Creative Use of New Skillz

M, the oldest, watched the youngest three children while I worked at the office for a few hours today. I left homework open and ready with instructions that the children finish their work before they were allowed to play or watch TV. K wrote the preceeding note and stuck it to the door. Calling to M, she said, "I found a note! It says: M, do not make the kids do the homework." To M's credit, he said, "Oh! OK, well, let me take a look."


"Um, no, that's OK, Mom taught me how to read, I can tell it to you!"

Gotta give the girl credit for trying!

Love is...

Someone who cheerfully helps clean up puke at 2 am.




Someone who let's his little girl paint his nails, and wears pink nail polish for three days because he thought it was clear.




Someone who takes the kids fishing.



Someone who plays when he'd rather be napping.



Someone who teaches his kids, supports their dreams and does everything he can for them.

Someone who takes the time to celebrate his wife's birthday and Valentine's Day, even though they fall on the same day.

Someone who takes his wife on a date at least twice a month, no matter what.

Someone who does dishes, and folds laundry...and never complains about it.

We certainly are lucky to have you, dear.

Kill.me.now.

Me: I want to build the receptionist desk.
Him: Sounds good.

A week passes, we now need the desk.

Him: Dad wants to go look for a reception desk.
Me: I thought I was building it.
Him: Me too. But he says it would be easier.
Me: Easier and a whole lot more expensive.
Him: You never know.
Under my breath: *yes I do. I always know.*

Next day:

Him: I called a place and we can rent a desk.
Me: Sounds expensive.
Him: No, they'll practically give it to us and fly us to Tahiti as an added incentive.
OK, no he didn't really say that last part.
Him: They are having a huge sale this weekend, we're going.
Me: I want to build the desk.
Him: Dad will be here at 8 am.
Me: Great, he can take us to Home Depot.
Him: Scowl.

8 am:
Him: Ah, yes, here it is.
Me: Great. And only two hours of driving to find it.
Him: The sale is around back in the warehouse.
Me: Why is that big black man shouting at that little round guy? And why are all those people standing around them?
Him: (on the phone with his dad) You might want to slip your pistol in your pocket before you come in....
Me: Um. I don't see any office furniture.
Him: I'll ask the manager.
Me: I'll just stand over here and try to stay out of the line of fire.
Him: More scowling

10 am:
Him: Well, they don't have a receptionist desk.
Me: Great. I want to build it.
Him: We'll go buy the other stuff we need.

Noon:
After having gone to three more stores, FIL says to buy the desk at store number 2, Hubster says $400 for particle board is a no-go, he decides to buy a cheapo one from the store he went to earlier in the week. Cost: $189.00 plus tax.
Me: I hate that desk. I want to build a desk. I can build what I want for less.
Him: I need it by Monday. Less work this way. You can built what you want later.
Me: Less work for WHOM?
Him: More scowling

1 pm:
Salesclerk: I'm sorry sir, I'd have to order that, I sold the last one yesterday.
Me: Great. I want to build the desk.
Him: OK, we'll go to Home Depot. But I want to make it out of paneling.
Me: Paneling is going to be more expensive.
Him: Well, we'll just go see.

2 pm:
In Home Depot, mind you, I built the last desk. I designed the space for this desk, I've been thinking about what I need for 2 weeks now. The plan is to build an "L" shaped wall that has a 6' section and a 4' section, is 4' tall, with a 6' counter top as a work space, and a 6" wide ledge around the top to be used as a writing surface. Short file cabinets fit underneath. People can't lean over, the side wall prevents prying eyes from peering in from the waiting room. Simple. Brilliant. Cheap.

Him: We could put that over the front, that would be fast.
Me: That's hardwood flooring. I guess it could work, but you'd still have to attach it to something.
Him: OK, well, how about this paneling?
Me: I want drywall. It will cost half.
Him: Well, how about the counter top? We need a four foot counter top.
Me: No, we need a six foot counter top.
Him: What about the four foot section of the wall?
Me: No counter top there.
Him: Why?
Me: It would take up too much space.
Him: Well, what about the writing surface part? I want to go look at the shelving to see if there is something laminated so the writing surface is smooth. Plus, it will be fast.
Me: We can look. We used oak last time. Holy cow. That stuff is expensive. We'll go with oak.
Him: Well we only need four feet.
Me: No, we need a little over 10 feet.
Him: Only for the short section, not for the short wall!
Me: What short wall?
Him: Where the counter goes.
Me: That's not going to be short.
Him: Why not? It would be faster.
Me: Because it's not.
Him: Well we don't have to put it on the whole thing.
Me: How else are you going to finish it?
Him: Blank stare.

