Fun in the mountains

On Saturday, we went on a trip with Hubby's brothers and sister, his aunt, and some friends to the Skyline Drive in Virginia. His family makes this trip every year, but this is the first time Hubby and I have gone along.

Here's everyone crammed into the back of a 15-passenger van. There were only 13 of us, so the van's not even full!

Here are the boys posing in front of a scenic view. Joshua had to make a goofy face, of course!

And here's me in front of, um, another scenic view. We all climbed up on top of this tunnel. Actually, some of us stopped on top of the tunnel, and the rest went on up the mountain. Guess which one I did. Here's the view from on top of the tunnel. There's the van we all traveled in. And here's one of the little friends we met along the way. We saw over 40 of these guys before the day was out.

All in all a very fun if exhausting time was had by all.

SPF - Seasons change

First let me wish my cousin Amy a happy 40th birthday. I cannot for the life of me figure out how she got to be 40 already. But she is one of the coolest people I know and I hope she has a great day!

Kristine's assignment for this lovely fall day is as follows:

1. Show me your season changing. I know it's finally fall when we light the coal stove. This is some of the coal we will be using shortly. It was actually cold enough last night we could've used the heat, but I already told Hubby not to bother lighting the thing until he gets back from his business trip next Thursday. The stove and I have a rather tempestuous history.

2. Show me the beauty of where you call home.The most beautiful thing about home for me is that I can relax and just be me. Which is not to say I'm not me when I go somewhere else, but just that I can't 100% totally relax anywhere else. For example, white socks with black pants. I didn't even think about that when I got dressed because, hey, I'm at home!

3. Your favorite part of the weather changing.

Watching that red bar drop below 80 (or 24 for my Celsius-minded readers). As long as it's over 80, I can't get comfortable. I get a little thrill of excitement when I look at the forecast for the week and there's nothing over 75, and then it just keeps getting lower. I'm smiling just writing this! And is it any wonder I love the fall? First my birthday, then Halloween, then Thanksgiving, then Christmas. What an awesome season!

So, did you play?

Have I mentioned I love the internet?

Last week, one of the other homeschooling moms at my co-op asked if I'd come speak to her writing class (which consists of two teenage girls) about writing a screenplay. This same lady had been a helper in my creative writing class the first time I taught it, and remembered me saying something about studying screenwriting in college. So of course, I agreed.

The day before I was supposed to do this, I got online and started researching. I know I should stop being surprised and thrilled when I find exactly what I'm looking for on the internet. But when I think that during my college years ('88-'92) if I wanted to find information about something I had to go to the library and research it, and now all I have to do is type a few words into a search engine, it just blows my mind.

So now you want to know what I found, right? Okay, check this out - this is so cool! There are places online where you can get complete movie scripts! There's this one, and this one. You can download some of them in PDF format here. I even found transcribed scripts of movies that are still in the theatre or not yet released on DVD (like Pirates 2). Chances are, if there's a movie you like, somewhere online you can find the script. And since the best way to learn screenwriting is to read lots of scripts and see how they did it, this is an amazing resource.

What else did I find? A free, that's F-R-E-E, screenplay writing program. I downloaded and tried it out myself, and it's awesome! What's the worst part of writing a screenplay? The formatting. This program does it for you, so you can concentrate on the writing. It's called Celtx, and you can get it here. I also found free novel-writing software here. No, it doesn't write the novel for you. It gives you tools to help make novel writing easier. I might use it for NaNoWriMo next month.

How did we ever get along without the internet? It's like Harrod's - if you can't find it online, it doesn't exist.

Help me, I'm fall-ing

Well, this week TKW is asking to see pictures taken in that most wonderful of seasons, fall. Now, if she's allowed to use pictures we've seen before, then I figure so am I. I found lots of photos taken in the right season, but not even one that suggested it was fall. No pumpkins, no dried up stalks of corn, nothing. However, I do have this:Now, I know what you're thinking: that's a Halloween costume. But you're wrong. You see, as you might remember, my birthday is at the beginning of October. So for my ninth birthday, I had a costume party. That's me in the front dressed like a witch. I'm actually wearing a dress with my mom's apron over it. We were all about making our own costumes. And yes, that's a broomstick I'm holding. My brother is the clown. Those are his real glasses.

So that's it, that's all I could find. Did you play?

Aloha E Komo Mai

That's Hawaiian for hi and welcome! The boys' obsession lately has been Lilo & Stitch, not just the movie, but the television series on Toon Disney. They're constantly talking about alien experiments. They can tell you the name and number of almost all of them. At any given time of the day, there is usually some sort of chase going on as two of the older boys try to capture the escaped experiment (the other boy). The baby just watches and laughs.

Well, being a homeschool mom, I see this not so much as an obsession as an opportunity. I asked them if they'd like to study Hawaii and they responded enthusiastically. So, tomorrow I'm going to do some research and start putting together lesson plans. We can study the history and culture of the islands, the language (I'm trying to teach them a Hawaiian word a day), even how volcanoes work. I'm also looking for Hawaiian recipes to try out. We'll be immersed in all things Hawaii for the next few weeks.

Do you think we might get a field trip out of this?

Tags: Hawaii, Lilo & Stitch, homeschooling

Tired of sick

Two weeks ago I was sick. I thought I'd gotten over it, and then it got even worse. I spent all weekend in bed, trying to just relax, take it easy, and get better. This morning, I still have a sore throat, congestion and cough. I suspect what happened is that I got a second cold while my immune system was still trying to recover from the first one.

I've barely done any school work with the boys for the last week because my throat hurt too much to talk a lot. Today doesn't seem very promising, either. I guess I just need to rest some more today, because I have to teach co-op tomorrow and I have to be able to talk for that.

So, what do you think of my new template? I think I'll keep it for a while.

Folger's Gourmet Selections

One of the perks (pun intended) of blogging is that I get free coffee every now and then. Recently, Folgers sent me some samples of their new Gourmet Selections and asked that I review them. Free coffee? I am so there.

