Home again!

We had a wonderful weekend traveling with our new pop-up camper! I thought going eight hours in the car with screaming kids would be bad, but it was worse. No, just kidding. They were really good, for the most part. Hubby decided around midnight that we would drive the whole way instead of stopping, so we slept at a rest area for a couple of hours and then ended up getting to our destination early. Like 6 a.m. early. We went for breakfast at Waffle House and then found a really nice park where the kids could run on the playground until it was late enough we could check into the campground.

We spent the day at the Creation Museum, and then enjoyed the evening at the campground. I cooked burgers on our gas stove, and then we took the two little ones for a walk around the pond. I enjoyed it so much, I asked Hubby where we're going next weekend!

Yesterday was spent driving home, and we got here around midnight. I'm tired, but happy. I'll share more about the museum later in the week - I want to take time to think about it. Oh, and if you're wondering what happened to our big trip to Wisconsin and back, that's delayed again. It might be just Hubby going in August sometime. ((Sigh))

Can't talk

Busy packing.

Read yesterday's post if you didn't already.

Tim Taylor lives!

This is the funniest true story I've heard in a while. A friend's refrigerator died the other day, and after it was repaired, she found this thin layer of black dust on everything in the kitchen. She mentioned this to her husband, wondering where it came from.

"Oh, I know what that is," he said. "But you have to promise not to get mad at me."

She agreed.

"Well, when the refrigerator stopped working, I thought maybe the coils needed to be cleaned, so I figured I'd blow some air on them."

She nodded. "One of those cans of air we keep next to the computer?"

"No," he said. "I brought in my leaf blower."

WCW - Overmerchandising

TKW's little game is back this week, and as soon as I saw this item in the grocery store, I knew it would make an appearance here.

We tried donut peaches a couple of years ago and loved them, but they're kind of pricey. I mean, if we each want to eat one, that's six, and when they're 4 for $3, that means you're spending $4.50 for one serving per person! That's more than a lot of dinners cost around here. Anyway, I saw these clamshell packs of donut peaches that had seven in them for $1.99. Then I picked it up and saw the label.

That's right, Pirates of the Caribbean peaches. Let me be the first to say huh??? Did peaches play a major role in the Pirates movies that I'm not remembering right now? I could see Pirates apples. I could definitely see Pirates rum. But peaches? I really want to know, who buys these peaches solely because they have a cartoon Capn Jack on them? Not me. I bought them for the price. That's my story.

So my W for this week is "Walt Disney is taking over the World!!"

Committee time again!

Is it time for our homeschool co-op committee to meet already? Yup. We've got to go through all the class ideas sent in and decide which to offer and during which period (there are 3). Then one of the other members will send out the class lists and registration forms. And then comes the really fun part - I get to put all the kids into their classes. Except there are always people who won't get their first choices because they didn't send the form back, or just because of the luck of the draw. If 30 people sign up for a class all on the same day, but the class only takes 20, I have to cut it off.

And then there are those people who refuse to list a second choice class. They assume they'll get first choice, or they don't see a second choice they like, so they just don't put anything. Which means phone calls from me, because I am not a mind reader.

I think next semester I'll offer a class called "Reading and Following Directions" but it will be for the parents. You see here where it says, "List a first and second choice for each period." This is not a suggestion. We actually need that information! Oh, and the deadline date? Yeah, that actually means something!! And teachers, see where it says, "Maximum class size?" If you leave that blank, I will not limit the number of rowdy six year olds in your class. SO ya might want to fill in a number. Thankyouverymuch.

((Deep breath)) Okay, I can do this. Those forms won't roll in until August. Must rest now.

Happy Birthday!

My second son is now eight years old! I can't believe it!

Happy birthday, big boy! (This is an old pic, obviously. Wasn't he a doll?)

What's cooking?

