone else that crowded our side. It did thin out when the sun went down.

We had a great time. It was small, but the real action was the next night. One night was enough for us. We yelled and hooted and hollered. We got to spend time with family. That was the best part.

Have a great day.

Summer Days

2011-07-31T08:35:00.000-07:00

Summer for us usually means we see hubby less than we normally do. Between the afternoon rains, which we loving refer to as bill payers, and the havoc they play on the phone lines, summers are busy time for him. But, on the occasion he actually gets home at a decent hour, this is what we like to do.

We love having him home with us. We are not afraid to put him to work. Somebody has to toss the kids around in the pool and it might as well be him. Besides, they get great air when hubby tosses them. Not so much with me. Hope your summer is awesome!

Have a great day.

Into the Groove

2011-07-30T07:25:00.000-07:00

It begins. All the school year prep, all the extra's prep, all the questions about how much is too much. Can we do dance and piano lessons? Should we? Can we work one more thing into the schedule? Ready or not, here it comes.

Our school year, at least the first couple of weeks, is planned. We are starting late for us. There is much to be accomplished this year. Isn't there much to be accomplished every year? This year, although we are still doing some subjects together, I have a feeling I will be teaching three different maths. The baby is a 2nd grader, the boy a 5th grader, and the big girl is an 8th grader. The big girl's math is on disc, but that doesn't mean she won't need help occasionally. She's starting Algebra. I am so excited, regardless of whether she is or not. I like the upper level maths. I need to work closely with the baby and make sure she understands the concepts presented. The boy is a math genius. He will do fine, but I still need to keep an eye on him. Some of you may not know this about my boy, but he tends to get in a hurry. Sometimes he trips when he runs ahead, sometimes he whacks his head on a battleship (that's a later blog), sometimes he makes silly addition and subtraction errors. Those last ones will mess up his school work something fierce.

History this year is a series of unit studies and lap books. Our first one is about colonial times. I'm trying to focus more on American history this year. They all come with a list of books and additional resources. I've made a list of books I want to request from the library. I even checked to make sure the library has the ones I want. I told you I'm a freak. I did the same thing for our science. I'm adding an official reading time to our day. That way I know the kids will actually read the books I check out.

We are using a general science concept this year. I have a great experiment book we are using for science. It breaks them down according to concept. The first section is heat. It explains what heat is, then there are 6-8 experiments showing different ways heat works. Pretty darn cool. And, of course, there's all that additional reading. I've made a list of supplies and books. The other topics covered are air, gravity, water, chemistry, and a little physics. I also have a ton of experiments that I down loaded for free. We are going to do at least three experiments a week. If we get them all done in one day, bully for us. If not, we don't. Which ever section the kids want to do first, we'll do. I'm rooting for the kitchen alchemy section. That's kind of my concept for making dinner. Throw a bunch of stuff together and see how it reacts. As long as it doesn't explode, we're all good.

All of the kids are taking a spelling course I downloaded. The big girl doesn't really need it, but it wouldn't hurt for her to take it. I like the way it's presented. It's quick and simple, but I think effective. We'll see anyway. The baby is going to work on reading comprehension as well. She has great skills, I just want to make sure she keeps them. The boy is going to finish the grammar and reading comprehension from his LifePacs from last year. The big girl wanted to do some creative writing. She has always been a great writer and I like that she wants to develop that talent more.

I'm adding arts and crafts this year. The kids have all expressed an interest in origami. I think that's awesome. Because I'm a sucker, and I want to learn about origami as well, I ordered a book. I've been looking at them for awhile, and I finally found one I like. I found a book of origami fashion. You can make dresses and purses and shoes and who knows what else. They're not life size. That's not the one I got. That would drive the boy straight out of his ever-loving mind. I just thought it was cool. I think I might see if I can find an origami unit study somewhere. There's an idea. Who knows, maybe we'll start an origami club. Hmmm...

I see my crock pot being brought out from under the cabinet more often now. It is starting to feel unwanted. When we quit all of our extras, when we thought we were moving, it didn't get used much. We were home. I was unfocused so to get me to remember to put something in it and have it ready for dinner was not happening. I am excited that we are going to dance again. When we get registered, I will see if we have time and money for piano lessons. There is an opportunity, maybe, for a girl scoutish type co-op for the girls. I may see if there is interest in a boy scoutish co-op for the boy. No camping, though. Not enough Hilton's or Hyatt's around here. We still have book club once a month for the boy and the big girl. The kids want to start going back to chess club. Add that back to the schedule. Of course, there are field trips. I have lots of ideas for those. What was I saying earlier? How much is too much? I guess we'll find out.

Have a great day.

Some Favorite Vacation Pics

2011-07-29T05:43:00.000-07:00

Darn it, it happened again!! The last time was the camera, this time my phone. I seemed to have lost all the pictures I took on my phone. I am very unhappy. The bright side is they were mostly of the USS Alabama. But there was a great family pic with us standing by a huge bullet thingy and me firing the big guns. Anyway, until I get half a minute to breathe, here's some of my favorites from vacation. You'll probably see them again.

My big girl with her cousin, D. D is the oldest of all the kids. She is amazingly talented and intelligent and beautiful. She gets that from her Auntie.

Look at this little face. This is the birthday girl, my niece N. Her party was the first time we got an invitation and were able to make the party.

I called this the great frog hunt. Long story that will go into the birthday party blog, but suffice it to say, the boy got the offending amphibian.

The rodeo!! This was the entance parade. All of the participants and beauty queens and dignitaries ride in. Not the best picture in the world, but I think because you need to see it in person. Lots of horses, lots of people, lots of fun. Well, except that one part...

Mermie with most of her babies. This was standing in line for $7 hamburgers. At least the company was great.

I have a lot going on the next couple of days. Hopefully, I'll get a chance to blog Saturday. I loved spending time with my friends and my family. The time flew by way too quickly, but isn't that the way?

Have a great day.

Home

2011-07-25T19:19:00.000-07:00

Home, sweet home. What a great feeling that is. We had a great time, that's for sure. OK, after a while the boy was not having a good time. But when you are the only boy surrounded by 6 girls, you wouldn't have a great time either. I feel for him. The best part of coming home was sleeping in my own bed. The beds I slept in were very nice, don't misunderstand. Mine is just better.

Tonight we actually sat down as a family to have dinner in our home. That was a long 5 weeks, but the burrritos and the company were so worth it. Hubby and I couldn't stop smiling. That's one of our favorite parts of the day.

My heart is heavy since we left. I miss Mermie and I miss Big Sis. I miss my sweet, beautiful nieces. I miss driving those roads. I was driving when we merged onto our last interstate. It was about 2 to 2 1/2 hours to our exit. I missed the way Texans drive so much, I drove like one. Probably because I am one. I tell you what! I made it in 1 1/2 hours plus a little. At one point, I actually said, out loud, "I just spent 5 weeks driving in Texas! You don't scare me!!"

I'm almost done getting the pics loaded. I'll start blogging as soon as I get it all straight. I cannot wait!!

Have a great day.

Quiet Time? What's That?

2011-07-17T07:51:00.000-07:00

I don't have a clue. Supposedly, at Mermie's, every day between 2 and 4, quiet time happens. Have you met my children? Some days, when Mermie isn't feeling well, it's just easier to take my kids somewhere else. They start to feel cooped up after awhile and like to go outside and run and play. Ok, not so much the big girl. Give her a good book and you won't see or hear from her for hours. She gets that from her mama. I got it from Mermie, so really, it's just following the line. We've seen movies, gone to the pool, eaten our weight in ice cream, driven into town and explored, or just hung out together. One of my very favorite things to do is spend time with my kids. Lots of people say that, but have you seen them with their kids? The only down side is that hubby isn't here.

Hubby knows what quiet time is. He hates it. It's too quiet at the house. Nobody greets him when he gets home. Nobody fussing and fighting. His wife isn't screaming at the kids when he gets home (I love my kids, but that doesn't mean they don't annoy me from time to time). He also doesn't have me nagging to him about his honey do list. He misses hugs and kisses and eskimos and, and, and. He misses us something fierce. We miss him right back. He's slept on the couch every night since we've been gone. No wonder his back hurts.

At Big Sis's house, there is no such thing as quiet. The kids have stayed up late, we've stayed up late, and the noise at times can be deafening. I love the chaos of it all. I can't help it. I'm a freak that way. Between 7 kids and 3 adults, we can make some noise. I'm just glad the cops haven't shown up yet. If they did, I would just challenge them to a dance off. And I'd win. My niece says she likes the smack talk that comes out of my mouth. As long as I can back it up. I have two words, baby girl. Bring. It. See, more smack. That was just for her because I love her.

Our vacation is winding down. Big Sis and I can't even talk about it. Makes us cry. Where did all that glorious time go? I have absolutely loved being at her beck and call. Can you help me...? Will you do me a favor and...? Yes, I will and I can. I think I'm gonna cry now just thinking about it. We're going to go swim in her pool because my BIL worked so hard getting it clean for the birthday party yesterday. It deserves to be used.

I know I haven't taken nearly enough pictures. I have tried to lead by example, failing miserably sometimes. I have tried to love on my family as much as I can. I know that hasn't happened nearly enough for my liking. We have had a great time and gone on many adventures. Too soon, though, it will be back to reality. I'm just storing up treasures until next time. Rose colored glasses, anyone?

Have a great day.

Dusty Trails

2011-07-04T16:38:00.000-07:00

I like the saying "You can take the girl out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the girl." I didn't really grow up in the country. I did grow up in a sleepy little town on the edge of Ft. Worth. It is not so sleepy anymore. My mom didn't even lock the doors until Big Sis and I moved out. Really, what was the point? People in and out at all times of the day and night. We never knew who was showing up or when.

Living as close as we did to the big city, I was more of a city girl. I like fast cars, nice clothes, and my idea of exercise is running to the opposite end of the mall for a spectacular sale on shoes. That doesn't mean I can't appreciate the way a cowboy looks in his jeans. I learned to drive on interstates and interstate loops. I drove fast and furious to keep up with everyone else and not get run over. I have an appreciation for the finer things. I can't afford them, but I appreciate them.

All of that to say: I really dig the roads where Mermie lives. They are dusty and gravel and some are filled with potholes and poor asphalt. I don't like the potholey ones so much, but I find myself flying down these back country roads like I was born to it. Most people that drive minivans don't drive them like sportscars or pickups. I can't help it. Get me on the highway and look out. Get me on these back country roads and it's all over but the screaming. Ok, you can hear me screaming. I'm the one hollering "Whoo hoo!!!" So much fun, so little time.

I have found my way around the little town where Mermie lives, the bigger town next to it and the one about 20 miles up the road. It really would be down the road since it's south of here, but whatever. I'm liking it. I'm liking it alot. Pretty easy to maneuver in. Except this one section by Wally world in the town down south. A man must have designed that. How do you get lost in a parking lot? I had to take a minute and regroup. I made it, but it was touch and go there for a second. It has all been a great adventure. I love adventures!!

We only have a couple of weeks left. I don't know where the time is going, but it needs to slow down. I don't need it speeding by like me on these dusty roads. But, the reservations have been made for the return trip. I miss my hubby more than anything in the world. I am going to take advantage of every opportunity I have while I'm here. One day this week, I'm going to Big Sis's house and spend some girl time. We are going to lunch, then huddle back in her room and watch the DVR while we eat delicious cupcakes. Then maybe, a movie. City girl gone country gone city. Look out world. I'm on an adventure!!

Have a great day.

Cowboys and Rodeos

2011-06-30T07:32:00.000-07:00

Hellooooooo! I'm here. I'm here. Don't hang up. Has it been awhile or what? I hijacked Big Sis's computer. I'll give it back, but it's mine for now. I'm in Texas!! I love Texas. Any good Texan is a proud Texan and I am a PROUD Texan. I so love this great country that I am from. And yes, I said country. Here's what we've been doing to fill our time.

We are mainly staying with Mermie. She lives in a little podunk town. It used to have four stop signs, all at the same intersection. Now they have 6! Times they are a changing. I think they call that growth. To get to Mermie's, you have to travel down several dust filled, gravel-if-you're-lucky roads. You should see the minivan. I'm going to get a pic today before we take it to get it washed. I can barely see out the back window and I've done the washer fluid/wiper thing about a hundred times. It just clings to everything. But what a great place to live. Except for the fracking and the gas wells. They weren't there when she first moved out there, though. That is a different blog for another time. My kids absolutely adore their Mermie and are loving spending time with her.

We even went to a rodeo a couple of Friday nights ago. It was the first time my kids have ever seen a rodeo. It was small, and we should have gone Saturday night. That was the big night, but my nieces wouldn't have been able to go. I wanted my nieces to be there sice it was their first rodeo, too. Living four states away, I don't get many opportunities like that. The rodeo was part of a weekend long celebration of Jim Bowie. You know, the Alamo and the Bowie knife Jim Bowie. Yeah, that guy. We gathered the troops and headed to town.