Now first, I have to admit I have never liked Folgers coffee. I wouldn't have agreed to do this if they wanted a glowing review. But they asked for my honest opinion, so I'm going to give it.

The three varieties they sent were Lively Columbian, Vanilla Biscotti, and Morning Cafe. They sent ground coffee, and I usually use whole bean. I imagine the taste would be a bit fresher if you grind it yourself. Anyway, I tried the Vanilla Biscotti first, using one tablespoon of coffee per cup of water. It was a nice medium roast with an inviting aroma. Now, vanilla is not my favorite flavor, in coffee or anywhere else. But for a vanilla coffee, it was quite good. I gave it to my parents and they really enjoyed it. It had a pleasant taste and a nice smooth aftertaste. If the Vanilla Biscotti was that good, I'd probably love the Chocolate Truffle.

Next I tried the Lively Columbian. It's a nice dark roast, and I always love dark roasts. This one has a rich flavor, but a bit of an ashy aftertaste. I happen to like ashy aftertastes, but if you don't, don't try this one. Again, I'd probably like it better in whole bean.

Morning Cafe flavor was just average, about what I expected from the name Folgers. Not very rich, kind of acidic, not a lot of flavor. It only comes in ground coffee, so I know I wouldn't buy it. But if you like regular Folgers, you'd probably really like this.

So there you have it. Now, as of this writing, if you go to the above link you can also get some free samples. But if you're too late for that, the next time you're at the store you might want to pick up some Gourmet Selections and try it for yourself.

Tags: Folgers, coffee, Gourmet Selections

SPF - Labels

Before I begin, I'd like to point out that today is MY BIRTHDAY! I will gladly accept well-wishes, gifts, and cash. Thank you!

Also, bid a fond farewell to Captain Jack and his cohorts. They've been loitering here for three months now and we all know a pirate doesn't like to stay in one place too long. Look for a new template by Monday.

Now, on to business! Kristine's assignment is as follows:
1. Your Label — If you made clothes, what would your label be? What kind of clothes would you make?
If I had my own clothing label, I'd call it Cool'n'Comfy because that's what all the clothes would be. I'm always hot. I even wear short sleeves in the winter. So I like nice cool fabrics like cotton and silk. And I like things that are comfortable, but nice-looking. I want things I can wear comfortably around the house or out in public.

2. YOUR personal Label — We all hate to be labeled, but sadly we are. What is YOUR label? My biggest, glaring, neon label is MOMMY. This is an old picture, about a year and a half ago, but I've been Mommy for over ten years now. I suppose my oldest will start calling me Mom at some point, and his brothers will follow suit. Then one day I'll be whatever my grandkids call me.

3. Your FAVORITE Label

I really don't have one. I've never been into labels, not in high school and not now. I buy clothes based first on how they look and second on price (cheap!). I couldn't even begin to tell you what any of the labels in my closet are.

So there you have it! Did you play?

Bye bye, baby

It's really starting to hit me that my baby is not much of a baby anymore. He'll be two in two months. I always make myself stop calling the youngest child "the baby" when he turns two. I don't want to be one of those parents who still calls her 25 year old "the baby," you know? It's harder with this one, because I know he's the last. Plus, he's not really talking yet, which makes him seem younger than he is. Ironically, the only word I can get him to say consistently is "baby."

I haven't cut his hair yet, either. He's got all these adorable little curls that I can't bring myself to cut off. He's still got that soft, smooth baby skin that feels so nice. But lately, that soft skin is covered with little bruises from all his big adventures, or sticky from whatever he's been eating. And really, who wants to cuddle a sticky toddler?

I'll be 36 tomorrow, and I can't help but wonder where the time's gone. Wasn't I just 16 yesterday? How does twenty years go by so fast? I'll blink, and my "baby" will be twenty-two. So you'll forgive me if I hold him a little more frequently in the next couple of months, if I cuddle and kiss him just to feel that soft skin against my face. I need to remember this.

Lost premiere - LIVE

Only ten minutes until the premiere!...

Good grief, Sara made it through on Dancing With the Stars? I don't believe that...

If you're with me live, don't forget to refresh your screen at each commercial...

No way! The Others have their own little suburban town in the middle of the island? I started out thinking, "Who are these people?" Then we see 'Henry Gale' (I'm guessing he's Ben?). So the earthquake was the system failure, and then the plane goes down. Is this season going to be the same sixty-some days from the Others' perspective now?...

Another flashback: Jack in a car. Spying on his ex-wife. Oh, it's a dream. Never good to find someone's drawn blood while you were sleeping. Okay, Jack's not going anywhere. On to Kate. So she's offered a nice hot shower, and poor Sawyer's in a cage in the jungle. Who's the other caged guy? Don't push the button, Sawyer! Don't... well, naturally, being Sawyer, you had to, didn't you? And who is Juliet? We'll see...

Panasonic Toughbook - I could've used that a couple of weeks ago...

Stubborn - good word to describe Jack, alright. Nice dress for Kate. Who's waiting?... Sawyer maybe? No, it's 'Henry'. Okay, I'd totally put on the handcuffs if it meant no coffee... Man, this guy's nasty...

Poor Jack. Why did she dump him? I think his question is valid - why is Sarah calling his father? Okay, that was freaky - how did his father's voice come out of that intercom? That intercom which doesn't work!! Yeah, starve yourself - that'll work. Yes, Jack's father was dead. But let's not forget the empty coffin he found, and the strange way this island has of healing people... Either this kid is really on Sawyer's side, or he's just trying to gain his trust. Oops - wrong way, Sawyer. So who is Karl?...

Bluff called, Jack - they know you're a doctor. A doctor who's going to get sloppy if he keeps obsessing about his ex-wife (who may be sleeping with his father?) Way to embarass yourself, Jack. And back to the present... What's outside that door that will kill them all? Water? Yup, water. And yet, they didn't die...

What is this? Sawyer is in a zoo? At least he has a pretty Kate in a dress to look at. She doesn't look happy. So I guess Sawyer isn't smarter than your average bear? Aw, he gave her his fish biscuit. At least he still has the bear chow. "You don't know anything about me," says Jack. Well, okay, maybe you know a few things about me. How did they get all that information? She bailed him out - that was nice. "Now you have something to fix." Well, wasn't he trying to fix their marriage? Oh, good, she's happy. Who cares? "Good work, Juliet." So what was she actually doing?