I have recently become somewhat enamored with watching Gordon Ramsay. The other night when I was doing my weight lifting, I turned on the tv and there he was, on Fox's Hell's Kitchen, making the losing team of chefs eat things like tongues and stomach lining. And I thought, "Oh, how great it would be if all bad chefs were forced to do that!"

Then I checked out my On Demand menu (a service from Comcast where you can watch thousands of different shows and movies anytime), and there he was on BBC America. This time, it was a show called Kitchen Nightmares, where he tries to help out a failing restaurant. It was absolutely unbelievable to me that the owners of these restaurants would not take his advice. One of them did, and guess what? His restaurant was succeeding! One decided to sue him (she lost and he was awarded a settlement), and one basically ignored him and continued to fail. I don't get that. This guy might be abrasive and vulgar, but when it comes to running a restaurant, he knows what he's doing. Why would you ignore his advice?


Now I see that Fox is going to have an American version of Kitchen Nightmares, set in US restaurants. That should be interesting.


The scariest thing about Gordon Ramsay is that he's only 4 years older than I am. If I look that old in 4 years, somebody get me to a plastic surgeon!!

Vacation is coming (really this time)

The trip we were supposed to take last month has been re-scheduled for this month, and it's coming up fast. We're going to take a couple of days on they way out to Wisconsin and a couple of days on the way back, to see what there is to see. Technically, they're field trips, since we're on next year's school calendar now.

The camper adds a new dimension to the whole vacation experience. I need to pack not only the usual clothes and toiletries, I also need cookware, towels, lawn chairs and other things like that for camping. Now I know I'll forget something. ((Sigh)).

I'd like to get the house cleaned up before we go. I hate coming home to a messy house. We'll see how that goes.

A-camping we will go!

You know how sometimes you say something and you're just thinking out loud really, and then someone else takes what you said and runs with it? I mentioned to Hubby that I had been thinking a camper would be fun, maybe a fifth wheel or something we could pull with his truck. Next thing I know, we're looking at pop-up campers on Ebay, and now we've got one!

I should point out that camping was unknown to me growing up. "Camping" with my parents was in an RV, with all the conveniences. "Camping" for Hubby and his family was in a tent with no conveniences (though they traveled with a pop-up before I knew him). So this is a nice medium. We have sleeping space for six, we have a gas stove and a refrigerator, and even a furnace if it's cold outside. Best of all, it pulls behind our minivan (Or will when the tow kit gets here), so we don't have to go hunting for an extended cab truck just yet.

I am really excited because I think this will allow us to travel more, and I love to travel. Hotel costs have gotten so ridiculous, we barely ever go anywhere. Not to mention the frustration of trying to get four boys to be quiet in a hotel room to keep from annoying anyone nearby.

Read together

I think reading together is one of the most exciting things you can do with your children. Jennifer at Snapshot came up with this idea to read a book with your kids this summer. She explains it all here. Basically, the idea is to get to know your kids better, specifically teens and tweens, by reading what they read, and then discussing it. When you're done, write a post about the experience. There are even prizes to be had!

So if you're interested, head over to sign up. Then, pick a book and start reading!

SPF - Kid art

Kristine wants to see our favorite piece of art from our children. Since I homeschool, I get to see all my kids' art projects, good and bad. And I also get to see the thought process behind them. And what can I say? My kids are weird. Case in point:
I can't remember the exact assignment, but I know he was supposed to paint rocks and flowers under a tree, creating a sort of triangular focus of interest. My goofball son "misunderstood" and painted rocks and flowers under a tea. Iced tea. Complete with a straw and a wedge of lemon.

Where do my kids get this weird sense of humor?

So it goes

The bird died, of course. It was just too small and weak. But I think it was a good learning experience for the boys. They buried it out in the back yard and went about their lives. The seven-year-old, in particular, was very upset about it, but I pointed out that he helped give that little bird a very nice, if short, life. Maybe it would have been more humane to drown it, like the neighbor was going to do, but I don't think so.