A local rodeo club was having a fund raising dinner of hamburgers with all the fixings, french fries, and a drink. When Mermie called, the nice woman she spoke to said she thought it would $3.50 each. I have three kids. I can afford that. Except for the fact that when we got there, it was $7 a plate. I only got three and I split one with the baby. That worked well until a big gust of hot air (not me, it really was the wind) blew the plate over and promptly dumped the baby's half all over the picnic table we were eating at. All this should have been a sign. I don't do subtle. You need to come right out and tell me. Once food hits the table, we don't eat it. Specially tables that are outside. Ugh! The big girl had only eaten half of her burger, so she shared the other half with her sister.

I was distracted from the time we got to the complex where the dinner was, across from the rodeo area. Wanna know why? Cowboys. I don't mean the ones that play in that nice new stadium and can't win a Super Bowl with their ineffective quarterback. I mean the real deal. I mean, real cowboys. Well worn Wranglers, real cowboy boots not just crap kickers, bushy mustaches, hats, and looking better than the Marlboro man on a horse. Men that own and ride horses and work the land and the ranch from horseback. I am a very PROUD Texan, and we make 'em really, really nice here. So much to see, so little time. Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

It was time for the rodeo. The opening ceremonies seemed to take forever. The horses were so beautiful to see, but they had to introduce every rodeo group, every horseback rider, every beauty queen. The last girl out was late. So late in fact that the other beauty queens were already riding their horses out of the arena. She almost collided with another girl, her horse freaked out and almost ran into a fence, and then she fell. She had to be carted out on a stretcher. It was only a leg injury, but still. There was yet another cue. But again, I was distracted. Cowboys as far as the eye could see!

At one point, I went down to get a couple of waters for me and the kiddos. Want to know what the snack bar had? Hamburger and french fries for $5. The clues at this point are just racking up, and I am clueless. Next time, we know. They also had homemade ice cream. Ice cream makes everything better. That and peanut m&m's. Back up to the bleachers I go.

It was the first rodeo I had ever seen where the announcer is actually in the arena on horseback. See what I mean about real cowboys? We got to see some kids ride mini bulls. Some of those weren't that mini. The boy's eyes lit up like fireworks on the 4th of July. I said no. He pouted for about half a second. I think he's plotting. He was way too compliant when I told him to stop pouting. It was all well and good until the bucking broncs.

The chutes are supposed to be small to keep the animals from getting too crazy. The first couple of riders did ok. One horse was havng none of it, though. He just sat down in the chute and refused to participate. He ended up turning himself upside down and they had to open the gate to get him out. That was kinda funny to see. They moved the rider to another horse. When that horse came out of the chute, which I think was too small anyway, he stumbled. Then he fell on his head. And then he went into death seizures and died. Holy catfish, are you serious?!? My kids' first rodeo and they have to see this? The announcer played it well, but we adults knew what was really happening. He was carted out on a stretcher, too. The baby cried and the boy held her. See, they can get along. The rest of the rodeo was a little blah for me after that.

We stayed for the calf roping. I like to watch that. One young man had a great time of 8.72 seconds. Another young man beat that time, but because he broke the line too early, he was penalized 10 seconds. We stayed until that was over, then it was break time, and we left.

The kids talk about the excitement of seeing the animals and all the people on horses. They talk about the rodeo clown. He was ok, but some of his jokes were a little too adult for my taste. He was wearing a headset microphone and would banter with the announcer. We cheered for the contestants. We hooted and hollered and screamed. We even sang some songs that were playing in the background. We were with family. And my kids got to see their first rodeo. In TEXAS!!

Have a great day.

Be Back in 10 Minutes

2011-06-26T19:51:00.001-07:00

Not really. I am still here, but I'm on vacation. As soon as I get a chance, I'll find a computer and get a blog done. Don't give up on me!

Have a great day.

The Eyes of Texas

2011-06-15T18:51:00.000-07:00

The eyes of Texas are upon you,
All the live long day.
The eyes of Texas are upon you,
you can not get away.

Do not think you can escape them,
At night or early in the morn.
The eyes of Texas are upon you,
'Til Gabriel blows his horn.

My eyes are misty. See you soon. Texas bound, baby!!

Have a great day.

In the Dark

2011-06-15T08:15:00.000-07:00

If you have time to watch the video I posted, please do. It's about an hour and a half long, so get comfy. Hubby and I have been looking into health and nutrition for a couple of years now. There is so much information out there. It seems like whatever issue you are looking up, there is a pro and a con study. This is good, but wait, here's a study that says it isn't. It can be confusing, but I always look first at who funded the study. That tells you more about the study than the outcome does. One thing that cannot be denied is that fresh, organic fruits and veggies are better for you than anything that comes processed in a box.

We have eaten organic produce exclusively for the last three years. It really has made a difference in our health. While many of our friends and family have battled flu and colds and mystery illnesses, we have been blessed enough, and healthy enough, to skip that. I know that some of you are concerned thinking I am anti-doctor. Let me set the record straight here and now. I am anti-STUPID. Stupid people make me angry. Yeah. I'm angry alot. Wellness is not found in a pill created from who knows what. Nutrition is most definitely tied into how our bodies deal with stress, illness, and even stupidity. Nutrition is very much tied into healing our bodies.

Hubby and I decided that we need to focus more on those fruits and veggies and less on the junk. We have decided that at least three meals a week will be vegetarian. I remember when I was a kid, Mermie made beans and cornbread for dinner. I asked where the meat was. Here I am now taking that out of my diet as often as I can. That's just weird.

For dinner last night we had portabello burgers. I don't mean burgers with portabellos. I mean the portabello was the burger. I had seen them before, but had never cooked them. I like mushrooms, and these in particular, but I was a little nervous about trying them as a main dish. Shame on me. They were simple, easy, and super yummy. Hubby said I could make them again. Tomorrow was good for him. Yeah, no. Tomorrow is my birthday dinner and I ain't cooking it. Here's the recipe. I got it from food.com, which is one of my favorite sites. I think out of the many, many recipes I've gotten from that site, there was only one or two that didn't make the cut.

Portabello Burgers:

4 portabello caps (save the stems if you like to use for something else)
1 cucumber, sliced thinly
1 tomato, sliced thin
4 hamburger buns
3 Tbls butter
1/2 head lettuce

Gently rub mushroom caps with a damp paper towel. Do not wash. The mushrooms will absorb all the water and be tough and chewy when you cook them. Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Place mushrooms in pan, stem side down. Cook 5 minutes. Flip mushrooms. If your pan looks dry, add a little more butter. When the caps are tender or soft to the touch, they are ready. Set on paper towel covered plate to drain a little. Top burger with cucumber and tomato.

I already changed the recipe. It originally called for margarine. We don't use margarine. It's one step away from plastic and when heated has no redeeming health benefits at all. We use organic butter. I don't know why you would use 1/2 a head of lettuce. We just used what we needed. I didn't use the cucumbers on the burgers, because we ate them on the side. I think these would be really good wrapped in a lettuce leaf and with out the bun. We also didn't add cheese, but they didn't need any. If you didn't know they were mushrooms, you wouldn't know they weren't meat.

Read that last sentence until it makes sense. Took me a minute, but I got there. Easy, quick, and simple. That's my kind of recipe. I served it with a plate of grapes, apples, and strawberries. We also had squash from the tower and onions sauteed in organic butter and coconut oil. My plate was clean, hubby's plate was clean, and our friend T, who joined us for dinner, cleaned his plate, too. I call that a success!

Have a great day.

Hope

2011-06-14T09:08:00.000-07:00

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/beautiful-truth/

This is not for the faint of heart. Watch, listen, learn.

Round Up

2011-06-13T05:58:00.000-07:00

I'm tired!! We had our end of the school year party for our youth group yesterday. The parents of a brother and sister in our group offered to open their home (I think 'cause their crazy, and they look so sane!) to us. They rented a water slide, we swam in the pool, we had a fantastic time. If the water hadn't been so low in the lake, they would have let us boat and ski. See, I told you they were crazy. They are also the sweetest people. It was a beautiful day for a party. I even grabbed a nap on the way home. I'm glad hubby was driving or that could have been bad. Lots of laughing, very little mischief (see, I can be good), and a fantastic day with fantastic people. Since I'm so tired, this is gonna be a quick one.

The big girl, at the request of a friend, downloaded Hanging with Friends onto her iPod. It's like Words with Friends, only it's Hang Man instead of Scrabble. I adore word games. I got an app store card for my birthday, so heck, yeah we downloaded it. I am such a nerd. Studies show that games like that are great for keeping your brain agile and young. That's one part of my body, I guess. I like it when someone loses, not me, and their character hits the lava. Hehehe. I'm waiting on a word now.

We aren't moving. Hubby and I decided that it was time to give it up. If it were meant to be, God would have opened the doors. Instead, it felt like we were kicking them down. The kids and I are going to go visit for a while. We'll be there until the end of July, so yea!! We get to spend some time with Mermie and Big Sis. I'm hoping to get together with friends while I'm there as well. We aren't going to get to spend as much time as I would like, but I will take what I can get at this point. I am going to take the kids to Six Flags while we're there. I haven't been since I was in my early twenties. You know, last year. I might try to take them to the zoo as well. I think the last time the baby was at the zoo, she was really a baby. I'm also going to try to get the baby in swim lessons while we're there. She still needs a refresher course, and that will give us something to do.

We had four graduating seniors in our youth group. They are all such great kids. I love them like my own, but I'm glad I don't have to feed them. Specially AK. Have you seen a teenage boy eat? He eats twice that! My advice to them is to be amazing. The world is vast and wide and there is so much available. Don't get bogged down in the gunk and the junk. People are people and they are going to show their butts every chance they get. Don't be that way. You are not the person today that you will be next year or 10 years from now. Surround yourself with people that love you for you and you love for who they are. Every day is truly a gift. Know that God has a plan for you whether it's your plan or not. Listen to Him, follow your heart, always keep your head. Like I told one of my other kids that is moving: Be "real people" good, not my good. Being my good will just get you in trouble.

I gotta go. I need to start laundry, clean the house, go to the library, and pick up some Chinese food. I have a craving and birthday money burning a hole in my pocket.

Have a great day.

Going Veggie

2011-06-09T19:03:00.000-07:00

I'm tired. It was veggie co-op today and I worked my hiney off. But I did promise several people I would post a recipe. This is the mango quinoa salad we had for dinner the other night. It was alright. I have a better use for mangos. Like peeling them and eating them. Go figure that. I wasn't that impressed but I think it's because the dressing didn't have as much flavor as I thought it would. Here we go, short and sweet. Like the mangos. I got this from SavvyVegetarian.com. Check her out for great ideas.

Mango Quinoa Salad:

Salad:

1 cup quinoa
2 cups cold water
1/4 tsp salt
1 ripe mango, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup blanched slivered or sliced almonds
2 Tbsp roasted pumpkin seeds
1 medium cucumber, peeled and diced

Dressing:

2 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp turmeric
Juice of 1 lime
2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
salt and pepper, to taste

Wash quinoa and boil in water 10 minutes. Cover and let quinoa sit until all water is absorbed. Fluff quinoa with a fork and let it cool to room temperature. Combine mango, cucumber, almonds, and pumpkin seeds. Heat 1 tsp oil in small pan and fry turmeric for 30 seconds and cool. Add lime juice. Mix in olive oil, cilantro, salt and pepper with a whisk or fork. Add mango mix to cooled quinoa. Add dressing. Serve immediately or cover and chill.

I added two mangos. I probably should have just added the one. Hubby and the big girl are not huge fans of mango. I was hoping the dressing would add more flavor, but it didn't. Maybe I didn't fry it long enough. I just don't know. I have never used turmeric before, but it has great medicinal properties. I also have several recipes that I haven't tried because I haven't had it. I'm going to try one of those. I DO NOT like cilantro. It tastes nasty, smells nasty, and blech! Instead, I picked some basil from the tower. That was really good with this. I cooked my quinoa in my rice pot instead of on the stove top. It came out beautifully. Still getting used to the texture. Just a little different than what I'm used to. I also didn't have the almonds or pumpkin seeds. Maybe that would have helped. If you try this and like it, let me know what you did. I might try it again. One day.

Have a great day.

Birthday and Other Stuff

2011-06-06T18:57:00.000-07:00

My birthday was last Thursday. You can go read that post if you want. I should have linked it, but I didn't. I may go back and do that. You never know with me. Anyway, here's the rundown. Ooh, a list and bullet points. It's like it's still my birthday!