The real adventure is just beginning...

Tags: Lost season premiere

NaNoWriMo 2006

It's that time of year again, when bunches of crazy people decide they're going to write a 50,000 word novel in one month's time. Starting November 1, it's National Novel Writing Month! I participated last year, and it was really great for me. I finished my novel, and I'm still working on revising it, but the point is I finished! Do you know how many novels I've started and not finished? Neither do I, but it's a lot. Anyway, I'm looking forward to finishing another one.

So, do you think you have what it takes to write 1,667 words a day for thirty days straight? I'd love to have a partner like I did last year. We emailed each other our writing each day, and kept each other accountable. If anyone's interested, let me know. In the meantime, I'm going to finish my revisions on last year's novel and start sending it out to agents. Then I can concentrate on the new one. Wish me luck!

Lost premieres tonight!

Hubby is out of town again. Before he left, I reminded him that Lost season 3 would be premiering this week. I asked him if he wanted me to wait until he got home to watch it. Then I pretty much insisted he say no. I don't want to wait any more!

If you remember my theory on what's happening, I speculated that half my theory would be disproved in the next episode. So we'll see. But in the meantime, I'm dying to know what happened to the people in the hatch, what's going to happen to Jack, Kate and Sawyer, and what will happen when Hurley tells everyone they were taken.

I'm thinking I will live-blog along with the premier tonight, just for fun.

In the meantime, I'm going to continue to search my archives for a WBW picture. I haven't found one yet, but if I do, I'll be posting it later.

I am a slacker

I've been slacking on my Favorite Things blog, but I did add a couple new entries this week, so check them out!

I like a good mystery

From the creators of BlogMad, eXlinks is a new service set to launch sometime in the near future. It sounds like a new and interesting way to create traffic and networks for your blog, though exactly how it will work is being kept secret for now. So if you want to be in on the secret, just click on the picture, sign up, and you'll be one of the ones in the know.

Moo

Yesterday morning, Hubby opened the curtain in the boys' room to a curious sight. Our neighbor's yard was full of cows. Yes, cows. Actual black and white Holstein milkers. There was one standing in their garden, several lounging langorously in the nicely manicured grass, and one rather puzzled cow standing astride the mini-jungle gym.

I wish I could've gotten a picture, but it was still too dark outside. I'm sure the farm down the road just left the gate open or something, but it was really bizarre. We ran to the other windows in the back of the house, but there were no cows in our yard. At least not at that time.

We did however find a very nice cow pie left in front of our garage.

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SPF - Inspiration

Kristine's assignment this week is pretty interesting. I wish I'd looked at it before 8:45 this morning. Anyway...

Something that inspires me:
This isn't really a someone, 'cause it's just a cartoon, right? A new hobby of mine, for about a year now, is designing blog templates. My kids have been watching Kim Possible on Toon Disney, which inspired me to create this template, currently on my test blog. I also get inspired looking at all the cool designs other people have created on Blogskins.

Something I don't like to read about on blogs:"Bush is terrible. I hate Bush." or "Bush is wonderful. I love Bush." But without any rational explanation. I stay away from any political blog that is all opinion and no logic. They make both sides of any argument sound like uninformed dolts. I will, however, read any political blog that makes me laugh, no matter which side of the argument its author is on.

Something that inspires me to write my blog:The crowds of adoring fans, all giving me a standing ovation. Well, not really. But I do write with an eye toward what other people might find interesting. If the topic isn't particularly interesting, I at least try to write it in an entertaining way. Sometimes I even succeed. But don't look at this week's posts for an example - I've been sick and I'm off my game.

So, did you play?

What was that?

As you probably remember, Dancing With the Stars is one of my favorite things. I've been really impressed with this season's celebrities and their dancing abilities. But what in the world was that singing group doing on there last night?

Now, I will be the first to admit I don't keep up with current music. Most of it is just not of interest to me. So the name Scissor Sisters meant nothing when I heard it. But as the producers seem to be unintentionally revealing to the world, just because it has the right beat doesn't mean people should be dancing ballroom to it. Some of their song choices this season have been questionable at best, and this singing group that was on last night was awful. Not even watching Cheryl Burke dance to their "singing" helped.

In case you missed it, the lead singer was dressed in horrible glam-rock 70s-type clothing, and sang in a mediocre falsetto most of the time. Since when did falsetto count as actual singing? One or two bars, sure, but a whole song? Ick.

I was glad that Joey and Mario both stayed on, because even though they broke the rules they are both incredible dancers. When it came down to Harry and Jerry, I knew Harry was going home. What annoyed me was that he didn't last any longer than the dreadful P Miller from last season. But at least now Jerry gets to learn the waltz for his daughter's wedding.

So to the producers, please think through your guest appearances more carefully. And start picking the songs to actually fit the dances. How hard is that?

Sick...ick

I woke up this morning with a nasty head cold. Courtesy of my children, of course. Two of them have had runny noses all week, and now it's my turn.

So if anyone would like to come over today and make me some soup, keep my boys under control, and maybe do a little light cleaning, I'll leave the back door unlocked. Help yourself to anything in the fridge. I'll be upstairs in bed.

Whole again

I got my new LCD screen yesterday (yes, that was fast!), and hubby and I installed it last night. It's actually pretty easy to do. It helped that we found step by step instructions with photos online. Have I mentioned how much I love the internet?

So now I am back on my new laptop, able to type the letter "P" and everything. And I can add "Replaced laptop screen" to my hubby's resume of skills, which gets longer all the time. Glad I married a handy man! Thanks, honey!

Off to co-op!