Much stepping off and speaking with the hands ensues. Animated explanation was presented by both sides. An understanding of the vision is reached.

Me: OK, so we need four sheets of dry wall, three for sure, but four to be safe.
Him: We only need two.
Me: NO, WE NEED THREEEEEE AT LEAST....*spoken v-e-r-y slowly*
Me: There's TWO sides to the wall....
Him: But you only need to finish one side, it will be faster.
Me: And you are going to have 2X4's on the desk side? BUY FOUR.
Him: OK, how much oak.
Me: Two peices
Him: I thought we only needed four feet.
Me: I'm going to kill you now.


5:30 pm:
Delivery of needed supplies to office. Included:
4 sheets of drywall
2 pieces of oak
8 2X4's
1 2X2
1 six foot counter top
1 bucket of joint compound
2 peices of bowl nose
Framing screws and Drywall screws.
Total cost: $182.00 with tax, and I bought a new tape measure to boot.

Basically, if left alone, I would have built the desk, painted the desk, and moved my crap into the desk in the time it took to help two grown men decide to listen to me.

I didn't yell once. And they call US the weaker sex.

Just Singing Our Little Song!

Photo Sharing

If nothing else...

I certainly do enjoy job security.





And yes, Mother, it *WAS* clean last night thankyouverymuch.

Happy Halloween!

(Man that was almost too easy! LOL)

Golly!

Don't mean to break my arm patting myself on the back, but I've been fretting over my thesis statement for my long research paper assignment for two weeks now. I finally posted my thesis:

While it has become apparent through comparison of academic test scores that home school students generally out perform their public school counterparts, until recently, very little research has been available to compare the social outcomes of public school student to those of home schooled students. An analysis of the small but growing body of evidence supporting the positive social development of home schooled students reveals that while many of the initial studies have been performed and interpreted by Christian fundamentalists, newer studies, including at least two performed by less biased professional educators, all support initial claims that most home school students are at least as socially adept as public school students, and often, they are more socially advanced, exhibit fewer aggressive behaviors and exercise better self control than children educated in the public school system.

and this was my instructor's response:

Wow. That's really good. You have added new information to discussion that is highly debated that seems reasonable and interesting. I like how you recognize the previous possible biases and present confirmation based on less biased studies. I am drawn into your paper on those tantalizing bits of information. I am very curious to see the numbers and interpretations of the studies to back this thesis up.

I'm glowing. Hee, hee!

Excitement and Freecycle

Two posts in one! LOL

The kids are excited because we got this:



And I got him from Freecycle. If you don't know about freecycle, you should check it out at www.freecycle.org. It's amazing what people give away. Sometimes you get things you didn't even know you needed! LOL The lady with the rabbit needed to find him a home and gave us everything, the cage, feeders, waterers, food, bedding and leash. I've also picked up a shampoo bowl and sink for my SIL. It's a great way to get rid of some of the "stuff" that's cluttering up your life. You never know, someone might get some use out of your old things, so before I trash, I freecycle.

I apologize for my blogging slack-iness. After a whole lot of personal drama and financial upheaval over the past three years, my husband is going back into business for himself and we have been hard at work getting that adventure underway. You know. In my spare time. Between classes and homeschooling and baseballing. I won't even go into how the housework is suffering. But somehow, I'm keeping my head a little bit above water and each new day filled with things to do is a blessing.

DEUTERONOMY

Chapter 5:7-21.

7 Thou shalt have none other gods before me.
8 Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth:
9 Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me,
10 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.
11 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
12 Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee.
13 Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work:
14 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.
15 And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.
16 Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
17 Thou shalt not kill.
18 Neither shalt thou commit adultery.
19 Neither shalt thou steal.
20 Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbour.
21 Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbour’s wife, neither shalt thou covet thy neighbour’s house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or any thing that is thy neighbour’s.

Just as we command our children thou shalt not drive fast and wear no seat belt, and thou shalt not eat ten cookies lest ye ruin thy dinner; He gave us these rules not to spoil our fun and rain on our parade, but for our own benefit and safety, and He meant every word, it isn't up to us to pick and choose which ones we want to obey.

I'm thankful for a loving Father in Heaven who gave us rules to live by, and guidelines for raising our children. Happy Sunday!

Let's c.......