I got an App Store card and Wii Points for my birthday. Wanna know what I got? Huh, huh? I downloaded three new songs for Just Dance 2. I got Mambo No 5 by Lou Bega, Pump up the Volume by M/A/R/R/S, and I got Here Comes the Hotstepper. The last one is done by the "Wii" band, but I liked it when it came out a million years ago. It's kinda weird, too. There's this farmer and a rabbit trying to get into the barn. I downloaded the first two and of course I had to dance to them. The boy said "We haven't had it but a couple of hours and you already have the high score? And you got over 10,000." That's the way I roll, big boy. With my App Store card I got Tetris and a ton of music. I like Tetris. It's kinda frustrating because I keep swiping. Yeah, don't do that until you're ready. I got some Sick Puppies, Korn, LL Cool J (Ladies Love Cool James), and a bunch of 69 cent songs. My iPod is much happier now and so am I.
We had to get the baby a new eye patch. Apparently, when we started packing, I either packed it (why I would do that I have no idea, but you never know with me), or threw it away (again, why I would do that I have no idea). My friend G had given me some patches, but I can't find those either. Her eye has been specially floaty lately. She hates wearing the patch, but she does so much better when she does. Back to using a patch we go. She has to do 15 minutes a day covering one eye at a time. I do like that she's older now and will actually wear the patch instead of ripping it off her face. That was a pain. Now she can set the timer herself, switch eyes, and reset the timer for the other eye. Like that little bit of independence.
Hubby and I went back to a menu. When we had to stop our extras, I didn't see the point. We were home. It's not like I had to plan around anything. Then I got in a rut. And hubby and I have started eating more vegetarian for the summer. I'm hoping it's something we can keep up after the summer. We had to make a menu so I know what the heck I'm cooking. Tomorrow for dinner, we're having mango quinoa salad. I have three mangos just waiting...
We have started planning the fall crops for our tower. We are going to grow broccoli and purple hull peas so far. We are going to try a couple of different things to see what we can come up with. I want some squash, but we haven't decided what kind yet. We need to try germinating the pumpkins again. So far they haven't done anything. We did replant lettuce since ours wilted. I can't blame the lettuce, though. I wilt in the heat, too. Cucumbers are growing like crazy. We still only have one watermelon. Go little melon, go. I just hope we get to eat this one.
VBS's start soon. In the homeschool group I belong to, we call it summer camp. We have a rotation of about 4-5 churches that the kids will go to. We either know people that go to the churches, or we know the people that are volunteering. The big girl goes to camp the first week in August. If I had been smart I would have sent her to camp the first week. That way I would know she could go. But when we planned it, I wasn't sure we'd be here this long, so really. The two younger kids get to go to the VBSs. The big girl is too big. When did that happen? I can't stand it. This is probably the last year for the boy, too. Next summer, he'll be middle school. Eeeeekkk!! I gotta move on before I freak myself out.

And by moving on, I'm just gonna call it good here. You know I'm working on a new list.

Have a great day.

Happy Bubble

2011-06-02T20:27:00.000-07:00

Today is my birthday!! I absolutely adore my birthday! I may not like the age that goes along with it, but I love having one anyway. I dance when Happy Birthday is sung to me. Love everything about it from the cake to dinner to doing anything I want. If I could have a birthday a few times a year, I would be ecstatic. It was another banner day.

The kids and I went to see Kung Fu Panda 2. I may not like Jack Black, but I like Po. We were four out of maybe 20 people in the whole theater. Morning movies during the week are rarely crowded. When we pulled into the parking lot there was a school bus there. We all kind of looked at each other thinking about the crowd and the chaos. But it's my birthday and I wasn't sweating it. And I didn't have to because they went to see a different movie.

Hubby asked what I wanted for my birthday dinner. I said nothing yet. We still haven't really celebrated hubby's birthday since he was sick. We needed to celebrate his first. We're doing that this weekend. I said I wanted to go to book club. He came home early so he could take me. Then the stinker took the kids to the mall and got decorations and decorated for my birthday as a surprise.

You may notice that the cake says Happy 20th Anniversary. I have always joked that when I turned 21, I was legal to do whatever I wanted, so I didn't need to get any older. Instead of having birthdays, I was going to have anniversarys for turning 21. Today was my 20th anniversary and I wanted that on my cake. Hubby is a good man. Not only did he get me the cake I wanted, he got me candles.

Book club was wonderful. There are so many good books out there. This book club has expanded my reading horizons and gotten me out of my reading rut. And the ladies are fabulous to be around. My friend M got me a cake and they sang Happy Birthday to me. I danced. And my friend N made me Nutella cookies. There should be a law against them, but I'm glad there's not. I shared because it was the right thing to do. It hurt, but I did it anyway. Then we actually talked about the book. I like to make a list of all the books they recommend and request them from the library when I get home.

Now, I'm doing one of my favorite things: blogging. I feel like I've been in a happy bubble all day. My face hurts from smiling. My Facebook page is full of well wishes. I love my birthday.

Have a great My Birthday.

Out with the Old

2011-06-01T18:25:00.000-07:00

School year is finally done as of today. In our state, the kids have to have an evaluation done. I could go through all the nuts and bolts of it, or you can look it up here if you're really that desperate. I have a friend that is a retired teacher that does our evals. Well, did ours. Her certificate expires this year and that makes me sad. The kids swim in the pool, she looks over their portfolio, and she and I talk. I mailed the evals today, they should be delivered tomorrow or the next day and school year 2010-2011 is in the books as complete and done.

I can't leave well enough alone, though, 'cause I'm a freak. Next year we are throwing most of the curriculum to the winds. So what have I been doing? Going through my USB drive and listing, by category, everything I have on it. You would be shocked at all the free stuff I have and I get more and more every day. So far I have only done language arts and bible. I still have history, science, and math to do. That could take me days. Who am I kidding? It'll take me a couple of hours. I love curriculum. It doesn't matter to me whether it's on a hard drive, ebook, or good ol' paper books. And as I catalogue, a plan comes together.

The kids went to the dentist today. They really like their dentist. Good thing because I do not like dentists. I don't like sitting in a chair while they poke and prod my teeth with sharp instruments. So not my idea of a good time. And for those of you who like the dentist, y'all are even weirder than I am, so there. No cavities for the kiddos. They do, however, have very crowded mouths. They got that from me. When I got my braces I had eight teeth pulled. The orthodontist told Mermie I have a small mouth. She said, and I quote, "Ha! You should live with her." The dentist is talking about pulling some teeth from the boy to make room for all his other teeth. The big girl heard a discussion about our not using flouride. It wasn't bad. She said if she didn't have a mouth full of water she would have told them it's because it's poison. That's my girl.

Hubby is working like a fiend. Now if we can actually pay some bills off before we go to Texas, wouldn't that make our lives easier? We sure miss him when he's gone. Thankful at this point that he has a job and the overtime is plentiful. It would be nice to see him in the daylight, though. He's gone early and home late. Maybe Sunday when he's off. Hubby wants to make alot of money this year and try to get us as debt free as possible. Go on with your bad self.

Still no further word on Texas. We are just going to do what we do and wait to hear. Some time. Whenever that may be. Jaded at this point. Again. About something else.

We are now harvesting squash and cucumbers like crazy. We have figured out that the squash and cukes and watermelons are taking the majority of the water as well as the heat. We had been filling it up every four or five days, but with the heat it hasn't been enough. Every three days is better. Our lettuce wilted good and proper and we lost the bibb. The cucumbers more than make up for it, though. Hubby started some purple hulled peas that are almost ready to add to the tower. And, because he loves me, we got pumpkin seeds. My favorite holiday to decorate for is Halloween and I always have a pumpkin patch. Hopefully, good Lord willing and the creek don't rise, we'll have our own homegrown patch this year. That would be awesome!

And that's the update. A little bit of this, a little bit of something else. Boring as usual. Loving that.

Have a great day.

Hasta La Vista, School Year

2011-05-28T05:57:00.000-07:00

I will not miss you. Yet. It was a crazy one. I feel like we had more ups than downs, but we didn't accomplish as much as we needed to. We missed alot during the second half of our year. I did figure a plan for next year, though, while I felt bogged down in the current year. The big girl still has two lessons to finish on her math that will take her all of 10 minutes and the baby has the test pages in her grammar book that we're going to do today. The boy did two tests on Wednesday, so, lucky thing, he's done. The kids get evaluated Tuesday, and I am mailing the papers on Wednesday.

This year we studied the human body. Pretty cool stuff, if I do say so myself. One of the freebies I downloaded to go along with our science book was a cut out of the human body. Each section highlighted a different part of the body. You clip each part together and at the end of the study you have a whole body. Yeah, I didn't do that part. I'm kicking myself now, but I can honestly say I don't think I would have coompleted it. Then I would have kicked myself for not completing it. Not going there. Next year we are going to take a general science approach. Lots of experiments covering different types of science. I have chemistry, biology, earth sciences, weather and meteorology, archaeology, health and nutrition, and physical science. I am looking forward to it. My kids are, too. That's the best part for me.

We missed some opportunities to participate in some activities I think the kids would have enjoyed. There was a great acting class that was relatively inexpensive and very close to home. We left our Tuesday co-op. We had to stop dancing. Field trips! Most of it was because we were moving. Then the move got delayed. And delayed. And it's still delayed. I hated to sign up for anything and then have to leave in the middle of it. That was crazy. So far the only thing that would be delayed would be nap time. No, wait, I don't delay that for anything.

I let myself get in the way much of the time. Depression is my illness. I'm absolutley positive when I say that much of the time I was wallowing on the couch, apathetic about the school work and whether it was getting done, I was in the middle of depression. So much going on personally I let it drag me down. Instead of cowgirl upping and riding, I wallowed around in the woe-is-me. That was my bad.

I always talk to the kids about our school year and what they are interested in. Some of it they don't really have a choice about. We are going to study math and science and history and blah, blah, blah. But at least they have some control over which aspects of those things we are going to study. If they aren't vested, they won't care is how I see it. Give them the opportunity to make decisions and choices and my kids do a bang up job.

We are taking some much needed down time and freeing our minds some. We will do some math over the summer, just to keep skills. But we are going to do fun math. I have a fun book of different types of math puzzles that the kids will work through. We will read our summer away. Hopefully we will settle somewhere, whether it be here or there. As long as we settle.

Have a great day.

Taking the Good With the Not So Much

2011-05-21T18:48:00.000-07:00

Been a long day. Not as long as it could have been, but long enough. I've been making a list. I know, you're shocked. I was thinking about some of the stuff that's been happening lately. I try to be a glass half full kind of gal, but there's a half empty glass on the other side of that. So here's the list:

We went to recital today. It was an awesome show as usual. So bittersweet for us, though. Normally we're there because the kids are in the recital. But today, we were spectators only. I may gripe about the four days back and forth, getting kids dressed and made up, putting hair in a bun, snack bags, coordinating times and cameras and whatever else with hubby, but I love it. I am so proud of my kids and how hard they've worked to get to recital. They are such beautiful dancers. But I'm a little partial. Loved seeing the dances and the costumes and our friends from the last eight years. Hurt my heart to not see my kids on stage.
We are four day a week schoolers. We don't school on Friday if at all possible. Friday is park day. I found out the hard way that working on Fridays is almost impossible for us. The occasional quick assignment or quiz is alright. To expect the kids to work and me to teach is high expectations for Friday morning. Except, I changed the date we're ending school. We were going to go until the end of June. I think a mutiny was brewing. I could normally handle that from my kids, but I was the ring leader. Now it's the end of May for us. That means, though, that we have to school on Fridays. It's the big girl's math throwing us off. If we only school 'til the end of May, she has to work on Friday's to finish and not have 4 assignments a day. She may actually learn the last few lessons that way. But, we have to school on Friday. Ugh!
This moving business is starting to take a toll on us. We know that we are almost at the end of this journey, but the wait has been agonizing. We should have been in Texas for three months now. But we're still here. So many plans and so much time has gone by. On the bright side, we have been able to spend great time with our friends and family here. We've had play dates and field trips and swim dates and park days and birthday parties and memories galore. That is one thing I have been very grateful for.
And, finally...I made macaroni and cheese for dinner the other night. The saying in our home is that when mama has a craving, everyone benefits. I had a craving. I didn't have everything I needed to make the mac and cheese I normally do, so I had to wing it. I used organic quinoa pasta, organic butter and milk, and unbleached and unbromated flour. Of course, I used Velveeta cheese so really it was all a wash. It was also the best mac and cheese I have ever made. Even the baby ate it. And she asked for more. The leftovers got fought over the next morning. I'm ok with that.

Upside, downside. Optimist, pessimist. Sometimes I tread water in the half empty glass. After that, I float in the half full one.

Have a great day.

Harvest Time

2011-05-18T06:30:00.000-07:00

I have been asked by a couple of readers to post current pics of our tower. I've been slacking, though. I should have posted some on Saturday, but excuses, excuses, excuses. I took these yesterday.

This is the tower in all it's glory. It stands a little over or right at 6' tall. I can't see the top of it, that's for sure. Hubby is right at 6' and he can barely see the top of it. It has really taken off. This picture just does not do it justice. You can see a couple of squash peeking out at you.