Our field trip

I've been so busy, I haven't posted pictures from our trip to the Maryland Science Center. So here they are!
This is a cloud generator. The boys loved finding out what it would be like to touch a cloud.
Sitting in a dinosaur's footprint! This one was made by one of the dinosaurs which were indigenous to Maryland - but don't ask me its name, I don't remember!
Everyone enjoyed the bed of nails. I even took a turn on it. It actually felt really nice on my back - I may have one installed.
All three of the boys tried on astronaut's flight suits. I'm pretty sure they would have worn them out of the museum if they could've.
This is a tornado they had running. Periodically it would disappear, then it would start up again. The boys had fun seeing how they could "break" it apart with their hands or breath and it would still reform.

I hadn't been to the Science Center since I was in high school. It's changed a lot. I only saw a few things I remembered. There's tons of hands-on stuff to do, and we didn't even see the planetarium or Imax. I don't know if it's worth the admission price, but for free it was definitely worth visiting!

SPF - Growing up, moving on

Kristine is making me think again, and I honestly can't this early in the morning. Why don't I do my SPF on Thursday night? Why?

Something I have outgrown:
Boy, this is a tough one. What have I outgrown? My need for people to celebrate my birthday (which is two weeks from today)? Celebrity crushes? Going to amusement parks? I guess I'm just a kid at heart. But I did finally think of something. Play-Doh. Fun-Dough. Whatever you call it, I hate it. It is the scourge of mothers everywhere. There is no way to contain it, and much like a creeping fungus, it will attach itself to walls, floors, carpets, and become a dried, crusty mess. If I find a can of Play-Doh, I generally throw it away before it can escape from its can and wreak havoc. I am so over Play-Doh.

Something I have overcome: The need to snack all day long. It's a one-day-at-a-time thing, but I have managed to overcome the draw of the refrigerator. No comments on the condition of my fridge, k? It looks like that because I am not eating everything in it anymore.

I need help with...
My book addiction. Just say the words "book sale" and I salivate. There's a place near here that has bag sales - all the used books you can stuff in a bag for $4. I have run out of places to put them, but still I buy more. I must stop. I must. Just as soon as the next sale is over.

So, did you play?

eter i er icked a eck of ickled e ers

This com uter's got a non-working key. Can you guess which one it is? It's between the I and the [ on the keyboard, and I can't write a decent ost wihout it.

Why am I using my old la to , when I have a new one less than three months old? Well, I killed the screen on my new one. I am absolutely sick about it. I knocked it off a table, and just like that, half the screen was blank. I think I cried for an hour, not because of the thing itself, but because I felt so stu id. It was com letely my fault. Now any money I get for my birthday is going to go toward a new screen, which is $250. Even on ebay, it's $250. That's robably my Christmas money, too.

Of course, in the meantime I can hook my new la to to a regular monitor and still use it, but that kind of defeats the whole ur ose of a mobile com uter as far as long term use goes. I use my com uter for teaching the boys and for watching DVDs on long tri s and it's not nearly as useful if it's anchored in one lace.

So, I'll be going to my deskto after this ost, because obviously having no letter between O and Q is sort of useless. I'm de ressed.

WBW - Isn't that amusing?

For Way Back Wednesday this week, we're doing pictures of us at amusement parks. It was a rare summer that I didn't go to an amusement park, so I was surprised to find so few pictures. Probably because I was the one taking them, I didn't get in them. But I did manage to find these photos from our second honeymoon (so called because it took place six months after our first and because we actually had a relaxing and enjoyable time. Remind me to tell you about the first honeymoon sometime). We went to Disney and Universal in Florida for free because we had a friend whose cousin worked at Universal and whose same cousin's girlfriend worked at Disney.
So here I am with Ricky and Lucy at Universal Studios. This was in 1992, by the way. Notice the awesomely cool fanny pack. Can you believe I'm such a dork I spoke Spanish to Ricky? Yeah I did.

This is one of those optical illusion things. They have an area of Universal that looks like a New York street, and if you stand under this cutout image and take a picture from a precise location, it's supposed to look like the NY skyline behind you. It works a lot better if you turn off your flash.

Yes, I am taking pictures of pictures again. Sorry. Anyway, here's hubby going all psycho on me in front of the Bates house from Psycho. I could be wrong, but I don't think this is there anymore. They also had a Hitchcock stage show where they picked the friend who'd brought us to be the psycho attacking the lady in the shower. He does a really good psycho face, so it was cool. That was a fun trip.

So, did you play?

Tags: Way Back Wednesday, Universal Studios Florida, vacation pictures

Ahoy, mateys!

Today be National Talk Like a Pirate Day! I be off to co-op now to inflict some learnin' on me class o' fifteen boys and one lonely lass. Arr!

The O without the B

Remember that Seinfeld episode where the valet's body odor remains in Jerry's car long after the valet has gotten out? Eventually he has to get rid of the car because he can't get rid of the smell. Well, I have the same problem with my dining room.

I first noticed it when I sat down to use my laptop in there. I thought it must be the chair, so I spritzed it with fabric refresher and went about my day. The next time I came into the room, it was still there. At this point, I started wondering where it came from. I don't think anyone in this family smells like that. I mean, I'm pretty familiar with all the different odors around here, and this one is foreign. I can't think of anyone who has been lounging in my dining room lately. Whose B did this O come from?

But regardless, my mission now was to get rid of it. I got my handy spray bottle out again, and began spraying all the fabric in the room, including the entire length and width of the rug. Again thinking I had won out, I went about my business. But the next time I entered the room, there it was! This horrendous odor, with no source. I started sniffing around the room like a bloodhound. The odor was elusive. One second I could smell it, the next I couldn't. To make matters worse, Hubby couldn't smell it at all (though he finally did later).

So now I'm wondering if this smell is contained in one of the thousand books in the room (which I use as a library rather than a dining room). I've been sniffing up and down the shelves, but nothing. It's plaguing me. It's like we have a really smelly poltergeist. I'm almost ready to try the odor exorcism.

Anyone know a priest who specializes in odors? Maybe I should get him to bless my bottle of fabric refresher.

SPF - TV edition

After reading Kristine's post today, I hope this will cheer her up a bit should she venture over here. It's a fun assignment!

My television:Got it on clearance at Sam's Club. I love watching movies on this thing. Four words: Life-size Orlando Bloom.

