SPF - Breast Cancer Awareness Month

This time last year, my grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer, so raising awareness is something important to me personally. She is fine now, by the way. But it has made me aware that breast cancer can strike anyone. So in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Kristine has chosen some somewhat related topics. Sort of.

Your pot holders The previous owners of this house were nice enough to leave lots of nails in the walls. I use this one to hold my pot holders. So I guess it's my pot holder holder.

Your pumpkins

These are the pumpkins we got at a local farm last week. And the cat is my neighbor's cat, who seems to think we belong to him. His name? Pumpkin, of course!

Something pink

Do you have any idea how difficult it is to find something pink in a house full of boys? I finally stumbled upon this: strawberry Nesquik. Does anyone know why this is found in the Mexican food section of the grocery store?

So, there you have it. Did you play?

Today's local calendar

Ever since we moved to PA, we've noticed that their calendar doesn't quite sync up with everyone else's. When I was a kid, school started the day after Labor Day. Here, it's about two weeks earlier. Thanksgiving holidays include the Monday and Tuesday after. Why? It's the start of hunting season, of course! And Halloween hardly ever falls on Halloween.

The reason I mention this is that tonight is trick-or-treat night. It's very regulated here. It's from 6-8 p.m. and you can only go to houses that have the porch light on. That is so foreign to what it was like when I was little. We'd start out around 6, but we wouldn't stop until we hit every house in the neighborhood (our street was a loop), and we went to every. single. door. Oh, and we did all this on the actual 31st of the month.

So I will be cruising a few different websites trying to find a costume my 7 year old can live with. He's having trouble deciding what he wants to be. As long as it doesn't involve sewing, I should be able to come up with something. And don't worry, there will be pictures!

WBW - Boo!

Less than a week to go before Halloween, and Kami, via TKW, has asked to see our costumes of the past. I think we've done this before. Shh, don't say anything.

This is me as a bellydancer, circa 1983. The costume is actually a pair of pajamas, with a red t-shirt underneath because it was cold outside. And of course a mask, because someone might recognize me otherwise.

And this is 1988, my freshman year of college. I am wearing an Indian princess costume which my mom made, because she's awesome like that. You can't see my mocassin boots, but I actually wore those in everyday life - part of my "dress like the Monkees" phase.

Ah, there are the aforementioned mocassin boots! They worked equally well for my hippie costume the next Halloween, didn't they? What's that by my elbow? An Apple IIc! I was on top of technology, I tell ya!

So, did you play?

Pics from Saturday

I meant to post these yesterday, but things got busy, and then I got a migraine that lasted well into this morning. So, here are some photos from Saturday!

The boys were very impressed with this giant tire!

Noah had fun organizing everyone's drinks.

Boys and their toys

Blogger took so long to load up, I can't remember what I was going to write about. Hmm...

Oh, yeah! The weekend. The company Hubby works for makes very large machinery and on Saturday they had their family day. This is something they do every three years, when they invite all employees and their families to come see a demo of the big machines and supply lots of food, drinks, and balloon animals for the kids.

Well, I probably don't need to tell you that four boys plus large machinery equals big fun! They were so excited they didn't even want to eat - and that's really saying something! They ran from cab to cab, climbing in and turning the steering wheel and honking the horn. (Everybody was honking horns - I really wish they'd disconnect them before letting people get in. It was like being in a really big traffic jam for three hours). They were in a boy's idea of heaven.

Then some of the machines were actually driven around and demonstrated. Even the 22-month-old was captivated! And Hubby was in his glory, explaining the capabilities of each machine as it drove out and circled around.

The only bad part of the day was when my seven year old's balloon sword popped, right after his balloon hat had popped. The balloon guy had already shut down for the day, and my poor son was devastated. What is it about children's brains that can never retain the information that balloons pop? Oh, well.

Anyway, after my camera battery charges, I'll be back with some pictures from Saturday! Have a good Monday!

THE END is here!

For anyone who's been reading A Series of Unfortunate Events, do you have The End yet? We got it at Sam's Club on Wednesday and I'm reading it out loud to the boys. We're on chapter six. I just love the way these books are written, and they're so educational for being fiction. If your kids haven't read them, I really recommend them. And if they have, go get the final book, The End. I don't know how The End will end, but I liked the beginning of The End, so the end of The End will probably be good, too.

SPF - ...and the kitchen sink.

Kristine's taking it easy on us this week. Which is good, because I need an easy week.

1. The Kitchen Sink Some of you might remember that I have two kitchens. (But not three, which apparently all the newer apartments have (reference to last night's The Office)). This is the clean(er) kitchen sink, the one in the upstairs kitchen.

2. Something you need to fix. This is my old Floormate. I have expounded before on the virtues of the Floormate - cleans any hard floor, vacuums, wet scrubs and squeegees. It's wonderful. When this one broke, it only cost a little more to buy a new one than to fix this one. But I'd love to get this one fixed and have one for each floor.

3. Something you're going to throw away right after you take the picture of it.

Last night's coffee grounds. Must make fresh coffee. Now.

Happy SPF! Did you play?

And yet there have been no arrests

Someone is trying to kill Jerry Springer. It may be a conspiracy, I'm not quite sure.

Week after week, we have watched him dance the samba, the waltz, the paso doble. Week after week, he is clearly falling apart. And yet he keeps coming back. This week he was barely able to dance. Next week he has to do TWO dances. Are they insane? I don't know how old he is, but I do know he's too old for a serious dance competition. He's not going to win, so why do people keep voting for him?

Let the poor man go home. Or his epitaph may read, "His fans killed him."

Maybe the giant eagles from Lord of the Rings...

I was teaching my Knights and Castles class yesterday and I was telling the kids about the pages, who would have been their age (7). They had to learn all sorts of things to prepare them for becoming knights. One of the things they learned was how to care for the hawks and falcons used for hunting.

"Now, what kind of animal do you think a falcon would hunt?" I asked.

Immediately, a little boy right in front of me leaped out his chair, positive he knew the answer. "Elephants!"

I hope I didn't insult him too much by literally doubling over laughing.

The cat's away... again

Hubby left this morning for his third trip to Wisconsin in the last four weeks. I really hate it when he has to go away. But I try to make the best of the situation. Here is my list of things I can do when he's not here that I normally wouldn't do if he were:

• Sleep in. By that I mean that I get up whenever the baby gets up, instead of when Hubby is standing by the bed saying, "Do you want a shower this morning?" I don't mean that I stay in bed until 9 a.m. or anything.
• Cook seafood. Hubby just doesn't like it. All the kids love it, especially salmon. So if I have any, I usually wait until he's away before I cook it.
• Sleep with the cat. Although last night, the neighbor's cat slept in our bed (long story), normally Hubby doesn't want even our cat in the bed. But kitty loves me and wants to sleep with me, so I let him when Hubby's not here.
• Watch DVDs he doesn't enjoy as much as I do. If I put in a Lord of the Rings movie, I get much sighing and moaning. The same goes for many of the movies we have. This also applies to certain television series.
  
• Have trouble falling asleep. I will often stay up until 1 or 1:30 because it's just not the same without him here.

Love you, honey! See you Thursday!

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?