This is that squash up close. It got picked and cooked last night. To put the size in perspective, it was a little longer than my hand from finger tip to wrist. I also had clipped some for our friend T. He had gone with the family when they bought the tower. Every few days, I pick a ton of stuff, mostly lettuce right now, and hubby takes it to T. Yesterday he got green and red leaf lettuce, romaine, bibb lettuce, kale, and squash. Gotta love a goodie bag.

This is our biggest pepper. Don't let the pic fool you. It isn't that big yet. But I couldn't hold back the foliage and take the picture and get my hand in there for a size check. It still has a way to go, but we are just excited to have peppers. I imagine stuffed bell peppers everytime I see these guys. I make the best stuffed peppers.

This is our small watermelon. How cute is that? We actually have four, but this was the easiest one to get to. They make the prettiest flowers. I think we are the most excited about watermelon. We all, except the baby because she's weird, can eat our weight in watermelon. I think there might be a fight when these are ripe.

Green beans!! This is the big one. These took a little while to finally start, but now that they have they are growing like gang busters. I like my green beans raw with a little olive oil, lemon juice, and salt and pepper. I might just eat these right off the plant. As long as I don't get caught, it'll be OK. Better not let hubby read this one or he'll be on to me.

Cucumbers. We all, even the baby, like cucumbers. We have them almost every night with dinner. But the cucumber we are most excited about is this one...

It's growing like a weed. I was going to do the hand thing so you can see how big it really is, but when a spider came running at me, it was all over after the screaming. I just nudged some leaves aside and this is what you get. It's almost as long as my hand. Just a few more days and this won't even be around. It'll just be a memory.

Romaine lettuce right up front. I hadn't harvested that one yet. It's time, though. Makes a great salad or lovely on a sandwich, or wrapped around some chicken salad. I'm drooling.

Pretty green leaf. It's so curly and frilly. That's getting picked today. I see a big salad for lunch in the very near future.

The greenery is so thick, we have to go in and rearrange the stalks and leaves so everything can get some sun. We found a plant that was completely hidden at one point so we moved it. It's flourishing now. So beautiful to look at.

I would say the only down fall we have run into is that every four or five days, we have to add water to it. It's like a fountain and recycles the water you put in it, but it's been so blasted hot, we have to make sure it doesn't run dry. Other than that, we have been very happy with it. We had quarter size hail the other day and we stood inside, miserable, watching it hit the tower and the plants. It knocked the tomato plants over, but we tied them up the next morning and they seem fine. We're still waiting on tomatoes, but we do have flowers on the plants. Any day now, we should see the beginnings of a beautiful snack.

Have a great day.

More Lovin'

2011-05-08T11:37:00.000-07:00

I am the luckiest mama, ever!!

Happy Mother's day!!

Love is...

2011-05-08T10:44:00.000-07:00

my babies.

Happy Mother's Day!

My Lists Spilleth Over

2011-05-06T18:35:00.000-07:00

I like having a plan and making lists. I don't normally follow my plans, but it's good to have somewhere to start. I've been making lists for each of my blogs. I may not have a whole blog worth of one thing, but put a bunch together and there you go, a whole blog. We should get on with it.

My kids have been playing more and more board and card games. The other day, the baby and the boy were playing Scrabble. That happens to be one of my most favoritest games ever. What really impressed me was that the baby was keeping score. Correctly. So proud of her. The two of them came up with some great words. I like to use big words around my kids. Makes them think I'm smart. One of my favorite phrases is "plausible deniability". They also like to play Mancala. I like to watch their faces as their brains whirl and they plot and plan their moves. Critical thinking skills at their best.
The grocery store had Snapple on sale. I had coupons. I bought Snapple. But that isn't the important part. What's important is that I think I am going to build some unit studies based on their Real Facts. One of the facts was that people that live in Okinawa live longer than people anywhere else in the world. So much you could do with that. Nutrition for a start. Research what they eat in Okinawa. Then research why those foods could possibly help them live longer. Do other people in different parts of the country eat the same sort of diet? If not, what is their diet? Homemaking with creating a typical meal from each region you study. Take a Japanese class. Learn about their language and customs. Contrast and compare different aspects of their country and ours. Arts and crafts could be origami. How fun is that? There was science, history, social studies, arts and crafts, and homemaking. So many cool facts on those bottles and you can look up retired real facts on the Snapple web site.
I am glad the royal wedding is over. Glad the girl finally got her prince, but after 10 years, prince or no, I would have kicked his sorry butt to the curb. Do you love me? Then freakin' marry me. The rest will fall into place. I didn't like the dress either. And Pippa, while she looked really great in her dress, just isn't as pretty as her sister.
I've been looking for homeschool groups and organic co-ops in Texas. I found some groups, but no co-ops. I'm not very happy about the co-op thing, but now that we have our tower, we may not need one out there. At least for what we can grow in it. There are a few things that we may just grow ourselves in a little garden. If we move. If we can grow stuff. Next.
Big Sis and I Facetimed the other night. I've had my iPod since Christmas, she's had her iPhone awhile, but we just hadn't thought about it before. We were a couple of kids with a new toy. That just put another check mark in the positive column for my iPod. Now if Mermie would get one...there's an idea.

There ya go. That's another list I can mark off. That feels pretty good. Now to start another.

Have a great day.

Down on the Farm, Revisited and in Pics

2011-05-06T17:35:00.000-07:00

This is what we started with. We expected it to be several weeks before we could even have the glimmer of a harvest. A week later we were at this...

Look how pretty that is. It just took off and grew and grew and grew.

This is the root system for either the watermelon or the cucumber, I can't remember which. Pretty impressive, huh? There are days I wished my roots looked like that.

I took this one tonight. Tomorrow will be two weeks. Tonight I harvested some romaine. It was huge. The Bibb lettuce is so pretty. That will hopefully be next. It's not quite ready yet.

See that little round thing at the tip of my finger? It's a watermelon!! We have 3!! My mouth is watering already. If I can keep the stinking birds away this time, I will be a happy camper. The last time we grew watermelons, the birds feasted while I grumbled.

Cucumbers!! My family and I can eat our weight in cucumbers. We have two plants and they both have yumminess on them. Hurry up, hurry up!!

Look at that squash go! I never liked squash when I was kid, liked it for a few years as an adult, but now I'm back to not liking it. It's the squeakiness when I chew it. I can feel it rub against my teeth and I am done. I'm looking for some new recipes to try it in to see if I can get over that. If not, y'all want some hydroponic squash?

We also have bell peppers and kale. Our beans are starting. Just waiting on the maters now. Come on, maters, you can do it. The weird thing is that we have had no flowers. That's a first for us. My friend G, who also has a tower, has flowers and no veggies, yet. I have no idea what that is about. All I know is that I want broccoli and strawberries when the weather gets cooler. My head is filled with visions of a tower full of strawberries. I don't know if I could keep Big Sis away from it long enough to harvest.

Have a great day.

Misc. Pics

2011-05-05T18:35:00.000-07:00

Hubby turned 43 on Tuesday. I may be a little partial, but that man looks good for 43. This was his ice cream cake. We surprised him with it. He thought he was going to have to wait. He left early that morning to work on the phones at church, and the boy and I got it put together and in the freezer before he got back. We're sneaky sometimes.

This is one of the puzzles that I bought at my friend Hillside Hollow's yard sale. I was going to post it when hubby and I finished the big one, but we put the big one away when we got the notice about the job in Texas. Well, that was silly. This was a really fun puzzle to put together. Hubby and I spent a couple of days working it and really enjoyed the time together. Cool pieces with weird shapes, minus one.

Caution warming up for their performance at the FCA huddle. That's my big girl doing a mic check. Check 1, check 1, check 2, check 2, check, check, check. Mic checks are so boring. The performance was not boring. Love me some Caution. All the way to the right, with the bass, is BL. He is funny. Should have seen his rock star jump. Epic. I have it on video.

Blogger freakin' out on me a little. I'm not sure why this photo is so far to the left, but whatever. These are just some of the afternoon rain clouds that build up here. This is one of a series of three. The first two show the real build up, but I really like this one for some reason. Hubby should have pulled the camera back a little to get the whole huge puffiness. They are so beautiful.

This is proof that hubby had the high score at one time on a song on Just Dance 2. We weren't allowed to play this song until he took the picture. Took him days. Drove the kids crazy. Love that man.

My beautiful big girl at Night of Joy. Love that look on her face. I can almost hear her, "Mama..." She draws it all out, like she's chastising me. Well, someone has to be the responsible one. Why does it have to be me?

This is our other puzzle from the yard sale. Had a great time with this one. It took a little longer because different sections look so similar. Loved it.

Just a quick one tonight. I gotta go take care of a illin' hubby. I gave it to him, so I guess I better help him get through it. Lucky me.

Have a great day.

And, Last But Not Least...

2011-04-30T08:21:00.000-07:00

Our last field trip of the field-trip-a-palooza was to Canine Companions for Independence. This was our seventh or eigth field trip/special event in about 3 weeks. It's hard trying to shove all this in a small amount of time, but that's the way it worked. I didn't set this one up, but I was glad we went. Hubby even took the day off to join us. He saves a week of vacation so he can go on field trips with us. If we don't do field trips during the week, or we don't use all of his field trip days, we go to the beach for a long weekend. Either way, I say lucky hubby, but even better, lucky us.

CCI has five offices across the country. The facility we visited covers at least five states and focuses mainly on wheelchair bound recipients. The dogs are completely free to the recipients and the organization runs mainly off donations. The Busch (Seaworld and beer) family and Darden restaurants (Olive Garden, Red Lobster) is a primary sponsor for the location in Orlando. They breed all of their own dogs, and do not accept dogs from the "outside". At any one time, they can have as many as 30 dogs at their facility at one time. That's a lot of clean up, if you know what I mean.

This is the family in front of the donor board. Lots of people give lots of money to keep this place running. I think it's fantastic.

There is a dorm, complete with kitchen and living areas, for the recipients of the dogs. They MUST come for a very intense 2 week training. Part of what goes on is a matching of dog with recipient and/or family. That is one of the most important steps. Each room is decorated differently, but there is most definitely a canine theme. Can you tell the theme of the two pics above? The recipients stay for free, are educated for free, and get the run of the campus pretty much. Everything is wheelchair accessible.

This is one of the trainers, Jen, and she brought Cole III with her. All dogs are given a name by the corporate offices in California. Every dog born in the same litter as Cole that came to this facility has a name that starts with the letter C. Cole is a third, which means there were 2 other Coles before him. They were either retired or they passed away. Jen is not wheelchair bound, but spends a lot of time in one while training the dogs. It helps her see things from the perspective of the recipient and it helps when training the dogs so they know what to expect.

This is Cole working on pulling skills. Pulling skills can be used for opening doors, opening freezer doors at the grocery store, bringing a laundry basket, etc. One command can lead to freedom for so many people. Combining two or three comands can mean freedom to shop, go to restaurants or movies, and just a reason to get out in the world.

This is Cole handing an item to Jen. They teach the dogs several ways to retrieve. That way, depending on the limitations of the recipient, the dogs can be even bigger helpers. Amazing to see the work the dogs and trainers do.

Since the facilities run mainly on donations, this wall is part of their fundraising. You can purchase a tile, have it engraved, and place it on this wall. Some people have bought tiles for their dogs, their families, and even the trainers.

Even dogs need to go to the park and play. These are two different playgrounds set up for the dogs. Funny to see big Labs going down the little slide.

Ths is one of the pics that is put together using other pictures. All of the pics used in this collage is of the recipients and their dogs and families. I think they're neat, but not a project I would want to do.

Charles Schulz, duh, is a sponsor. Who would have thunk it?

This is on the floor as you walk in. The big girl took the pictures. She liked this so I included it.

They even have a gift shop. Dolls that represent what they do and what they are about fill this place. Some of it's way cool.

It was a great field trip. I am so glad we went. They told us about trainer families. Trainer families get the dogs at about 2-3 months and keep them for a year to 16 months, depending on the dog and the training. Then the dogs go to one of the training facilities to keep up their "schooling" and eventually go to a family. A statistic I thought was pretty weird was that up to 65% of the dogs aren't able to finish training for one reason or another. Those dogs are then adopted out to good homes. Hubby, being the sucker that he is, picked up an adoption form. I am happy to say that he has yet to fill it out and I am ok with that. But, once again, they will match a dog with a family to make sure there is a good fit. I might keep that in mind if the paperwork ever gets turned in.

Our last activity was supposed to be a play yesterday. We didn't go since I have two snotty kids. We were looking forward to it, but I didn't want to interrupt anyone else's play by hacking, coughing, and snotting. So we went to the park instead. It's only a few minutes from the house if we needed to go home and nobody would be bothered by my snotty kids. That worked for us.

Have a great day.