My show:
I don't have a picture for this. My show, starring me, is called Casa Testosterone. It's the story of a busy mom of four boys who sometimes feels like the only woman in the universe. Of course, there are lots of bodily function jokes, lots of laughs when the boys bring home snakes or toads and they escape in the house, and chuckles galore when they use mommy's sanitary products to build towers in the living room in front of company. Not that any of those things really happened, but you have to admit it would be funny on a television show.

My new cast member:
Kelly Ripa. After several seasons, the producers decide we need more women on this show. Kelly is the natural pick since she and I were born only a couple of days apart and I have always gotten along really well with people born the same month and year as I was. I have so much in common with her, it's scary. I think she'd make a great wacky next-door neighbor. I have nothing against my current neighbor, but she works and I stay home, so there's not really a lot of chance to hang out with her. If Kelly were my neighbor, we'd go to each other's houses for coffee and there would be sparklingly witty conversations. Maybe a few years down the road, her daughter could date one of my sons and we'd become in-laws. How cool would that be?

So, did you play?

Go, Mommy, Go!

Wouldn't it be nice if life really worked like certain children's shows? For example, Go, Diego, Go! This is a very cute show, and I often find myself envying the ease with which everything gets done in Diego's world.

"Hi, I'm Mommy, and I'm a child rescuer! Did you hear that scream? Which child did it belong to? Let's ask Click the Camera!"

Soy Click, la camera, I can take a pic,
I can see and hear the screaming child in trouble.
Into the basement or out in the yard,
To find the screaming one it isn't hard.

Along the way, of course, there are obstacles. "Oh, no, we have to cross the river of spilled chocolate milk! Luckily we have Rescue Pack! Say, 'Activate!' Louder! Activate!"

"I'm Rescue Pack, coming to the rescue! (Al rescate!)
Rescue Pack, I've got your back, I can turn into a vacuum cleaner
Or a straight jacket.
Paintbrush, dog leash, whatever you need! Rescue Pack!
Tell Mommy she needs a wet dry vac to cross the river of spilled chocolate milk!"

Naturally, my handy Rescue Pack turns into the wet dry vac, I clean up the mess, and continue on my quest.

Oh, no! I want to go down the steps, but the Bobos are playing with their cars! To make them stop, we have to say, "Move, Bobos!" Say it with me! "Move, Bobos!"

And just like that, the little monkeys move out of the way. No arguments. I would love to have just this power by itself!

Finally, we reach the basement. There's the screaming child! He's being kicked in the head by his older brother! All we have to do is say, "Go away!" and the mean child will leave him alone! Say it with me now, "Go away!" Louder! "Go away!"

We did it! We rescued the screaming child! Go, Mommy, Go!

Gray day

I am feeling depressed this morning. Maybe it's the rain. I haven't been able to stop thinking about Monday and all those people. I visited a few of the other tributes, but there are so many. I wanted to watch the memorial service at ground zero, but they only showed a bit and then it was back to your regularly scheduled program. Do the networks think that only the people who went there in person want to see the memorial? What's the deal? We can't ever, ever forget what happened that day. I almost feel like I relived the emotions of that day as I looked at face after face on different blogs. And then it's back to business as usual.

My fellow Americans, it will never be business as usual again. Go about your lives, but don't ever forget.

First day of co-op

Normally, I post by 9 a.m., but this morning, we had to get up and out of the house by 8:45 to get to my homeschool co-op. I am on the committee now, and I had to be there early to help set up. Thankfully, my parents were here and helped me get everyone up and moving. We were actually there on time!

I am teaching a class called Knights & Castles, which I did two years ago and everyone loved it. Today, we built little models of a motte and bailey castle. The kids are all 6-8 years old, so I try to do a lot of hands-on stuff with them. Everyone's favorite week will probably be when we build a block castle and try to knock it down with a catapult.

I was just thinking this morning about what I might teach next spring, and it hit me: I bet a class on pirates would go over big! I'm going to start researching that now.

Honoring William Krukowski

I am truly humbled to honor a real hero of 9/11, William Krukowski, who, along with his fellow firefighters, ran into Tower 1 when everyone else was running out. He was the same age I will be soon, 36. He was with Ladder 21, and he died that day in the World Trade Center.

Apparently, risk-taking was a part of Bill’s life. He used to ride a motorcycle and skydive. He also liked souping up cars and trying them out on a drag strip. He had recently given up the motorcycle for a bike, and rode it to work most days in Manhattan from his home in Bayside, Queens.

He grew up in Bayside and went to Holy Cross High School and Nassau Community College. While he was waiting to be called to the Fire Department, he worked in construction, and with the New York Department of Sanitation. He was a firefighter for about three years.

Bill was separated from his wife but still spent a lot of time with his son, William Lee, 10. "I am so proud of the kind of father my brother was to his son through all the difficulties of his personal relationship," said his sister, Virginia.

On a memorial website, his mother left the following message: Thinking of you Bill and missing you so much. I miss your wonderful smile and disposition. I miss your honesty and dedication; which you applied to all situations. You were one of a kind. I can only hope that your son Billy follows in your footsteps with regard to love and caring. You meant the world to me. Love you much.

I cannot imagine what his family went through and has gone through since that day. A mother lost her only son. A ten-year-old boy lost his father. I have a son who is ten; to be that age, needing a father to guide you into the world of being a man, and to suddenly not have him anymore, is a horrible thing.

I hope that whenever Billy thinks of his father, he is proud. I imagine every time he ran into a burning building, Bill must have wondered if he’d come out again. That day surely was no different. He was a hero in every sense of the word, brave and courageous, dedicated and selfless. Thank you, Bill, for your sacrifice. I never knew you, but I will never forget you.

For posts honoring other victims of 9/11, go here.

If that site is still down, try this one.

SPF - Freedom, Hope, Wish

Kristine is making me think too hard for a Friday morning. Here we go.

My freedom:I may get awfully annoyed at all the annoying people saying annoying things, but I'm sure glad that we live in a country where they have the freedom to say them.