C is for costume. Duh. Could it *be* about anything else? I thought not.

Christmas is all about the kids, but Halloween, we all know who the costumes are *really* for. This is probably the last year I'll get away with choosing K's costume for her and making her think it was her idea entirely, but I've got another 2-3 years with J. Once again, I failed to talk B into the Captain Hook costume. He'll probably end up with a Power Ranger's costume and I'll hate it as much as the $25 Batman costume he insisted on last year. *sigh* My little boy has his own opinion. Rats.

For those of you with little guys, Disney Store makes a FABULOUS Captain Hook costume with a gorgeous red velvet coat, and they are all on sale for 50% off right now. What.a.deal. $20 buys you a Disney store costume with awesome details and better quality fabrics, you'll spend just as much at Walmart and probably won't be nearly as satisfied. The trick is getting out of the store without buying the matching shoes, wand, tiara, tights, gloves and hairpiece. I always swear I'm going to resell the costumes on E-bay, since you can get as much or more than what you paid at the store, but they love them so much we've never been able to give up a single one before it was worn to shreds. So with no further rambling about my love of dressing up my children, prepare yourself for the cuteness:





Maybe I can talk B into being a ghost...or a mummy....a pirate? ANYTHING but a Power Ranger, PLEASE!!!!

B is for....

Brine. With Thanksgiving coming up in a bit, you should know about brining your bird. If you've never tried it, you owe it to yourself to give it a try. Here's the recipe I used last year and several times since. It never fails to produce a wonderfully juicy and flavorful bird.

Honey Brined Turkey I also added a few sprigs of fresh rosemary.

Encyclopedia Project

I'm having a blogging block. I tell myself that it's because I'm busy, and why wouldn't I be with all that's going on, but really, I can't think of much to write, and what I do doesn't come out as I'd hoped. All I've managed to do is build up my draft pile these past two weeks. So I was reading a post over at Ittybitty Frog Idea's and, I decided to try doing some blogs like this. I'll start at A and write down what comes to mind. Might be fun. Might be boring like she thought the book was. Either way, it's something.

So for A, the word that comes to my mind is Albatross. Yeah, that's a little random, I know. Bear with me. According to dictionary.com:

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.0.1)
al‧ba‧tross  /ˈælbəˌtrɔs, -ˌtrɒs/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[al-buh-traws, -tros] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun
1. any of several large, web-footed sea birds of the family Diomedeidae that have the ability to remain aloft for long periods. Compare wandering albatross.
2. a seemingly inescapable moral or emotional burden, as of guilt or responsibility.
3. something burdensome that impedes action or progress.
4. Textiles.
a. a lightweight worsted fabric with a crepe or pebble finish.
b. a plain-weave cotton fabric with a soft nap surface.

I don't know much about birds, in fact, they kind of freak me out and I don't really like to be too close to them, unless they are chickens, then I don't mind as much. But the part about burden and impeded action, we might have something there.

What is it about being a mom that makes us guilt pros? We carry it around like an old coat. We heap it on the heads of our families. What a great tool Satan has in guilt. Sometimes, it can motivate us to action, but lets face it, usually, we just carry it around and let it drag us down to the murky depths. It allows us to dwell on what we haven't done, or haven't done well enough, or what we should have done, or what we could have done better. Often, it makes us dwell on things we shouldn't have done. What mother hasn't had at least a handful of days when she laid her head down at night and thought to herself, "all I did was yell and nag at my kids all.day.long." I think it is interesting that "impedes action or progress" comes right after the guilt and responsibility part. Does it always have to do that? Or can we find ways to use those feelings and turn it into something positive. Our lesson in Young Women today was about self esteem and feeling good about yourself. One of the classic exercises for this lesson is to list what you don't like about yourself and cross off what you can't change. We should do that with feelings of guilt. Fix what we can, and then quit beating ourselves up over it. I think I'll give that a try this week. What about you?

Just Like The Fair!

While I try to decide which of my kids to sell so I can pay the $9-$13 dollar per head entry fee to the State Fair, I thought I'd pass along this recipe for Kettle Corn. Just as good as at the Fair and much, much, much cheaper!

1/4 cup oil (I use Olive)
2/3 cup popcorn

Heat in pot with lid, when first kernel pops, open lid and sprinkle in 1/4 cup sugar.
Shake as it pops to avoid scorching the bottom, turn into bowl and salt. It really is that easy!

Operation: Ki Ki goes in the wash.