Down on the Farm

2011-04-27T18:43:00.000-07:00

Hubby took the kids Saturday to a hydroponic farm. I didn't go, but hubby is going to help me write this blog, so yippee! A guest blogger. I've never done that before. There's a first time for everything, I guess.

The place they visited had a 2,000 sq ft greenhouse. Mercy, that's a lot of vegetables. Everything is grown in the towers that they sell, but theirs are modified a little. The use 5-10% of the water that a normal farm would use. Everything is organic and hydroponic. The screens on the greenhouse are metal and have small holes. The holes are big enough the bees can come pollinate, but the critters can't have a buffet.

This is one of the towers. It's smaller and set up like the home version. We have one. This one has eggplants and an extra frame for support. They are made of food grade PVC and are quite genius. The plants grow faster and are super healthy for you. They did have a snack you could put together of lettuces so you could try before you buy.

This is the family. It was hot and sunny and I'm glad they were smiling!!

The pots that they have set up for their use rotate. The power for that is from this baby. Oh, how hubby and I dream of being off the grid. They are working on some other things running off solar, but for now it's just this.

This is our tower going up. Hubby has been researching and looking into hydroponics for many years. This was his opportunity to see a setup that works and try a little hydroponic growing himself. Along with the tower, he brought home seedlings. They were: green leaf lettuce, green kale, romaine, red leaf lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, squash, watermelons, and red bell peppers. Wait til you see how big our plants are already.

Up, up, and away it goes. The boy, the big girl, and the baby all helped. As did our friend T. T went with the family on the tour. He was impressed as well with the set up.

That's most of it. We had seven sections. It comes with five and we bought two more. Quite impressive to watch it go together so easily. Even more impressive when it was done.

So there you go.

The best thing about it- it's American made. I don't get political here very often. I save that for the other blog. But this, I have to say, would have sold me on it. They had me at the sticker. Everything else is just a bonus.

We should be harvesting in a couple of weeks. You can grow a head of lettuce and eat it, from the tower, for up to 2 months. When have you ever had a head of lettuce stay fresh for two months? How often have you gone out and picked veggies and they just kept growing? Hubby said the tour took about 20 minutes and they packed a ton of information into it. You should have seen the sparkle in his eyes. He did get "debriefed" about how to set up the tower and was like a kid with a new toy. I wish it was a motorcycle, but I think I'm gonna like the tower, too

Have a great day.

This and That

2011-04-21T07:03:00.000-07:00

I've been so busy posting about our field trips that I haven't done an update blog in awhile. It could also be because all we've done lately is take field trips. We've done school, too, but I'm trying to keep us busy and out of trouble.Good luck with that. Ready?

I'm trying to get as much into our days as I can, hence the field trips. We have had some really great ones lately. We have discovered these gems in our area that we probably wouldn't have if it wasn't for the trips. I'm trying to find as many of them as I can before we move (whenever that will be). I could kick myself for not going to the winery sooner. They have great festivals with live music every month. They have a grape stomp twice a year. And it's free. The only thing that would cost us any money would be the wine we buy. I could go broke with that. Since we wouldn't pay for anything else, maybe not. Find the little gems in your area and check them out is my advice to you. I'm just trying to make as many good memories for my kids of their friends and the only place they have ever known as home.
Hubby is taking the kids to a hydroponic farm this Saturday. I refuse to go because I don't want to go to jail. So overrated, jail is. I don't like the woman that owns the place. Hubby has been looking into hydroponics for many, many years, but hasn't really done anything about it. He is interested in seeing their set up first hand and getting some new and fresh ideas. He may also come home with a tower of his own. That will be his birthday present. And his Father's Day present. And whatever else I can roll into it.
School is going to run a little long for us. I like to start around the beginning of August and run til the beginning of May. Then we have most of May and all of June and July off. As long as we were done by the week of recital, I was good. That week was always so busy, the last thing I needed was more stuff to do. We've taken a little too much time off this year so we are going until the end of June. The kids aren't happy, but I have a feeling they'll get over it. One day. With lots of therapy. Just kidding. Maybe.
Easter is almost here. How in the world did that happen? That means it's almost May. May means hubby's birthday, mine a month later, and then it's all down hill until we get to Christmas. Time just will not slow down. Except for my kids that have to school until the end of June. Time will not go fast enough for them.
Hubby and I have decided that wherever we are this summer, we would like to rejoin the YMCA. The baby did such a great job in swim lessons, but we want her to take a refresher course. We really enjoyed last summer. They had a great pool, friendly staff, and I even got to the point I almost had a love/hate relationship with the elliptical instead of a hate/hate. Almost. Zumba was fun, the kids took a yoga class every week, and many of our friends were members as well.

I tried to warn you that there really wasn't much. Keeping our heads down and our noses clean, and I don't mean by hiding while we pick our noses. On that note, I'm out.

Have a great day.

Smell That?

2011-04-20T05:38:00.000-07:00

It smells yeasty and yummy. It's homemade bread. And the big girl and I made it. We went to a bread making class that my friend G was having. G even ground the wheat. She taught us the difference in the wheat, which is better for what kind of baking, and we had great discussions about our health and wellness. We had a great time and we brought home two beautiful loaves of homemade deliciousness that was actually, wait for it, good for you. Eeekk! That's all kind of craziness.

The big girl and G adding ingredients to the bowl. This was during the mixing/kneading stage. G is adding the last three cups of flour. The big girl thinks the dough feels weird.

These are the big girl's friends, K (turning away so you cannot see her beautiful face) and H (you can see her beautiful face). They giggled and giggled and giggled. I had forgotten that giggle was it's own language.

The big girl has beautiful long nails. Not good when kneading dough by hand. She did not like the way it felt under her nails. Took her forever to wash her hands when she was done. She did a great job with the kneading, though.

This is the dough after it rose the first time. Look how gorgeous that is! I told you she did a great job.

This is my friend C's bread after rising. Our favorite part, I think, is the punch down. Got an issue with someone or something? Imagine that during the punch down. Smile.

When we got out of the van at the house, I said "Grab the groceries, leave the bread alone." We brought the loaves home to bake since they had to rise a second time. That meant about another hour so it was easier to bring it home to bake. The boy must not have heard me or mixed it up because he grabbed the bread. And jostled it since it was heavier than he thought it was. And it fell. Not much for one, but quite a bit for the other. It baked the same, tastes the same. It's just not as tall as it's sibling loaf. Aren't siblings like that, though? When I introduce Big Sis to people I always end with, "And, yes, we have the same parents." Other than dark eyes and hair, we don't look very much alike. Must work with bread, too.

Here is the end result. Hubby came home to the smell of fresh bread. He said he almost floated into the house like the cartoon characters do, it smelled so good. Can't beat that with a stick. Even if you could, why would you?

I got out of making bread for a lot of reasons, one of them that I couldn't find a recipe that I liked. It seemed that to make a good healthy bread, it took years to do or the list of ingrdients was longer than my name. I'm Hawaiian. I got a long name. This recipe was easy, simple, and the ingredient list is short. I like the heaviness of the loaves when they are baked. I read somewhere that the healthier the bread is for you, the heavier it will feel. Even though the bread is heavy, it is light in texture. We destroyed half a loaf at dinner last night. So good.

If you get the chance to take a bread making class, do it. It was fun, educational, and we have the beginnings of a tradition that can be handed down to the generation coming behind us. Making memories while we make bread. Very cool.

Have a great day.

Field-Trip-a-Palooza

2011-04-18T18:33:00.000-07:00

The last couple of weeks we have hit the field trips hot and heavy. Today was yet another notch on our belt. We went to a local winery and had a blast. We had 17 kids and 8 adults and a tour guide named Doug. We call him Dougie because that's what his sisters call him. This is Dougie:

I have to say he was one of the best tour guides we have had at any of our field trips. He was engaging, he was fun, and that man pours a great glass of wine. Lots of knowledge and willing to share it.

This is some of the fields from the viewing deck. The better fields were on the other side, but we couldn't get to those. This is a family owned winery. It is also the largest winery in the state of Florida. They grow mainly muscadine grapes and they make awesome wine.

This is "Big Brother". It's one of the harvesters they have. The have a smaller version, Little Brother, but he is old and slow. He also does not have easy to get replacement parts. They bought Big Brother and can go up the road to the John Deere dealership and get what they need. It is more efficient and faster. Not bad for $200 grand.

This is part of the bottling equipment. The storage tanks are able to hold 450,000 gallons of wine. In the immortal words of Dougie, that's a party. The sound of the bottles clanking together was enough to drive me crazy. I cannot imagine having to hear it over and over every day. Now, if I could sip on what's going into the bottle, that might be different.

When I scheduled the tour, I was told that since we had kids coming, we would not be able to participate in a wine tasting. Ok, a little disappointed. One reason we wanted to go was to find a wine that we actually like that doesn't come in a box. The kids got to do a juice tasting. They set up plastic cups of the muscadine grape juice they bottle and gave the kids the whole spiel. Pretty cool. We were able to go downstairs and taste several wines. So, yea, since we didn't think that was going to happen.

And this is just a basket of corks. I liked the way it looked. We all got to keep one for a souvenir.

I like the fact that the winery does not use pesticides on their vines. The only thing keeping them from being organic is the food grade fungicide they spray to keep mold off the grapes. That was interesting. In the pressing process, they keep the skins and seeds, called musk, and use it as compost for the fields. It has to sit for awhile because it is too acidic at first and would burn the soil and the plants.

Another interesting tid bit about the muscadine grapes. There has recently been a study that seems to point to the musk helping to correct Type 2 diabetes. They are doing further studies and the winery has agreed to supply some of their musk for those studies. I thought that was pretty neat.

After the tour, some of us took off to our local park for lunch. It was a beautiful day to take advantage of a great field trip, so we did. Hubby and I came home with an excellent Chablis, which I don't usually care for but really liked theirs, and a bottle of Southern Red.

We have a field trip scheduled for next week to Canine Companions. They train service dogs. That should be fun. And I have ideas for a couple of more that we want to take. We'll see how they work out. You know I'll post about them all.

Have a great day.

Indiana Jones..., In Pics

2011-04-16T18:23:00.000-07:00

I finally got the pics off my phone and into my computer. I was having drive issues, but I figured it out. I think. I hope. Anyway, here's some pics:

The kids...

I think this is the coolest fire place. There were 6 in the house and they all had different tile work. The green on this one was so beautiful. The picture kind of drains the color.

This is just a collection of tea pots from that era. Some are from the house, some not. I just thought they were pretty. They had one that looked like a conch shell. If I could have figured out a way to get it out of the case and into my purse...

These are two of the flight suits they have from the local boys. The top one is the from the man that helped the astronaut, the bottom one is David Walker's.

And this is the bed that Indiana Jones slept in. That headboard was 9 feet tall. They also had lots of stuff that belonged to him. The rooms are very small and the bed takes up most of this one, so they used the bed to display some of his belongings.

That was a really great field trip. Today we went to a play, "The Rock and The Rabbi". Go see it!! Monday we have a field trip to a winery. I'm working on a brewery and a couple of other things. Car museum didn't want anyone under the age of 14 because of the antiques. I thought history museums were supposed to have antiques for everyone to look at, but ok. Scratch that and fnd something else. I'm thinking something foodish.

Have a great day.

One Man Show, and a Band

2011-04-16T17:56:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago at youth, one of our leaders had mentioned a play that was coming to one of our little community centers. Hubby and I decided that we would take the whole family. We were half the group, literally. We went to see "The Rock and The Rabbi". It is a play about Simon's relationship with Christ, from the "I'll make you fishers of men" moment to after the resurrection. It is told in Simon's voice. It was acted out by one man. Like the title says, it was a one man show. Except he had a band. He had a really great band. The songs were sung from the POV of Simon and Jesus.

We weren't sure what to expect since we had never seen the play before. It was awesome!! And really you have to like a band that has an accordion player, a spoons player, and bagpipes. It was moving and powerful. It had tears in my eyes and my toes tapping at the same time. I cannot recommend it enough.

Afterwards, all the performers do a meet and greet in the lobby. We were able to see most of them and they were very gracious when they signed the program and the CD cover. If you get the chance to see them, take it.

Pizza buffet was next. We all trouped over to the local pizza joint and made pigs of ourselves. Ok, I made a pig of myself. I'm not sure about anyone else. We made it home with some day light left and the kids wanted to go to the cul-de-sac up the road. There are no houses and no traffic which makes it a great place for this...

And this...

Hubby likes the rip stick. It reminds him of surfing. Yes, I married a laid back surfer dude redneck. Go figure that.

Have a great day.

Chicken Pants, or Really Just Chickens

2011-04-14T14:00:00.000-07:00

When we go to the fair, I do not ride the rides. That is not my bag anymore. I like to look at the animals, specifically the chickens. Like me some chickens. These are just a couple I got pics of.

I just liked the way this one looked. I liked the colors together. It was just a cool looking chickie.