My hope:
I hope I can get rid of all this extra weight. So far I'm down 15 pounds! "Only" 45 to go.

My wish:I really wish that when you buy all these neat cookbooks, they came with someone to prepare the meals for you. I love buying cookbooks, I love reading cookbooks, but I'm terrible at meal planning, so they tend to sit on the shelf, unused.

So, did you play? I'll be busy teaching for a while, but later on I'll come check yours out!

Field trip!

We are going on a field trip to the Maryland Science Center today, so in place of a regular post, I give you this:

This website, BBC Science Clips, has lots of cool and fun science activities for all age groups. My ten year old spent half an hour playing just one of the activities. Chances are that something your kids are studying is on this website, so check it out!

My kids love science, so I think we're going to have a lot of fun today!

What was 90's fashion?

I'm not going to pretend to know the answer to that question. However, for this week's WBW, one picture immediately came to mind. The year was 1995, and I went to my first Rockapella concert. Now, just knowing that, you know that I was trying to look my very best for these guys. So clearly I thought the outfit I chose for the occasion was H.O.T. So let's check it out, shall we?

Nondescript black pants, pretty baggy though, and black shoes. Green silk shirt, also slightly oversized, not tucked in. And the finishing touch, the black faux-leather vest, not buttoned of course. It looks like I got up late and didn't finish getting dressed. "Never mind the buttons, we've got to get to the concert!" It also looks like I'm trying to hide about 15 extra pounds. Unfortunately, this was about the skinniest I have been in my adult life, and for some unknown reason, I'm covering it up!

So like I said, this may or may not be 90s fashion, but I certainly thought I was "all that." And just as a side note, the fashion for men that year appears to have been oxfords over t-shirts.

Did you play?

Weird

The lovely CameraDawktor tagged me with this:
Here are the rules: List 5 weird things about yourself or your pets. Tag 5 friends and list them. Then, those people need to write on their blogs about 5 weird things, and state the rules, and tag 5 more people. Dont forget to let the people you tag know by posting a comment on their blog!

1. My closet is usually organized by color. White, then rainbow order, then brown and black.

2. I can say the alphabet backwards in less than 5 seconds.

3. I have always been good at predicting the gender of people's unborn babies, except for my own. I've never been wrong for someone else.

4. Weird pet fact: My dog goes insane over lights. If you shine a flashlight on the floor, she will attack it. Then she'll sit there guarding the spot in case the horrible light comes back again.

5. Weird pet fact: My cat has been getting back in the house from our deck's screen door. The deck is 12 feet off the ground and has no steps.

Okay, that was harder than I thought. I tag everyone, hahahaha!

Attack of the S.A.U.s

Hubby and I play this game where he asks me if he is annoying me.

If I answer no, he'll do something even more annoying, like poking me. "How about now?" he'll say.

Eventually I have to say yes because, eventually, it's true! So the other night he starts out with "Am I annoying you?"

Not in the mood to be picked on, I answered (completely joking here), "You've been annoying me since the day we met." Just then, my 20 month old walks in and starts pulling on me.

"You have to admit, I've gotten more efficient at it," Hubby said. "Now I have these cute little satellite annoyance units to help me. I can do four times the annoying in the same amount of time."

Yeah, I married a comedian.

SPF - No theme

No theme this week, just randomness from Kristine.

What I support:I support my boys, unconditionally. I'm sure I'm not the only mom who chose her kids for this category, but it's true.

Something I sacrifice:
I'm sure every mom could say this, too, but I sacrifice a lot of my time. It takes a great deal of preparation, and then hours of work every day, to homeschool my boys. Take all the things you have to do as a mom and a homemaker, and then add full-time teacher. I don't have a lot of time left over! But my kids are worth it.

Something red:Fresh from my garden!

Did you play?

Is he wise, or cynical?

A couple of weeks ago I bought these two bottles of coffee flavoring syrups at Sam's Club. I'd been wanting to try syrups forever, and at $4 a bottle, it seemed like a good time. So I picked out Kahlua flavored, and raspberry flavored.

One evening, as I was pouring some raspberry syrup into my coffee, I noticed something on the label. I turned to Hubby. "Look, " I said, "they have all sorts of recommendations on here. You can put this on ice cream, in tea - ooo, that would be good, raspberry tea. Oh, and there are recipes on their website!"

He looked at me. "Uh huh. You know, they probably wouldn't mind if you just drank it straight from the bottle."

And standing there, holding that $4 bottle of syrup, I had to admit he was probably right.

I'm still going to try it in tea though. Just once.

I was not a joiner

WBW this week is supposed to be pictures of us in organizations like 4H or Girl Scouts. Well, I was never a joiner when I was a kid. I lived in my own little fantasy world and I let other people into my club. Hmm, much like today. In elementary school, I found some friends who thought the same way I did and we formed our own little club. We were buddies all the way through graduation. These were people who stood by me no matter what, even when I was not always the best friend they could have had.
I'm the one on the bottom left. We called ourselves The Fun Bunch, which is what that sign says. We didn't have a uniform or a secret handshake or anything. The only requirement to being in The Fun Bunch was that you had to be at least as nuts as we were. There was one other member who isn't in this picture, but this was pretty much the whole group. Yes, we were very picky about letting people in. Let's just say we weren't the popular kids and leave it at that, okay?

Over the years I have been in and out of touch with them. Just the other day, I decided to email Michele, who I would say was my best friend in high school. I've had her work email address for ages, and just hadn't gotten around to getting in touch with her again. Well, she still works for the National Aquarium in Baltimore, and I'm hoping we'll be able to get together for lunch soon. How cool is that? (I gave her this blog address, too - so, if you're reading this, Hi, Michele!)

Nowadays I'm much more of a joiner. You should see my Patch the Pirate Club uniform.

That wasn't so bad

Our first day went really, really well. The boys actually got out of bed when they were supposed to, ate breakfast, and went right to the school room. We worked together for about two hours, then had lunch, and then I did math with each of the older boys individually. I didn't get any arguments, any complaining, any whining - it was amazing! We were finished by 2. If the rest of the week goes like that, I'll be highly encouraged!

