It's Lent!

So, I'm feeling ambitious this year although I don't think I'm overdoing it.  Much.  The positives:  I'm increasing my spiritual reading this Lent, at least 30 min. a day.  I also dug up a great Lenten meditation book by Fr. Benedict Groeschel, C.F.R.  On the penitential side, I'm giving up Facebook for Lent.  This morning I was checking FB instead of grading Eric's Math test.  Time for a break.  I'm also making a blast from the past resolution and giving up candy.  This week as we've been living the Food Stamp Challenge and I've had to adhere to my grocery budget religiously I've realized how frequently and carelessly I tend to toss a bag of M&M's or a Twix bar into my cart almost every time I'm at the store.  I just don't think I need to replace my coffee habit with a chocolate one.  I think this will be harder than it was as a kid because it's much easier to get candy as an adult than it was when I was 12.
The kids and I will make a Lenten crown of thorns tomorrow, and we'll get started on our Lenten Faith folders, and we'll go to Mass and discuss their resolutions.  I am hopeful that this will be a fruitful Lent.

Rough Week

Some weeks are just beyond words.  Last week was one of them.  Let's hope for better this week.

Life Skills

A couple days this school year, I have cancelled our academic studies in favor of a "Life Skills" day.  It's pretty much what it sounds like, housework class.  Tomorrow, instead of having an entire day for Life Skills, we're going to have a one hour class in the kids' bathroom.

It's so gross, I skipped Gabe's bath just so I wouldn't have to enter it.  Since any of my extended family members will tell you that I'm not exactly the Queen of Clean, you KNOW it's bad if I won't go into it.
And, it's not just the boys making things icky.

So, I'm going to make all of them watch, work, and take notes while I teach them how to REALLY clean a bathroom.  Except Gabe, because you have to be a thorough hand washer before I'll let you clean a toilet.
I'm off to gather my supplies and place them in the hall so no one forgets like they do with piano practice. Maybe there will be photos tomorrow.

Overheard in my kitchen...

Gabe walked into the kitchen yesterday while I was fixing breakfast.
Gabe: Mommy, do you want to shoot the possum?
Me: Why, yes, Gabe, I do want to shoot it.
Gabe: I have some yellow BBs for you, Mommy, so you can shoot the possum.
Me: Where did you get them?(thinking he swiped them from Clint's dresser)
Gabe: At the store with the fish on the wall.(then he starts walking away)
Me: Where are you going, Gabe?
Gabe: To get the yellow BB's for you. Come on, Mommy.(then, he leads me to the tree, and I start cracking up. He hands me a bag, and the older boys run in, yelling GABE! NO!)
Clint: Next time, Gabe is going Christmas shopping with the GIRLS.

So, am I getting a gun, too?
P.S. My neighbor who is a hunter has informed me that our airsoft gun will only make the opossum laugh at me, so I need to explore my options.

A boy take on cake

So, Katie said at dinner that for her 14th birthday, she'd like a traditional Danish "person" cake. They eat these birthday cakes shaped like people, and the birthday person usually requests the head, and everyone says "aaaaaaauughhh" when they cut the head off, it's all very cute. Philip said that this cake should be white filled with red "barbarian cream."

My water almost came out my nose.

I love Philip.

Just a few more days

By this time in Advent in previous years, I have hated Christmas. Not really the birth of Christ, but just the overwhelming feeling of how much there was left to do, even at this late date. With the help of Clint & my friends, I don't hate it this year(well, they nipped my hate in the bud). Today, I still have quite a bit to do, but I have the sense that what must be done, can, and that I'm not stuck doing it alone.

How do you put more Merry into YOUR Christmas?

facebook

This was supposed to be fun. But every time I log on I'm bombarded with the latest liberal-leaning blathering and vilification of all opposing views from a male relative. I'm really thinking about closing my account, but for now I've "hidden" his comments from my page. That should make checking in with my other relatives more fun, and make it easier to stick to my 5 minute rule.