This one seems like it's the rock star of the roost. This one looked more like it was furry than feathery. I wanted a pic of the one next to it, but I didn't get one.

I like chickens that wear pants. Or, truth be told, I just like to say chicken pants. This one was wearing a great pair. I wish the pic was better. It just does not do justice to the plumage.

Have a great day.

The Fair and Deep Fried Goodness

2011-04-13T19:09:00.000-07:00

We went to the fair last night. We missed the last couple of years, but since we may not be here much longer (I'm starting to sound like a broken record and I hate it), we decided to go. That and it's just a lot of fun. We all have our different things that we like to do. And it was educational. I have the picture to prove it.

See, I told you so. We learned about the Ferris Wheel and the man who built the first one, George Washington Ferris. We learned this as my family was going on it.

They are CRAZY! But we already know that. That bad boy was over 100' tall. Thanks, but no, because that means the darn thing was this high...

Not for me. I am not a rider. My back and my stomach just cannot take it anymore. I am terrified of heights. That's why I don't wear anything higher than a 4" heel. I am the official photographer and holder of the stuff during our fair outings.

Here's the boy, the big girl and hubby waiting for The Scorpion to start. I tried to get a pic of the ride in motion, but it didn't quite work. It was really cool. From my side of the fence. Bunch of crazies loved it.

And the Caterpillar Roller Coaster. The big girl offered to go with the baby. Good thing because hubby didn't want to try to squeeze his long legs into the little, bitty cars.

The tradition as we leave the fair is to get a funnel cake and a big bag of kettle corn. This year was different. We got two funnel cakes and a fried Snickers. I did give everyone a bite of the Snickers, but it was against my better judgement. Deep fried melty, gooey chocolate and powdered sugar and I was feeling very selfish.

We had a great time. We considered it field trip number two in a whirlwind of field trips we are about to embark on. We have two more in the next five days and I'm planning three more. We'll see how that goes. I'll post some chicken pics later. Love me some chicken pants.

Have a great day.

Changes

2011-04-10T18:54:00.000-07:00

I have decided, this late in the game, that I need to change some things up and get me out of my rut. Without our extras like dance and co-op, we are at our wit's end. We just sit around and stare at each other and wait for the paint to peel off the walls. It's not that bad, but it's getting there. Add to that this glorious state of limbo, which prevents us from joining any long term activities, and we are getting cabin fever pretty quickly. So I am changing the rules at the Kula A Hale Na'auao Akamai.

I have added home ec things to some of our days. It's the boy's turn to learn to clean the tub. He likes that more than the toilets. Nobody likes cleaning the toilets. The boy and the big girl have gotten the run down on the counters, sink, toilet, and the big girl the tub. The baby has gotten the run down of the counters and the sink. She is also brushing up on her dusting skills. And since I wash at least two loads of laundry a day, there's always something to fold and put away. The big girl has shown some renewed interest in cooking. She has mastered several breakfast dishes, so on to lunch/dinner we go. And everybody knows how to vaccuum now.
I am also adding reading blocks to our day. It is so hard to get the boy to sit down and read, but he will do it if it's for school. I am good with that. And with all the books I have from the library, I need the time to read. The big girl and the baby have no problem with our added reading times. It's getting them to stop reading that can become a problem. They get that from their mother.
With the move (maybe) coming up, I started to think about the places I wanted to take the kids to see. Our field trip last week came from that. I have a few ideas about some things, so I am going to try to set up a trip a week. I am going to stay as local as possible and as free as possible. Gotta love free. And there are so many cool things around this place.
I have signed up for a beginning bread maker's class. It's one lesson, and my friend G is leading the class. I have made bread before and we liked it, but I got out of the habit. I think this may help me get out of that rut, and it will give the big girl and me something to do together. We can pass that knowledge on down the line. How cool would that be?

We were slackers last week. I need to drag out the lesson plan and rework it. Again. Good thing I have pencils and erasers. I don't plan in pen. You never know when a great field trip will pop up.

Have a great day.

Quick Note

2011-04-06T20:52:00.000-07:00

It's late and I'm tired. Just a quick note to let you know what's going on around the ranch.

The youth praise band have their first outside of our church performance tomorrow. So excited for them. I'll post video when I get the chance.
Hubby and I packed two more boxes and rearranged the closet. He's off tomorrow so we'll move some of the boxes out of the house and into the shed.
My house is starting to look weird. Things aren't as cluttered. They're still dusty, just not cluttered.
We have a couple of boxes to take to our thrift store tomorrow. That will be another pile out of the house. Yea!
Working on another field trip destinaton, but not quite sure where I want to go. The kids and I have some ideas, but haven't made up our minds yet.
The county fair starts tomorrow. I need to get on the website and see which day is dollar day. Fried Oreos here I come.

I don't even have a cool way to end this blog. so I'll end it the way I end them all.

Have a great day.

Indiana Jones Is From Where?!?

2011-04-06T05:54:00.000-07:00

Field trip yesterday. We like field trips. We get out of the house, away from the books, and most of the time, we have a great time. Yesterday, our trip was to a history museum in a neighboring town. Our friends, the P's, had gone one day and had a blast. I had no idea it was actually a museum and had passed by it so many times. I thought it was only open during Christmas. I called some friends and off we went.

The museum was actually the home of a founding father of the town. It is right on the lake and the property takes up almost a whole city block. If I could build there, I probably would have, too. Mr. Clifford, the gemtleman that owned the home, was a shop owner, grove owner, farm owner, and basically anything he could make money at. He was on the building committee as the town grew and grew. The museum had pictures of the town as it grew and developed. It was very cool to see the town progresss and develop like it did. It is still changing today. Mr.Clifford's original house was where the highway runs now. And interesting little fact, in the 1950's when they were tearing down a hill to build the state highway (I don't call that progress, but whatever) a bulldozer got in the wrong place at the wrong time and tumbled into the lake. It's still there.

We also got to see a room dedicated to Dr. Edgar J. Banks. Know who he is? He is the man that Hollywood based Indiana Jones on. He was a "snow bird" to this town for many years, and finally settled there. He spent more than 25 years in this town. He would bring items with him that he had found all around the world. He found the oldest known stone statue in the world, dating back to about 3500 BC. Pretty darn cool if you ask me.

We also learned about David Walker. There is a road here named after him. He was an astronaut from this little not so sleepy town. They have one of his flight suits there on display. He passed away in 2001 from cancer. The museum also has a flight suit that was worn by a local man during the retrieval of our first astronaut in space. Pretty cool that local residents had a hand in so much history. We had no idea.

This is our group of kids that went. I forgot my camera, so I took pics with my phone. Except that my computer was having a hard time reading my card. Anyway, this was sent to me by my friend K. As soon as I can get the pics from my phone, I'll post them.

It was so much fun. The tour guide was very interesting. We got freee tshirts. And we got to preview a room that is being set up for a Civil War celebration that starts April 12, the 150 year anniversary of that war. And, since it's my blog and I am a very proud Southener, I feel I should educate you on the REAL outcome: the south won the war. True fact, look it up.

Have a great day.

Bowling for Dollars

2011-03-30T18:08:00.000-07:00

Did y'all have that show where you grew up? When I was a kid, Vern Lundquist hosted Bowling for Dollars on I believe channel 8. When you get 6 channels and there is no such thing as cable, you watch what you have to. Don't judge. We didn't bowl for dollars, we bowled for free. Whoo wee!! I love free. It was posted on our homeschool chatboard the other day and I figured why the heck not.

A bonus to where the free bowling was, hubby got to come have lunch with us. The bowling alley was only about 15 minutes from where he was working. Loved that for sure.

The boy

The baby

The big girl

A homeschool dad works at the bowling alley and set up a day and time for homeschoolers to come bowl three games for free, shoes included, adults and children. The only thing we paid for was lunch. We had a great time. Besides the family that set it up and us, there were only three other families that participated. They happened to be our friends so that was cool.

And, the bowling alley was only 30 seconds from where my inlaws live. Hubby and his brothers used to walk there all the time when they were growing up. We left a little early and I took the kids over to see their grandparents for a little while. We had a very pleasant visit. Shocking, I know. It was a great day with old friends and new. It was a great day to have lunch with hubby. It was a great day. Now, you...

Have a great day.

Green Day

2011-03-30T17:43:00.000-07:00

I don't mean the band, I mean St. Patrick's Day. We had our annual park day celebration of all things green a couple of weeks ago. These are my kids in all their greenery.

There's the baby. The front of her hat had a plastic crown on it that lit up. Feathers, a crown, and lights? She had to have it. You can almost see the shamrock tattoo on her left cheek.

I have to say the boy looks pretty good with a green moustache. What you can almost see on the left side of his face is the sideburns that came with the moustache. The sunglasses are hiding the eyebrows that came with the other facial hair. He was funny.

And the big girl. She takes my breath away. She and the baby have the same hat. You can see the crown a little better on her hat. She went for stylish. I think she did it. Because, really, it's all about...

the socks. Sorry I didn't get a better picture, but they are way cool.

There was a contest again for most green. The boy won in his category and got a $5 gift card to Target. He bugged me for the rest of the day to go to Target. He had been champing at the bit to get a new DS game and that sent him to 100%. We took him the next morning and he was ecstatic. Pot luck was good, too. Food will always get us there. And, when two or more United Methodist gather there must be food. Good thing my friend M was there, or we'd a been short a UM. Smaller crowd this year, but some new faces. That was a nice surprise.

Have a great day.

Goings On

2011-03-28T06:01:00.000-07:00

Not much going on at the ranch. We have been staying busy, trying to get through the days. Here's the update.

The big girl has rejoined the youth praise band. I am so happy for her. She had her first "performance" yesterday at youth. The praise band does praise and worship (duh) at the brginning of youth. She said she had a great time and felt very comfortable on stage. I am so proud of her. Y'all may not know this, but she's a bit shy. I was the same way as a kid. Quit laughing, I was, too. Ask Big Sis or Mermie. They'll tell you. Really, stop laughing...
I literally have 14 books to read. My friend CP told me about a part of the library website that lists all the new books and DVDs. Well, darn it, now that I know it's there, it's like I have to go and request about 25 books and movies at a time. I picked up the movie Where the Wild Things Are. I didn't see all of it, but from what I did, who is the idiot that made that movie? My two older kids may be traumatized for life. The big girl said it was disturbing. The boy added "on so many levels". Lesson learned. I hope. I'm glad the baby got bored and went to play with Barbies in her room.
Hubby has been working some overtime. That is such good news, you have no idea. It certainly helps when we have to pay the bills. He also got rid of a boat and cleaned up a pile of junk that was sitting in the yard. He's steadily refilling the hole in the backyard where the pool was going to go, and he got a bunch of stuff taken down to the recycling place. It's coming along. Now if I could get my rear in gear and pack some of the stuff in our closet.
I got my eyes checked, finally. I ordered new glasses and contacts. My old glasses are slowly deteriorating. The anti-reflective coating started coming off almost immediately after I bought them. They look scratched and ugly and I can't stand it. I will be very happy when my new ones come in. They're bifocals, but my contacts aren't. If I need to, I'll get a pair of reading glasses. Hubby is next. His long arms are starting to get shorter and shorter. He's not happy about that.
We have a couple of outings and field trips coming up. I need to make a call about one. I think we need to get out of the house more since we don't have many extras. There are some great places to go around here that are free or super cheap and we need to take advantage of that while we can. That and we're bored. You know that leads to trouble when I'm bored. And it's another excuse to spend some time with friends. Works for me.

That's all I got. We are just keeping on keeping on. And I am frustrated with limbo. Done, ready to get on with my life already. Well, after our field trips.

Have a great day.

Chicken and Cole Slaw

2011-03-20T18:07:00.000-07:00

See what happens when people take seriously what was poked in fun? My friend G had posted one day that she had cabbage and chicken. What could she make with that? I said chicken coleslaw. That planted the seed alright. I hijacked her idea, created a recipe and we had chicken wraps with leek and bok choy coleslaw with sliced apples on the side. I am so full, I cannot stand myself. Here's what I did:

Cole Slaw:

1 leek
1 baby bok choy
1/2 cup mayo
Juice from 1 lemon
Juice from 1 lime
Salt and Pepper to taste

Cut off the root end and trim the most of the green ends from the leek. Slice leek at least into quarters lengthwise. Rinse under cool water. Pat dry. Slice thinly crosswise. Place in mixing bowl. Cut root end from bok choy. I also cut off most of the stem. Seperate leaves and rinse under cool water. Pat dry. Stack leaves three or four at a time. Roll up and slice into thirds lengthwise. Slice thinly across the cuts. Add to bowl. Add lemon juice, salt and pepper. Toss to mix well. Add mayo. If it's not enough, add more by small spoonfuls. Add lime juice. Mix well. Adjust seasonings. Set aside in frig until ready to use.