Now all I need to do is figure out how to keep the baby occupied while we're working. He kept coming in wanting drinks, snacks, and attention. I have a box of toys he hasn't played with all summer, so maybe that will hold his attention. But overall, I was very happy with how the day went.

First day of school!

As we begin another new school year here at my house, I once again look forward to all the new and exciting things my sons and I are going to study together, and at the same time question my own sanity for doing this. My oldest is in fifth grade this year, my second is now in 2nd grade, and my third son will be learning preschoolish stuff like letters and numbers, plus participating in art projects with his brothers. The baby will most likely just be screaming for attention.

The comment I get most often from moms who don't homeschool is, "I just wouldn't have the patience for that," or some variation thereof. Let me let you all in on a little secret. I don't have the patience for that either! I can guarantee you that at least once a week I will threaten one of the boys by saying something like, "If you do that again, I'm driving you to the nearest school and throwing you through the front doors and they can deal with you!" I've actually been on the phone calling the local school district a couple of times. But I always stop.

Why do I stop? Sometimes I'm not sure. But I do know one thing: No one in any school anywhere is going to give my boys the time and attention that I can give them. When I hear about kids who spend all day at school and then they still have three hours of homework at night, I just feel so bad for them. When do they have time to be kids? When my kids are done for the day, they're done! I know they're happy that way.

Being a mom is all about sacrifice. Sure, I'm sacrificing my own free time, the ability to have a spotless house, the mornings of leisurely sipping coffee and watching Regis & Kelly. But that's okay. I'm gaining so much.

I know homeschooling is not for everyone. And certainly if you go into it thinking you're going to fail, there's no point in trying. But I also think that if you're willing to really try and make it work, you will be amazed at what you find you can do. I know I have been.

How to eat a jelly sandwich

I am just not in the mood to do SPF today, so instead I give you this.

My 20 month old wanted a jelly sandwich last night. I spread jelly on one piece of bread and folded it in half. Then I went to do other stuff while he ate it. When I returned to the kitchen, this is what I found:Yes, that's him face-down in jelly. He was literally just plunging his whole face right into it. When I said his name, I got this look:"You talkin' to me?" Then he went right back to "eating."

Did I ever mention I have weird kids?

Feeling guilty

Hubby left this morning at 5 a.m. for a two day trip to Akron, Ohio. He gets all the fun. But as we all know, when the cat's away, the mice will play. As soon as he left, I indulged in one of my favorite things, something I can't really do when he's here. I slept in. Ahh, the luxury! The baby didn't wake up until 9:30, as though God knew I needed that extra pillow time. I feel guilty now, like I did something I shouldn't have done! Still, I'll probably do it again tomorrow, hehehe!

School starts Monday in our house. Not looking forward to it.

WBW - Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Well, I decided to bite the bullet and take pictures of my pictures. The lovely TKW has asked for any transportation-themed photos we have in our archives. These are the ones I found.

When I graduated from high school (1988), my grandmother offered to take me on a trip anywhere I wanted to go. I chose Spain because I'd just finished four years of Spanish and thought I should use it. Little did I know that high school Spanish and actual Spanish bear little resemblance. Still, it was an amazing trip. Here I am on the tour bus in Madrid. If you've read the first chapter of my novel (Spanish Summer - link on the left), you might recognize the woman in front of me there as Jill. Yes, the character is definitely based on her.
On the same tour, we took a day trip to Morocco. The king of somewhere or other was traveling by yacht that day, so we were not allowed to travel by boat from Gibraltar to Morocco. Instead we got to fly on this tiny little plane. Dig my cute short set with suspenders! That was a very fun vacation. I'd love to take Hubby back there some day.

So I finally played! Did you?

This may be my last post, as I'm about to throw the computer out the window

Not really, but good grief! I just spent 53 minutes trying to get this scanner to work, downloading drivers, installing, re-installing. All so I could play WBW, which now I can't play. Grr! Why does everything have to be so ridiculous!

Last night, Hubby and I were up in our bedroom and the boys were down in the basement. Then my oldest shows up with some sort of crystalline substance all over his fingers. "What's that, and don't get any on my bed!" I said.

"It's sugar. My brothers took advantage of the fact that I was hypnotized to spread salt and sugar all over the basement." How many problems can you find in that statement?

So, at 10 at night, I was downstairs, cleaning the basement floor. It was everywhere. Oh, what fun! I'm sure all the ants are very disappointed that I managed to clean things up, but I guess they'll just have to live on what the dog pulls out of the trashcan.

A trip into my subconscious

Did you ever have that dream where you're back in high school and you have a big project due? And then at lunchtime in the cafeteria, they have a pig roast, only the pig isn't actually dead and he's really not happy that people are carving him up? So he starts eating people's projects? And then when you try to rescue your project from the large, blackened pig, it turns and attacks you? But then you manage to get it away from him and turn it in after a long, epic battle? And to top the whole thing off, you miss the bus home?

Me neither.

Hey, don't forget the Trivial Pursuit showdown at 9 p.m. eastern tonight. Just come here and use my IM Jana widget to the right to participate!

Isn't he sweet?

We were at Sam's Club yesterday, and when I chose a checkout line, Hubby asked why I picked that particular one.

"It's the shortest," I said.

"I always pick the one with the best-looking checkout person," he said.

"Okay," I said, wondering why he was telling me this.

"That's why I like to go to the self-checkout aisle."

He meant that when we are together at the self-checkout, I am the prettiest checkout girl in the store. You thought he was talking about himself? Yeah, me too. It was still funny, though.

Stuff Portrait Friday

This week is pretty random. Kristine is stuck for ideas, so if anyone can help her out, pop on over. In the meantime, here are my pics.

My supplies:
This is just some of the stuff I use when teaching my kids. We have paints, art stuff, clay, text books, and an electric pencil sharpener, and that's just the stuff in this picture. School at home can get to be pricey.

My mailbox:Trust me, it's down there, almost dead center in the picture behind that giant shrub at the end of the driveway. Yeah, I send the kids to get the mail.