Spring

Spring has sprung with all it's unpredictability. We've already had a big hailstorm, a slightly typical light dusting of snow, and some days roaring into the high 70's & 80's, then dipping down into the 40's & 30's.
This spring we've added something new to our little home & school, a plot at the community garden. We're beginning the planning, and planting will be sure to follow! A concentration on veggies with some flowers for Katie for the Fair are what we know so far. More to come.

Pest Control

Okay, I'll say it. I'm arachnaphobic. It's a fairly recent development, and sometimes I've had to wear dirty jeans because I couldn't face five more minutes in my spider-infested laundry room. We've moved, so that's not a problem anymore.
But the schoolroom is another story. I've already ordered hits on more wolf spiders in my new basement in six months than in my old laundry room in nine years. When I'm really desperate, I have to off them myself. Here's how it's done:
Step one: I shoot it with wasp killer, it's provides great accuracy at a safe-feeling distance(there's no REAL safe distance for an arachnaphobe).
Step two: If the wasp killer didn't drown the target, wait for it to succumb to the paralyzing effects of the spray and slow down. Then, beat it to death with a hard shoe(Birkenstocks are nice) or that old classic, a rolled-up newspaper. You'll know it's dead when legs start flying off and it assumes the "dead spider" position.
Step three: Climb two flights of stairs to retrieve the vacuum from the kids' room. Attach ALL the extensions to the vacuum(safe-feeling distance again) and suck up the carcass. Listen for the loud thumping noise as it passes through the attachments into the vault portion of the vacuum.
Step four: Avoid returning to the scene of the crime until your breathing and heart rate return to normal. A stiff drink may be necessary, but try to wait till after lunch.

Finished Projects

As incentive to use up as much of my SABLE as I can, I'm going to start posting photos of my finished projects. This first one used up a TON of my flannel stash, and went to Shellie to pay for hair services. She loves it, and has ordered a more masculine one for Jack, her older son. So, here's Shellie's blanket!

Ask me about my SABLE!

Clint learned a new favorite acronym the other night from one of the mom's who came for the 4-H knitting meeting: SABLE.
It stands for: Stash Acquired Beyond Life Expectancy.
Guess who's NOT getting any handknits for awhile.

Small successes this week

I really need to remind myself when something in my week goes well, here goes:
1. I finished the lesson plans before Monday morning(a miracle, since I usually finish them sometime after lunch on Mondays.)
2. I baked fresh bread for the kids two days this week.
3. Today, I mailed a birthday present to my nephew, and his birthday isn't for two more days yet.

There we go.

Birthday Weirdity

I've been wanting to make this list for awhile. First, it's important to note that in my immediate family, none of us share a birthday month, let alone a birthday. Once we started making friends and getting married things started to get weird.
I share a birthday(year and all!) with my friend, Ann.
Katie was born on my grandfather's birthday.
My husband, stepdad, and brother-in-law share a birthday.
My brother's wife and my husband's brother share a birthday.
My other sister-in-law's birthday is my anniversary(which is both Kent State day and Rhode Island independence day).
My friend Marcia's first boy was born on my first boy's 2nd birthday.
Philip's godmother had a baby boy on Philip's first birthday.
Two of my friends had their baby girls on Gabe's first birthday.
My best friend from high school and my best friend from Jr. High have the same birthday.
The Jr. high friend's sister has the same birthday as my other grandfather.
My mom and stepbrother have the same birthday.
My father-in-law shares his birthday with Philip's best friend.
I think there might be more, but these are what I have for now.
I think my sister and her niece(husband's side) share a birthday, and I think my dad shares a birthday with my mom's mother-in-law.

Waiting for the Sun

It's cold here! It's 8 degrees, and it really wasn't much warmer today. It's hard to send your kids outside when there's a wind chill. I usually insist on at least 2o degrees before letting them head outdoors. That sounds pretty strange considering I grew up in California, and not the snowy, mountainous region, either! We're all staying warm, though, and very thankful that our furnace is working!