Since I just threw it together, please don't hold the measurements against me if they aren't quite right. I don't measure unless I'm following someone else's recipe. And not necessarily then, either.

I had also boiled a chicken not sure at first what I was going to do with it. After deciding chicken wraps, I knew I didn't want plain chicken. I chunked it up and tossed it in a pan with some butter. I also added a little salt and pepper, cumin, Jamaican jerk, and a little oregano. I tossed it around until it was all coated and warm and sizzling. I also added some lemon juice and some lime juice. It was good!!

Hubby warmed up the tortillas. We added chicken, cole slaw, and some pineapple salsa. The crunch of the leeks and bok choy, the warm, soft tortilla, the bursting with flavor chicken, and the sweet salsa were a super good combination. I got a high five from hubby. I like it when that happens.

Have a great day.

Ack!!!

2011-03-17T18:25:00.000-07:00

I have writer's block!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have nothing funny or witty to say right here, right now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And it SLURPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When I have something to say, I'll be back. You know me, I can't shut up for long.

On the job front, hubby talked to his supervisor in Texas today and he still has a job out there. When they release it. Whenever that is. We think April, after the merger is complete.

That's all I got.

Have a great day.

Beautiful Days

2011-03-07T15:26:00.000-08:00

With the impending move and the indeterminably long freeze, we hadn't done birthday parties for the boy or the baby. Their birthdays are right at a month apart. If hubby and I don't get to it, it's March, both birthdays are gone with no celebration, and we can't figure out where the time went. I got the brilliant idea to combine them. I had more people in my house than my house can hold. And it was amazing!! I adore having a house full of people. That is just my thing. It was standing room only but there was good food, good conversation, and good company. My kids felt loved and special. I am a happy woman. Here's some pics:

This is our cake. It doesn't look like much, but it is one big pile of yummy goodness. I offer to make and/or buy any cake they want, and this is it. I am good with that. We have decided, though, that we can no longer just make one. It goes too fast and we have to cut small pieces to feed everybody. That's no fun. This is actually two flavors on one pan. The boy is not big on chocolate. If he didn't look just like hubby I would swear that he was somebody elses. The baby, on the hand, likes her some chocolate. That's a good girl.

This is the line for the pinata. We tried to do youngest to oldest, but I think there were some sneaky short kids. We made it through all the littles, but only made it to about the third or fourth bigger kid. And when the poor pinata exploded...

...this is what happened. It made me think about all the single girls when the bouquet is thrown. It was one big huddled mass of kids. Hubby shook out all the candy that was left in the pinata. That's when the older kids took notice.

And how can you not like getting a giant container of licorice for your birthday? I don't care for it, but the boy is in licorice heaven. He has already been given his daily limit and threatened with severe punishment if he tries to sneak anymore.

It was an awesome day. The weather stayed sunny even if it was a bit breezy. There was no rain. And, thankfully, nobody got hurt this year. We had lots of food. We threw some hot dogs on the grill. We had a beautiful day with wonderful people.

And Sunday was beautiful, too. That was pajama day. Nobody got out of their pajamas all day. We even had left over hot dogs for dinner. We worked a puzzle, played a new Lego game, made a Fairy stepping stone, and played Headbanz. We grazed through party leftovers all day. We recuperated.

Have a great day.

Puzzled and Disappointed

2011-03-03T18:07:00.000-08:00

It's really not that bad. I went to a yard sale today my friend Hillside Hollow was having. It was small, but I was on a mission. She has great jigsaw puzzles. I love jigsaw puzzles. I have been jonesing for new ones. When I look at them at the store, they are expensive and I don't see many that I really like. And I like big puzzles. I like 500 pieces or more. I scored three from her yard sale and I didn't have to pay $100 a piece for them. I got the fellow blogger and homeschooler discount. Not really. They were very reasonably priced. I would have walked away with the Horizons math for 3rd and 4th grade if hubby and I hadn't taken the back way where there are no banks. Oh, well, my friend Garden of Gems got them. I love that alot of my friends have blogging names.

I am in love with this puzzle. 3000 pieces!! And it was only $5!! I was so excited to get it home and set up my folding table and get this bad boy done. Here's where the disappointed part comes in. My table is long enough, but, unlike my butt, it isn't wide enough. Egads! But I have a solution. For the puzzle, not my butt. We are having a birthday party on Saturday so I can't leave the folding table up. Until after the party. My reward for being the hostess with the mostest is I get to put this together on our dining table and we get to eat on the folding table. Is everyone gone yet?

Pretty darn excited about this one, too. I already have the table out and waiting. This will be my evening's entertainment. A few good tunes and hubby for company. It's gonna be a stupendous night.

This is an awesome little puzzle. Not only is it a puzzle, it's a "seek and find" game. There are little things hidden in the picture. I am in puzzle heaven.

Sorry the pictures were dark. The flash made it wonky and I couldn't get good light in any room darn it. I'll take pics when they're done. It may take a while for the big one, but, darn it,I can do it.

Have a great day.

Zip Line Pics or My Family Is Nuts (Duh)

2011-02-28T22:14:00.000-08:00

This was at the strawberry patch. The boy spotted it first and you know he had visions of a 100 foot drop and being anchored in and all kinds of crazy stuff. In reality it was only this high...

Yeah, the big girl got to hang for about 1/2 second before she could touch. But, she got to zip line.

The boy hung on for dear life. Not really, but can you imagine the scenarios playing threw his mind? He got all the way to the pole at the end and kicked his feet out. That pushed him backwards a little and it was almost like a second chance.

The baby will not be left behind. She's brave, too, you know.

I caught hubby mid flip. I thought for sure I got him all turned over, but no.

And even though the zip line was short, it was still tall enough you needed this pole to reach it and push it back to the beginning. Well, hubby didn't need it, but it made him feel important to carry it, I guess.

Have a great day.

Berry Pickin'

2011-02-28T07:12:00.000-08:00

We had such a good time yesterday. We went to a local strawberry field and picked and picked. This is something we have wanted to do for a very long time, we just hadn't. We would think about how much it costs and freak a little and not do it. Or just get lazy and not do it. Or freak about the money and get lazy and not do it. Really, though, the cost was way better than you get at the store and we got more strawberries than I know what to do with. The picking was free and so was the playground. Wait 'til you see the zip line pics. Those are next. The best part was that nobody fussed, whined, or complained one time. Even the kids were awesome. Blogger isn't letting me post above the first pic, so here's the rundown.

This is me with my girls. We had two boxes, so we got two rows to pick. We picked and picked and picked. You know it was fun because the big girl didn't freak about the bees. Love that!

This is one of the plants. They were gorgoeus. We have tried to grow strawberries with lackluster results. We were very impresed.

This is my boys. Hubby took the boy and they just plowed through their row. They did a great job. There wasn't a decent strawberry left when they were done. This was fairly early in the picking process. I told hubby I'd like to try to go back one more time before the season is over. Look at the size of the berries the boy is holding. Those bad boys were huge!

This is what we ended up with. It doesn't look like much, but when it got weighed out, that was a different story. And as I was putting them away last night, I realized how much we REALLY had. Good grief. I sent a 1.25 gallon baggie of them with hubby to take to his parents. It is about half full and hardly made a dent in our stock. They may get another bag.

See, I actually picked. It was fun. It was relaxing. I am kicking myself in the butt for not going sooner. More amazing, hubby got a shot of the baby picking. Getting her to work, well, that's a blog for another time.

Two things about this pic. This is just one side of the field, and doesn't even show the entire side. It was huge. Strawberries everywhere. And second, I don't know who these kids are, but that's not the important thing. Hubby struck up a conversation with their dad while picking. At one point we look over at the cute one in the blue shirt. I'm glad they didn't charge a grazing fee. Poor dad would have gone broke. The kid had eaten so many berries, he had strawberry juice running down his chin, his throat, and all over his face. It didn't help that his hands were filthy, dirty, which clung to all that sticky fruit juice. He made those strawberries look good!

I'm going to say it again. We had the best time!! The boy, who would eat all the berries we picked, has been put on notice that he is on strawberry rations since a blueberry incident on Saturday. I'll try to blog about that later. What is even funnier, I kept wishing I had a unit study on strawberries that we could have done first. I do have one on apples. Maybe a road trip when the weather gets cooler. And, we missed Big Sis. Strawberries are her very favorite and we talked and thought about her while we were picking. She would have looked like the little boy in blue. I love her!!!!!

Have a great day.

Chickens Everywhere

2011-02-26T05:20:00.000-08:00

It was an interesting week. Hubby was off on Monday, and that threw school for a loop. We do not school when hubby is home. There really is no point. We would rather hang out with him than open a stinky ol' textbook. But we're weird like that. Veggie co-op was Thursday, so no school on Thursday. We ran late there, so by the time we got home it was after 2. We normally get home by 1 at the latest. And Friday was park day. We don't school on Fridays. So four days of work got crammed into two. Ugh!

And if that weren't enough, we have an addiction. I wish I could say to exercise and eating right and staying fit and active, but it's to Angry Birds. Have you played that game? You launch chickens at pigs and try to destroy them. The kids have fussed at me about my language while I'm playing the game. It's not bad. I'm dropping chicken bombs, not F-bombs. But when the boy kept saying "Darn pigs!" to emulate what I was saying, I had to grit my teeth and hold my tongue. If you come by the house and we're all screaming "Pig!", we're playing Angry Birds. Damn pigs!

And then I had a craving. I am very fond of saying when I have a craving, everyone benefits. This time my craving was for Chicken Spaghetti. OMG, a taste from my childhood. I have also been wanting chicken and dumplings like my mamaw used to make. And cornbread and sliced tomatoes and cucumbers and a big pitcher of lemonade. Before the park yesterday, I boiled a whole chicken and put together some chicken spaghetti. My house smelled so good when we got home. This was the first time I made it in the crockpot. Everyone sit down because I am about to say something you probably won't believe. I didn't like it very much cooked in the crockpot. It was good, it just didn't have that punch it normally does when I cook it on the stove. I have a feeling it will be better as leftovers.

We still want chickens. When we are no longer on hold and get moved, I told hubby we need to move somewhere we can have chickens. Love fresh eggs. I try to get a couple dozen at a time from co-op. If I can't get them there, I have another source. They are so much better than the ones you buy in the store. And I know what the chickens have been eating and where they live. I get to see them every two weeks. They are not factory produced bundles of feathers.

Every time I turn around it seems like something else chicken is popping it's head up. I wonder if that's a sign?

Have a great day.

Unschooling

2011-02-23T05:26:00.000-08:00

If you haven't seen the piece on GMA, I hope you at least heard about it. They had a segment on about a family that homeschools. Well, they unschool. That sounds like an oxymoron. But to me, it was fascinating. It was poorly edited and very one sided, making the family look like a bunch of idiots. It showed the kids playing video games, playing in their rooms, having family time outside playing with swords. At least the swords were fake. They showed the kids being kids, but didn't show how effective unschooling can be for some people.

Unschooling doesn't mean that you never open a book or even stop schooling. It really means that the child leads the learning. The child decides what they want to learn about and you go from there. So many different ways to learn about things. Videos, books, magazines, field trips, expert interviews, apprentice programs, internet research, and so much more. Why do you always have to open a boring, dry text book? Are those the only sources of information? I hope not, or our library is doomed.

My friend N posted yesterday that she was thinking about a Charlotte Mason style of learning for next year. She is a former school teacher and was wondering if she could let go of "teaching". Yes you can, but you don't have to. I've always looked at our homeschool journey as a way to learn, not teach. Charlotte Mason (look her up, she had some great ideas) believed that you should put away dry and boring and learn from classic literature and exploring life. That's what I want. I want my kids to read great works, broaden their horizons, and explore this earth. You can do it, N. I know you can.

I am bored with some of our curriculum. Good thing I'm not the one using it. I don't want my kids to slog through the day. I want them to be eager and excited about learning, about life. Other than math, the kids will decide, for the most part, what we study. We will pick activities together. For example, if they want to learn about bees, I have a great unit study about them. We read books related to bees, we visit bee keepers, we go to the local ag center, we learn about honey and it's great medicinal properties, and on and on and on.

The big question I've heard is: Will it prepare them for college? I don't know. But what makes you think they would be prepared if they were going to a brick and mortar school? College is not for everybody, it's not required, and I would hope that my kids have enough knowledge and enough love of learning that if they do go to college, they will be prepared.

How long will we unschool? I don't know that either. It may just be one year, but it may be until our schooling is done. That's kind of up in the air. But isn't life just like that?

Have a great day.

Favorite Stuff

2011-02-19T10:10:00.000-08:00

This is my clothesline. It's not much and it isn't fancy, but it does the job. You may hear me gripe about doing the laundry, but you won't hear me grip about hanging it up and taking it down. I get to be in the sunshine, it's normally quiet, and I have a few minutes to think and take a breath.