So, the weekend is coming. It's not exactly a holiday, but we in the US are coming up on one next week. Hubby gets only next Wednesday off, so it's pretty much pointless to go anywhere. Even a day trip would be too crowded and annoying, I think. Instead, we're going to hit the free family movie at the local theater, then probably spend the day working around the house. How about you? Any big plans for the 4th?

And my seven-year-old will turn 8 next week. How weird. How could he be 8 already? Sigh. They grow up too fast.

WCW - The letter H

This week's close-your-eyes-and-poke-a-random-letter-on-the-keyboard letter of the week is "H", brought to you by TKW.

Last evening I had just settled in to watch "America's Talentless Hordes" or whatever that show is called, when my five-year-old came running in to announced that the neighbor had found a baby bird in their barn. She didn't want it, but wanted to know if we did. So we got up and went next door. I have never seen such a tiny bird that wasn't in a nest. We decided to try and take care of it, so we built it a little nest in a flower pot and then started digging for worms.

This morning, I fully expected it to be dead. It's so tiny and frail, and I don't know how often you have to feed a baby bird, but we didn't feed it during the night. And yet, it's still alive and kicking! We mashed up some worms and fed him breakfast and now he's sleeping. So with no further ado, may I present our hatchling!It's only about an inch and a half long. It must have just come out of its egg yesterday. But the good news is he's healthy so far, as evidenced by the bird poop behind him. As I learned with babies, if they're pooping, they're probably okay. I'll keep you updated!

At least I got two hours of peace

Last night I went to a Pampered Chef party. I had never been to one before. They have lots of cool stuff! Next to bookstores, kitchen gadget stores are my favorite. Which is why I rarely go into them - I would come out with $100 worth of stuff I don't really need, but which I was convinced at the time was essential to my ever cooking again. Anyway, fear not, I only bought a set of measuring cups, which is something I have been needing for months. And then I got to sample some really yummy food. We all know that any food eaten at a party has no calories or fat, right?

Naturally while I was gone there was an injury at home. The five year old banged his head on the ceramic-and-cement basement floor. He's fine, but there's quite a knot on the back of his head. Poor boy - two head injuries in less than two weeks.

And now I'd like a 200 word essay. Yeah, right.

Summertime, and the livin's easy. Any day without the frustration of trying to force the boys to do schoolwork is easy. Of course, the last two days, they've been typing away on the computer, writing little comedies about their favorite Bionicle characters. Rest assured that if I'd required them to do this, they would have fought me tooth and nail. But since it was their idea, I can't drag them away from it!

They got the idea from a Bionicle fan site called BZ Power. There's a whole section of their bulletin boards devoted to these comedies. My oldest son has spent many hours laughing hysterically at them. So it was just a matter of time before he wanted to write his own.

Speaking of fan fiction, someone came to my blog from googling "Simon & Simon meets Little House on the Prairie fan fiction." Um, okay, exactly how would that go? Who would even think to combine those two shows? My brain hurts just thinking about it.

SPF - Air freshener

Kristine's assignment this week is our air freshener. I tried to think creatively, but I'm just not feeling creative this morning.
This is my favorite air freshener. First, I love the slogan under the name, "The process of elimination." Very cute. Second, I love the citrusy scent. Citrus is such a nice, clean scent. And third, I love its versatility. I can spray it in the air, I can spray it on the couch, and I always spray it on the air filter of my floor cleaner and into the basin of my vacuum. Then the air blows through and fills the whole room with a wonderful scent. Finally, this stuff lasts forever. I use it literally every day and I think I've had this bottle two years. Good stuff.

Happy Friday, everyone!

EDIT: Here's a link to buy it!

Sleep and staples

My poor Hubby! He went to work Tuesday morning around 8 a.m. He didn't come home until Wednesday morning at 6 a.m.! Then he took a shower and went back to work. He got home at 5:45 last night and then we had to go work in the nursery at church. Luckily there was another couple there, so Hubby went to nap in the car.