Kids are outside playing, distracted, 9:30 am
Ki Ki enters washing machine 9:35 am
Kids come inside, 10:20 am
J demands Bonnie and Ki Ki 10:21 am
I break the news, 10:21:30 am
Text conversation between Hubster and myself at 10:22 am
Me: Stage four meltdown in progress. Blanket is in the wash. Shoot me now.
Him: Distract her.
Me: Yeah. That'll work.
Him: It always works.
Me: I'll tell her that.

I try the substitute bankie's, an effort which is met with louder screaming, and thrashing as if every blanket we own is made of molton lava, so great is the torture of having such a thing touch.on.her.skin.

Him: Give her barney vid
Me: That's what started the whole thing. I'll have her call you. That'll distract her.
Him: Tell her to knock it off or we eat Barney like we did the rooster that chased her!

Gee. Now why didn't *I* think of that?

I'm still laughing.

She's still screaming.

Ki Ki is still spinning.

B and K are stationed by the dryer door, stuffing styrofoam peanuts in their ears.

Hair Did

I sure 'nuff did.







The sides should have been a touch longer, but I'm so loving the new look!

Two

Well, sweet J, you turned two about a week and a half ago. It seems like you were born about a minute and a half ago, but time flies when you're watching your heart walk around outside of your body, right? You are the pride and joy of your entire family. You are rotten and spoiled and you are all ours, we couldn't be happier. You are the typical baby of the family, slow to talk, quick to scream, and the object of everyone's complete and utter adoration. Since you've been slower to talk than your siblings were, you are a master of body language. There is no mistaking your desires, especially when you waggle your little finger and tell us, "'Mere! 'Mere!", pointing and acting your way through every day is what we've come to count on. You surprise us every day with a new word you can clearly articulate, but we will forever be on the lookout for your happy little dance that shows us the delight in your heart. You spend a good portion of every day trying to talk us out of just one more "bi-C" (vitamin C) and each time we give in, you very somberly mimic us telling you, "only one more, or you'll have a sore bum", you even point your little finger and roll your eyes.



You were so eager to ditch your diapers that you potty trained your little self to the point we could take you out in public with just your big girl panties. Then, for whatever reason, you decided big girl panties weren't all that and a bag of chips, and it's been diapers ever since. You are the most confounding bundle of opposition the world has ever known. You are ornery and sweet, mean and caring, shy and outgoing, scream in the car but you love to go places, the only thing we can count on is that you will do the opposite of what we expect...or not.



You surprise and delight your nursery teachers with your ability to hold a pencil correctly and string beads onto a pipe cleaner, too bad they can't see you run the Casio piano. You know which buttons to push to make it play all your favorite songs and you spend hours each day singing and dancing along with it. Your father and I often joke that you will be in third grade by the time you are six since you refuse to be left out of the homeschool day. We give you your "paypee" and "peepee" each day and you sit at the table with B and K and work just like they do. Just last night, you amazed us all with your ability to bean your sister, then your brother, in the head with a roll around ball at 15 paces. In fact, you can pretty much hit anything you throw at. Your dad couldn't be prouder. Your siblings have taken to wearing their batting helmets indoors.



You tell us "pfunny" (funny), "shash" (trash), "pitty" (pretty), "ticka" (tickle), "'ep meeee" (help me), "step-step", "uppy" (cup, up, puppy), "pee pee" (paper, pencil, get me to a bathroom, and look what I have), you love your "di-dow" (pillow) and your "ki-ki" (blankie), and you have recently developed a love affair with "Bonnie", the big purple dinosaur. You also love Blue's Clue's and have a special sound you use for that, it sounds nothing like Blue or Clue. You also roar. We aren't sure why you do it, but you think it is hysterical. Perhaps the funniest thing you do lately is bring daddy your cat book, and then make daddy chase you with it. You giggle and flirt and dramatize the kitty getting you like it were a real, live cat chasing after you.



You hate clothes and spend a good part of each day as n@ked as a jay-bird. It really is something to see a n@ked girl flop herself onto her brothers skate board and scoot herself across the kitchen like super man. You've also perfected the art of n@ked-couch-flopping. This involves removing all the pillows from the couch, yelling "fi-fi" (excuse me) at the top of your lungs until any bodies that dared sit upon said couch move to another location, and then climbing onto the arm, standing up, and belly flopping onto the seat. You get extra points if you roll off the seat and onto the pillows that litter the floor from step one.