These are our Texas towels. They were given to us by hubby's brother and his family. I thought that was very nice. They're pretty, but they're just like Texans. They don't take anything off anybody. Great to look at, but they don't absorb much. That's Ok, though. They're Texas towels.

These are the kids' valentines from our friends, the P's. Talk about a bunch of freakin' creative people. I downloaded the wrong pic, but the one on the top right says "You're Cute as a Cupcake". The top ones are from S. The one on he bottom is a wrestling championship belt. I covered the names, but too cute. H is a wrestling fan. And now that The Rock is back for a little while, I could easily become one again, too.

That's all I got.

Have a great day.

Books and Boxes

2011-02-15T18:53:00.000-08:00

Packing started tonight. Up until now it had been cleaning and sorting. I only have two more cabinets to clean out and I am all done. Then I go through clothes. Kids grow so fast. What fit yesterday doesn't fit today. But that's still cleaning. I actually put things in a box tonight. A box that will make the move with us. I started with the book case.

I don't dust. Let's just get that out there right now. I despised that chore as a kid. My mom had this bookcase with these spindly things that had to cleaned and the books had to be moved. I told hubby upfront not to expect me to grab the duster. One day he said the fans were dusty. I said he should hop right up and take care of that. You wanna talk about dust? Try a bookshelf that hasn't been dusted in I don't know how long. My head is trying to pound. I neti potted. Advil Cold and Sinus is a magnificent thing.

I did have to sort through a ton of books. Books are so important. Reading is important. I have started scheduling reading time in the afternoons. The big girl and the baby like it. The boy, not so much. We have so many favorites. Every book by Roald Dahl we have ever read has made us laugh out loud. By chance we found a movie from his book The BFG. Loved the Harry Potter books. We did all those as books on tape. There was no way I had time to read those books as busy as we were. I had to be honest about which books to take and which ones needed to find a loving home. Broke my heart with some of them. I still wasn't able to get rid of some. We have read The Napping House since before we moved here and that was almost 6 years ago. We still read it and we still laugh.

We were gifted recently with a huge box of books. So many treasures and gems in there. I even have book studies for many of them that we are going to use next year. I know, big surprise. The big girl has read almost all of the Guardian of Ga'hoole books. Most of the books were in the box and the rest we got from the library. I put aside some books that we've read. I have a huge pile to take to the park.

I had to be honest about curriculum as well. How much do I really want to cart with me and how much am I really going to use? I have quite a bit I can recycle when the baby gets a little older. I already have all of her second grade year. I am loving that. I did pull some things that I don't think we'll use anymore and some things that just aren't right for the next kid in line. That was hard, too. I adore curriculum. But if I'm not going to use it, I need to get rid of it.

I still have an over flowing bookshelf, but hubby is bringing more boxes home when he gets a chance. Then they get taped up and stored in the shed until we get the letter. Next project is toys. Ugh!

Have a great day.

Back Again

2011-02-08T17:29:00.000-08:00

Kids are in bed, hubby is in the shower. That means quiet time for me. Actually, it means I put my iPod on shuffle, turn it up really loud, and then share my life with you for just a little while. You are so lucky!!

We started school again today. Yea! We actually got alot accomplished. I was surprised to tell you the truth. We had to go back and review our history and science. I didn't even remember where we had left off. I like the bible study we are doing because we can be away for awhile and then pick it back up. I worked with the baby on her grammar. I like the fact that we have introduced some grammar terms to her. I like the fact that School House Rock is an excellent way to teach my kids. I do think that 1st grade is too early to introduce grammar. It has been a rocky road and I have to remind myself to shut my mouth and take a step back. I'm not pushing her, that's for sure. My lesson plan book is a mess. I sat down last night to plan a couple of weeks, but I didn't have to. I already had three weeks done. I did it right before we got the news of the move. It's been so long, I had forgotten. I just needed to rearrange because of certain activities, or the lack thereof.

The lack thereof is killing us. As much as we complained about schooling in the van more than we schooled at home, we sure miss our extras. We are dancers. Not dancing these last couple of months has been horrible for us. It's something we've done for eight years. One of the things we cried about was missing recital. We had planned to go to see the show even though none of us are in it this year. But we had no choice but to stop. Money was not allowing any wiggle room. We miss co-op and that's only been a couple of weeks. We had stopped, thinking we were moving right away. Another family stopped as well, and our little group is no more. I am sad about that. But I don't want to get in the middle of something (again) and have to leave (again). We are looking into a couple of options so we won't be bored for long.

My kids have a pen pal. It's Mermie. Loving it. The boy got his letter today. He also got a picture of Mermie's dog. He read us the whole letter, just pleased as punch. Mermie came up with the idea to get to know her grandkids better. The baby girl is anxiously waiting for her letter. If I can pull the iPod away from her long enough, the big girl has a letter to write.

After looking at all the resources that I have for school, I am very confident in the fact that I am not buying any curriculum this year. I have enough unit studies and lap books that we can study every state in the nation, several foreign countries, and the continent and country of Australia. I have enough science that we can learn about birds, bats, human body, polar bears and various other animals, as well as weather, geology, some physics, forensics, and who knows what else. I have more reading comprehension and book studies than I know what to do with. We can study famous artists, presidents and first ladies, firemen, and pilots. I even have a lap book on the history of hot dogs. What good is all of this doing if we aren't using it? I am so very excited! My friend CP hooked me up with a website for virtual dissections and I got a book of dissections at a library book sale on Saturday for 20 cents. I have more experiment books than I know what to do with. I could go on and on, but then I might to really start sounding like a junkie.

And, finally, tonight was clean out the fridge from all the Super Bowl food night. We had homemade pizzas on the left over hoagie rolls using some of the veggies we'd had and the sausage we cooked. We also used the bacon I cooked to make brussel sprouts last night. That was good, too. We ate the left over, sliced, organic apples and dipped them in homemade, mostly organic guacamole and... Velveeta cheese dip. I figured that cancelled them both and made it all neutral. Our bellies are full, my sink is full, but my fridge is ready for veggie co-op this week. Love veggie co-op.

That's all I got. I think I've checked it all off my list. Even if it's not, it's enough for now.

Have a great day.

And the Beat Goes On

2011-02-03T17:09:00.000-08:00

You would think that as long as I've been away, I would have tons to blog about. Not so much, so we might as well get to it.

We were focused on getting the house cleaned and packed and all that fun stuff. Then the hold happened. I would like to say that we have continued with the process, but hubby has been working overtime, so he hasn't been home to help. He's worked around the house as much as he can, but when you've worked all day and don't get home until after 8, there's a whole lot of butt sitting and not a whole lot of working going on. I get to tackle the cabinets in the bathrooms next. So much junk, so little time.
If you look at my pantry, it looks like I should be on hoarders. I was trying to stock up on some things so that we didn't have to worry about toilet paper or paper towels. We would have paper plates to eat on until we could get the dishes unpacked and washed. I got most of it pretty cheaply with sales and coupons. And now we're steady using it. Just means I have to keep stocking. Where I'm going to put it, I don't really know. As long as TV cameras don't show up, it's all good.
With all that was going on, we put school on hold. The kids have loved it, but we really haven't done much to occupy our days. Except clean. We are back at it on Monday. It looks like we will have to school well into summer to finish our year, but it is what it is. We've taken some long breaks and it's time to get back to it. I think the kids are missing some kind of structure to their day. When they start getting on each other's nerves like they have been, and my nerves for that matter, I can tell it's time. And I don't want them to lose anything they've learned so far.
Speaking of school, I think I am going to forgo curriculum for next year. Normally, I use some of our taxes to buy curriculum. I sat down last night and made a list of all the unit studies and lap books and study guides and whatever else. I'm still not done. I have one more flash drive to inventory. When I'm done, I'll figure out what we may do for next year. I even have a free math curriculum online that I need to look at. I already have math for the baby, I just need to see if this online curriculum will work for the boy and the big girl. And if they need extra help, or more practice, this site offers that as well. I just need to look at it and make sure.
I turned in all our library books. They were all coming due, I thought we were leaving, and there didn't seem any reason to keep them. Except we are part way through The Lost Hero and I have to request it again. Will it be here before we leave? I don't know. I don't know when we're leaving. I had also cancelled some requests from the library. Now I need to rerequest them. Limbo is no fun.

There really isn't much going on here. I like it that way to tell you the truth. Boring is good. Too much excitement else where. I need boring.

Have a great day.

On the Road Again

2011-01-20T14:54:00.000-08:00

I am not a Willie Nelson fan. I worked at Billy Bob's for a summer ushering at concerts. I almost fell asleep during his concert. But that's not really what this is about.

We're moving to Texas!! I am so excited about this new chapter. I am also scared beyond belief. We have to pack up our stuff, figure out what to do with our house, and a million other things before we leave. When we get there, where are we going to go? Ahhhh!!

Hubby had promised my mom that when the big girl was five, we would move to Texas. We moved alright. But we moved about 35 minutes away from where we were living. We love where we live. It is a pretty rural community. "Downtown" consists of two buildings at the intersection with the light. We didn't have high speed internet until about 3 weeks ago. It takes us about 20 minutes to get to town. Love that my kids can run and play and that they have lots of room. Not exactly Texas, though. It was even in the wrong direction. We went east.

Hubby has been applying for jobs in Texas off and on for a while now. Interviews would happen, but then nothing. This time, it worked. It was kind of a shock at first. I think I'm still in shock. I know I have mixed feelings. I will miss our friends. I have amazing friends. We will miss park day. Park mamas rule!! We will miss our church. All the kids at youth. Then there's co-op and dance.

But, I am excited to be closer to my mom and sister. We would have liked to be a little closer, but I will take what I can get for now, that's for sure. I am excited about getting to know my nieces better. I am excited about seeing some of my Texas peeps!! I am excited about real TexMex.

There is much to do, lists to make, items to cross off, and more praying than I've ever done in my life, I think. Please join us in prayer. We need all the help we can get.

Have a great day

Tap, tap. Is This Thing On?

2011-01-17T19:17:00.000-08:00

Hello, testing, testing. Yes I know it's been awhile. I promise to try to be a better blogger. While I was away, though, I had lots of time to do some self reflecting. That's always scary, but it's also for the other blog. This one is a random blog. Here come my favorites: bullet points. Oh, I have missed them.

My goal this year is to take at least two more steps in our health journey. I'm not sure which steps those are, but I'm going to take two more. Actually, one thing I have started is more organic grains. I can get them relatively cheaply at the health food store. I am looking this year to get a grain mill to start making our own flour. I like making our own bread, but I would like to make it even healthier for us. I am also going to try some quinoa pasta. If you have not had quinoa, I highly recommend it. I made quinoa pilaf for dinner tonight that was really good.
I go from that to chocolate pie. The baby asked for one at Thanksgiving and I still haven't done it. I'll get it, I'll get it. On top of that, the big girl has asked for Italian wedding soup and hubby asked for something, but I can't remember right now what that was. But the boy has a birthday coming up and he asked for an ice cream cake. Aaahhhh!! Don't let that fool you, I love it.
The boy has a birthday coming up. He will be 10. His last year in single digits is almost up. What a character he is. I need to get on the web site for our local Christian station. You can have your name announced for your birthday on the air. The kids like to hear their names. I have managed to get in during the Family Name Game for all three of my kids. The radio station sends you a copy of the call so that's cool.
Following closely behind the birthday boy is my anniversary. 16 years. Who would have thought that someone would put up with me that long? I'm glad he has, though. And bringing up the trifecta of events is the baby's birthday. Egads, she'll be 7. Can I say (of course, I can, it's my blog), that although I blame hubby and my older two kids for spoiling her (they did, let me tell you what), I continue to baby her now that they've stopped. No wonder she won't quit whining.
I have most of our curriculum sorted out for next year. I realize that I'm bored with our curriculum. I may use the million and one unit studies and book studies that I have. I get so much stuff for free. I need to clean off my computers and get everything on a disc. Put that in line with things I need to do. I am still looking at math for the boy. I'll make a decision soon.
Just Dance 2 is one of the most addictive games. Our friends, the Ps, brought it over for our little New Year celebration. It was so much fun, I bought it. It was on sale, darn it, and we love it. I have even downloaded some songs from iTunes that are in the game. Thankfully, they were running a 69 cent sale. The big girl and I have a serious competition going on. I will not be outdone, but she is giving it the old college try. I should ground her, but I won't. Where would the competition be if I did that?
We are hoping to get enough back in our taxes to pay off our minivan and build a small deck on the front of the house. If we have enough for the deck, we are going to lure some friends over with the promise of a cook out, then surprise them with a building party. If you get invited over somewhere in mid March for a cook out, this was your warning.

That's about it for now I guess. A big shout out to my friend, ALT, who just started a blog. Enjoy the process. Sometimes it's what you want to say, and sometimes, it comes out wrong. Just keep at it. I hope you find much, much joy in your blog.

Have a great day.