Right now (10:47) he's still sleeping, which is as it should be. He signed off on the big project yesterday, so I'm hoping that's the end of the really late nights (he's been getting home after 8 most nights, and even worked a couple of weekends).

I'm in the middle of cleaning up a bit. I invited a friend (my soccer mom friend) and her three kids over for the afternoon. And while the house looks fine, I always like to clean the floors before company comes. There's nothing ickier than a white tile floor with stuff all over it.

Then later, I have to take the five year old in to get the staples removed from his head. Yes, staples. He was getting a ride in my wheeled desk chair and slammed his head into a corner of the entertainment center. It was just enough of a nasty cut that I took him to the hospital (this was last Thursday). They said the staples could come out in a week. He was really good about it. I knew he'd be fine when the first thing he said to the triage nurse was, "Do I get a prize?"

So that's my fun day. See you tomorrow!

WCW - June 20, 2007

Today, for TKW's game, I have the ultimate "W" picture. Today is my fifteenth wedding anniversary!

As you can see, we got married outside, on Pier 5 at Baltimore's Inner Harbor. It was a beautiful day, not too hot, and we had a gorgeous ceremony. We had waited so long for that day. You can see how happy we are as we walk back down the aisle as Mr. and Mrs. And I can honestly say we are just as thrilled to be together now as we were then.

Happy Anniversary, Honey! I love you!

Scary stories

The other night, I was watching the movie When a Stranger Calls, which is just a variation on that old campfire story about the girl who keeps getting phone calls while she's alone babysitting, and when the police trace the call, "The call is coming from inside the house!" I actually really liked the movie, because it didn't have any blood and guts. When you see the two dead people, they're just dead. Most of the movie is the fun kind of jump-when-the-music-swells suspense. I like that.

Anyway, this movie got me thinking about all those scary tales we used to tell each other at slumber parties. You know, when you'd hold a flashlight under your chin and tell tales guaranteed to make your friends jump and squeal? Many of them have become urban legends ("..and when he got out to open her car door, there was a hook hanging from the door handle!!"), others have become movies.

My favorite one ends with the line "Humans can lick hands, too." Brr! Gives me the cold shivers, just like a good scary story should. (If you don't know the story, email me). What's your favorite scary story?

Spying 101

I've been a big fan of USA Network's original series since Monk first aired. After that was Dead Zone, and then Psych. Now, USA is premiering a new original series next Thursday. USA Network's Burn Notice is about a CIA agent who's been "burned," basically the spy equivalent of being fired. The problem is, he has no idea why, and he has to try to figure it out while at the same time hiding his identity.

Now, I'm no spy, but I've watched enough private detective shows and spy films to have learned a few tricks. The first thing I'd do if I were a spy is keep a well-stocked secret identity kit. I'd have different color and length wigs, temporary tattoos, some colored contact lenses, fake scars, and stuff like that. Next, I'd need fake fingerprints, or some way to hide my real fingerprints. Maybe a supply of medical gloves. I'd also get one of those cool voice changers for talking to people on the phone. Even my best friend wouldn't recognize my voice.

To go along with my undercover identity, I'd need all the proper accessories: a laptop, naturally, to keep track of all the clues I've found; a gun, a small one that's easily hidden; sunglasses, which tend to make everyone look alike; and something I could use to get information out of people who are being uncooperative. And then there's my secret weapon: business cards. I learned this one from Face on the A-Team. I pick up business cards wherever I go. Then, if I need to pretend to be, say, an interior designer, I just sort through my stack until I find one, and then I hand it to someone as I introduce myself. No one questions the business card. One caveat - make sure the cards you pick up have the right gender name on them.

Having just left the CIA, I'm sure I'd have a least one friend who'd be filled with righteous anger at my having been burned. So I'd call him or her and get an ally on the inside, someone who could warn me if I were about to be found out, or give me information I couldn't get otherwise.