The longest shortest month

February is a looooooong months for homeschoolers. It doesn't help that this one opened with a blizzard that stranded my darling Clint multiple states away. But, we persevere, trusting that if God called us to do this, he will help us find a way.

Moving into Advent

We had a blessed Thanksgiving, with a great trip to Tennessee and visit with Clint's family, and yet another picture with the kids' great-grandmother. I'm always thankful for every year that they have her and get a chance to visit with her.
Right after Thanksgiving was Eric's birthday, my first baby boy is now NINE YEARS OLD! Robots & Legos ruled the day, and cake, of course!
On the way home we celebrated the first Sunday of Advent with our friends, the Christiansens. It was wonderful to see them, and we were glad to break up the drive for Gabe's sake.
After we arrived home, it was time to prepare for Katie's birthday, and her Very Special Surprise--A visit from Grandma! She was shocked and thrilled, and we all had a weekend to remember with my Mom. The visit was followed immediately by Katie & Eric's piano recital, which I was prevented from attending by my friend, Mr. Migraine. It received rave reviews from Clint, though, so I am proud of my budding musicians.
Tomorrow we'll be putting off the daily grind one more day with the Feast of Saint Nicholas. Whew, I got tired just typing all our business up, let alone living it. Look for pictures soon.

What happened to 2008-2009?

Maybe you've noticed that there is only one post in 2008 and NONE for 2009. Let me explain. In 2008, at the ripe old age of not-quite-forty, we conceived Gabe(the little guy in the picture). We had pretty much surrendered to the idea that three kids were it for us, but God, with the assistance of a great doctor, had other plans. So, most of 2008 I was nauseous or exhausted, and not up to blogging because pregnancy had become very scary to me due to our losses in this area. So, after teaching my kids less than I should have and taking a nap and choking down a little food, I was done.
In 2009, Gabe was born. That's enough to keep anyone busy, but my busy-ness didn't agree with Gabe, so he was diagnosed as "failure to thrive" and caring for him became an all-consuming job. After we got him back on the road to healthy & thriving, it was time to begin school and start planning on how we would manage to sell our house, as we'd outgrown it. That and the holidays polished the year off for us, and here we are. All the kids are fine, and we've just celebrated 5 months in our new home.
I know a lot more happened in those years, but that's all I can write for now.

The battle of the mommy bulge

I'm back at Weight Watchers and learning as I go. Apparently, I can have a few drinks a week AND go out to dinner once and if I do some tracking, still lose weight. I hate this battle, though. It just drags on and on and on, and the end is so far in the distance I can't even imagine it. My big fear is that this is how my kids will remember me: "Mom was always on a diet."

Anyway, I guess like the spiritual life, I just need to persevere, and focus on the here & now, which is the only time I really have, isn't it?

Busy Time

Is there ever a time of year that I won't be busy, I wonder? The onslaught of what needs to be done right now seems neverending. I just opened my calendar to November, and it's strangely blank. I'm pretty sure I've avoided filling in the things that have come up because I don't want to see how overwhelming my schedule is becoming. This year we've really tried to keep the focus on the kids' schooling, so I haven't volunteered to be in charge of anything, and I've kept my daytime commitments down to almost zero. The kids have been making steady progress, but I've not seen the expected decrease in whining. Well, I guess that's the next thing to work on, then, isn't it?

We did make time for Halloween, here's the crew before setting off for trick-or-treating.
From left to right, we have a Medieval assassin, cowgirl, cowboy, and King of the Nine riders from Lord of the Rings. They had a great time!

School begins!

We're back at homeschooling again. I didn't think we'd still be at it, but God is good, and here we are. Day one was short(the teacher was sickly), today went better. The kids have mixed attitudes. Katie's thrilled to be back, and looking forward to staying on track. Eric won't admit it, but enjoys having a more structured day and something productive to do. Philip is looking forward to reading and trying not to get discouraged when things don't turn out perfectly. Gabe is happier today since we gave him his own "desk." I'm proud of all of them, and so thankful for our new schoolroom(we moved). So, here goes!