You've decided your sister is a good royal subject, and have decided she should be allowed to share your air. This was a wise decision on your part, your bubba loves you, but he's not nearly as cute in a princess dress. They both wait on you hand and foot, and I have to say, you owe them big-time. You are a fickle playmate and they are very patient with your impatience.



You are the best entertainment we've ever had. Watching you do crunches with me is enough to send us all into fits of laughter. When you get into trouble, you run to your room, scream for 5 minutes or so, and return as though nothing at all ever happened. We let our phones ring extra long just so we can watch you dance. You sing yourself to sleep each night and fill our world with a cuteness that is so blinding that we forgive you all your tantrums.



You are the best surprise we ever got. Happy Birthday little J.

I Lied

I can't stay away. I'll go MIA tomorrow though.

I have to tell you about today's t-ball practice. K decided to play t-ball with her good friend S. K and S have been buddies since they were just babies. S's dad coached B last year during fall ball and had strict orders from S to make sure he got K on the t-ball team. He really is a peach of a coach, spends tons of time with the kids, really works with them and most importantly, he builds up their confidence and makes them feel really special. So today, we got to practice a few minutes early (I know, don't fall over from the shock) and he took the opportunity to work with S and K on their batting. As he was giving K some of the finer points of getting her feet set, she listened intently and did a great job of doing just what he asked. She hit a few balls and he continued to help her make fine adjustments and she hit a few more. He showed her a couple little tricks to help her pivot on her back foot, including giving her a "bug" to "squish" under her toe to help her remember, and he showed her how to get her bat back up over her shoulder. She listened intently to all of this, did exactly what she was supposed to, then she looked him right in the eye and said, "And we're supposed to get the red belt, huh?"

It really is all about the accessories.

Short, Quick Update

Not the best picture, but you get the idea. My uber talented friend, Zmom helped me line the shawl I found and we attached the sash at the edge, so it matches perfectly. Finally, we attached little clips on the inside that attach to the dress so it won't go flying off in a stiff breeze.

And I got an A on my test! I won't have much time this next week, so, see you when I get back from Freaky People Town.

Mythbusting Mom Style

We love Mythbusters around here, and I recently did some myth-busting of my own. You know how you're supposed to wait until the dew "burns off" the grass to mow? The story is, that if you try to mow the grass while wet, the blades won't cut it. Well, I'm in a huge time crunch for the next two weeks, and so I put this myth to the test and mowed my grass in.the.rain. I can tell you that the blades cut just fine, and here are a couple more things I learned while busting this myth:

1. Rain in Texas ceases being warm when the temperature reaches below ninety.
2. Everyone who drives by waves when they see you mowing your grass in the rain. Then they laugh and point.
3. You children take their cue from you that they should also play in the rain.
4. When the water keeps running into your eyes, it is perfectly acceptable to get yourself an umbrella.
5. The mower doesn't like large puddles, slows the blades down a lot. And don't forget where the doggy holes are, those aren't just big puddles and mowers are heavy when they are buried to the axle in mud.

Also, the dress came. Round two, and this time it zipped. Huge step in the right direction. I tried it on with the "fixes" I found and I can't wait to post pictures! I need to make things permanent first, but once I work my magic, you will be AMAZED girls, just amazed! I'm so relieved.

I also took my first Biology test last night. I decided that maybe I should study. This is not something I've ever done before, this study...thing. About halfway through studying, I got to thinking, "What if college really is harder?" "I'm going to have to memorize all these terms?" "What was I thinking?" I then made the mistake of looking up the course in the catalog. The class I took is for science majors. How did I overlook that?! I got to class early, and apparantly, I wasn't the only one who was worried. Half the class was there quizzing each other. He handed out the test and I got to work. Halfway through I was practically singing. If I were not a happily married woman, I would have considered kissing my instructer. I'll find out whether I got an A or a B on Thursday.

9-11

Just wanted to take a moment and say that I remember.

We had just moved to Texas. I was listening to the radio while I dropped the kids off at school. The DJ's were confused, no one knew how a pilot could have made such a mistake. I got back to the house and decided to wash the car since hubster and the little kids weren't up yet. As I washed, I listened and as it became clear we were under attack, I went inside to turn on the TV. We watched as the towers fell. We moved around that day in a dream-like state. I remember hearing fighter jets roar over the house, and running outside to see if there were new horrors that weren't yet on the TV.

We watched National Geographic's special tonight, and the images were as horrifying today as they were five years ago.

Yes, I will always remember.