My bag:
Nothing special to look at, but it's special to me. This is the first purse I've had since my second son was a baby and I realized it was silly to carry both a purse and a diaper bag. I've been keeping my wallet in the diaper bag since then. I just got this for Christmas from my grandmother and am rediscovering the joys of having a purse. Look, it holds my cell phone!

So, did you play? Oh, and don't forget to sign up for my Trivial Pursuit challenge! See Monday's post, Meebo Me, for details. It's going to be this Tuesday night. Who's game?

You might have PMS if...

...you get all teary-eyed watching America's Got Talent. What's up with that? That is about the least tear-inducing show I can think of.

Did you watch this? The boys and I started watching it back during the auditions, and they got such a big kick out of it that they wanted to see it every week. They especially liked the guy in the cow suit. There have been several acts I've been very impressed with. But I'm not sure why they let professionals in to the competition. I can see if you perform in competitions, or if you just locally perform on the weekends, but there are at least two groups in the finals who have been professionally performing their acts for the last 15 years or more. Some of the other finalists aren't even 15 years old! Does that seem fair?

And if there's no rule against being professionals, why isn't Rockapella in this competition? Let me tell you, if you think At Last (the guy a cappella group on the show) is any good, you must run out and buy a Rockapella album immediately. Even on their worst day, they are a million times better than At Last. Seriously, if you've searched on "At Last" and ended up on my site, go NOW to Rockapella's website and get yourself a really good group to listen to.

Anyway, my pick for the winner would be the jugglers, Passing Zone. I know, I know, they're jugglers. And they're professionals. But they are both talented and hilarious, and that always gets my vote. Of course, the little girl, Bianca Ryan, was fantastic too. But she doesn't have a family to support. Now I've got to watch tonight to see who won.

I'm going to have the tissues ready.

WBW - Water water everywhere!

It feels like I haven't played WBW in forever! I finally decided to move my scanner to my laptop, and voila! Now I can scan and play to my heart's content.

Now at first glance, you're going to say, "What does this picture have to do with water?" Well, I'll tell you.When I was little, I used to amuse myself for hours on end by making up commercials for a miracle spray cleaner. This stuff could clean anything. Wood, plastic, metal, appliances, mirrors, you name it. So here I sit in my footy pajamas cleaning my mom's cabinet fronts for her. (Luckily this photo is in B&W so you don't have to be assaulted by the avocado green appliances.) I don't think this bothered my mom at all. In fact, she probably handed me the bottle from time to time and pointed me towards the nearest dirty surface. I don't remember.

So what was this miracle product, this wonderful cleaner that no home can be without? You guessed it: water.

Did you play?

In the mood for a novel?

Ever since NaNoWriMo last November, I have been working sporadically on revising my novel. I've submitted it for criticism on Critique Circle, and I've revised some more. One thing I've noticed is that other people tend to see things that the author misses. So now I'm submitting it to you. Chapter one of my novel is located here. Just click on the title, Spanish Summer Chapter One. Now, for some reason I lost all the formatting when I copied it, but other than that, if anything is wrong let me know. Likewise, if you like it, let me know! I'm particularly interested in what you think of the characters at this point, and if you're able to see the things I'm describing. I always have trouble with description.

I'm going to put a link to my portfolio in the sidebar, too, so in case you don't get a chance to read it today, you can find it easily.

So go, read! Then come back here and tell me what you think! Thanks!

In the middle of difficulty

“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity .”
~ Albert Einstein~

My favorite verse for many years has been Romans 8:28 - And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. I have found these words to be true over and over again in my own life, and in others' as well.

Two weeks ago, my sons attended Good News Camp, run by the local Child Evangelism Fellowship office. It's a beautiful location, on several acres, with a pond and a stream, an outdoor chapel, and everything boys and girls need for a fun day at camp. But the camp might never have had the opportunity to use that property if not for a great tragedy.

The doctor and his wife had four boys. One day, they were all outside, riding their bikes, and the little one, only 3, was riding his tricycle. Not realizing that the driveway ended, he continued riding out into the road. He was hit by a car and killed. I cannot imagine the heartache and pain that his family went through in the weeks and months that followed. I've met the doctor, and he still has a sadness in his eyes when he sees a little boy about his son's age. What a horrible, horrible thing.

And yet, God used it for good. Soon after the little boy's death, the doctor became aware of a need for a good location for Good News Camp. He had been privileged to lead his little boy to Christ several weeks before his death, and immediately he realized the importance of CEF's ministry. How wonderful it would be if many more little boys and girls could come and hear the Good News! So he opened up his property. They built a chapel in memory of his son, and they tell this story every week of camp to the campers who've come to play and learn. Because of one family's tragedy, many thousands of children have come to know Christ.

Sometimes it can be so hard to imagine what God's reason could be in letting things happen to us. I've come across so many blogs in which people have given up on God because they think He's given up on them. We have to remember that God doesn't live in time like we do. He can see the whole picture, beginning to end. In every difficulty, He gives us the opportunity to trust and rely on Him. When difficulty comes, take the opportunity to thank God for it, and look for the opportunity He's provided to make all things work together for good.

Meebo Me!

Some of you may have noticed the little widget over on the right, which says "IM Jana." It's a cool little thing I came across somewhere or other which allows people to IM me right on my blog. But it doesn't stop there. Meebo also keeps track of IMs I get from MSN, Yahoo, and AOL and sends them all to one place. No more signing in to multiple IMs to get messages! It's very neat. So if you ever see the little green bubble that says I'm online, drop me an IM - let's chat!

Now what would be a fun thing to do with my Meebo? Well, of course - we'll have a Trivial Pursuit challenge! I know several people have commented that they're good at trivia and no one really wants to play The Game with them anymore (including me). So here's what I propose: we meet here for a Trivial Pursuit game! If you're interested either email me or leave a comment. Or Meebo me! I'm thinking a Tuesday night would be good (but not this week - I want to give people a chance to sign up). The only rule is no googling! The winner will receive a cool button for his or her blog. I'll take the first six people who sign up!