Finally, I'd stick to places where people didn't know me. The first place my enemies would look are the places I usually frequent. I'd go to new stores, visit new restaurants, even pick a new park bench to hang out on. Nothing would be the same.

I bet you Michael Westen, the spy on this new show, will use some of my tricks. These tv spies tend to be pretty smart. I'm looking forward to seeing how he figures out who burned him and why!

On vacation - NOT!

Well, Thursday night it began to be questionable as to whether or not we were actually going anywhere. And when Hubby still hadn't finished the work he needed to by Friday evening, the trip definitely got called off. See, there's a big project he's been working on, and there's a guy here from France who's been helping, and this guy really wants to go home (he's been here over a month). So before he can go anywhere, Hubby's got to get this project done.

Hubby worked most of Saturday. He worked from noon until 2 a.m. yesterday. He left for work at 6:30 this morning. Poor guy. But the up side of this is that his boss is giving him some comp time for all some a tiny portion of the overtime he's been working (he's salaried, so normally he gets no kind of overtime comp at all). So we can actually make our vacation a few days longer, we just won't be going until mid-July.

Now I can spend the week working on oldest son's portfolio to turn in to the school board. That's always the opposite of fun. I could try to set up our "easy set" pool by myself. You can imagine how well that goes. Maybe I'll just catch up on some of the movies I've been recording.

SPF - Back

Kristine's assignment this week is to show our back. To be interpreted however we wish.

So, I give you my back. The top picture is me one year ago, right after I donated my hair to Locks of Love. The bottom one is me this morning. Not only can you see a year's worth of hair growth, you can see a year's worth of weight loss. I'm almost 50 pounds lighter now. Cool.

So, did you play?

Vacation is coming!

What I like most about vacation:

• No house cleaning. If there's a mess, it's generally contained to the one hotel room.
• Not as much cooking/food preparation. We will sometimes get a room with a kitchen, or bring sandwich materials along for lunch, but mostly I get a break.
• Less fighting among the boys. Too many new and exciting things to do to fight with your brothers.
• Lots of new and exciting things to see. My favorite vacations are when I get to go places I've never been before. But just exciting is good too, like amusement parks.

What I like least about vacation:

• Packing. This is number one on my list. I hate everything associated with packing, from dragging out the suitcases to that incessant feeling that I've forgotten something.
• Followed closely by unpacking. I often leave stuff in the suitcases for weeks after a trip.
• The trip itself. Whether flying or driving, the travel part, with small children, is sheer torture.
• Coming home again. It always has to end, doesn't it?

Okay, I'm gonna go start packing. Ugh.

Wild Card Wednesday, or why I have to clean my floor six times a day

The other day we had company, and my floors were spotless. This is mainly because I threatened to hurt anyone who came into the room while the floor was still wet, even Hubby. See, my Hoover Floormate is supposed to sqeegee the floor dry, but that only works on level floors. Whoever installed the tiles in our basement was either seriously drunk or just decided, "Level, shmevel - I'm eyeballing it." Either way, the end result is that you have to wait a little for the floor to dry before walking on it, or you leave dirty footprints.

So my floors were still clean Monday morning. Then the children woke up. I cannot count how many times things have been spilled since then, but it numbers in the teens at least. Which brings me to my picture for TKW's game.

My youngest is sitting here behind me dipping things in his lemonade. Every now and then, he says, "Mommy, wet!" So there's my W word. Of course, when I tried to get a video he stopped saying it.

And if you think all that lemonade stayed neatly on the table, you are sadly mistaken, my friends. I know, I know, why doesn't he have a sippy cup? Last night he was drinking very neatly from an open cup with a straw, with nary a morsel being dipped in for fun. Pretty stupid of me to think that trend would continue.

So, did you play?

The Wii workout

Sunday, we brought home a Nintendo Wii. Hubby had heard about it from some guys at work and thought it sounded like a fun family thing. And let me tell you, it is!

It came with Wii Sports, which has tennis, bowling, boxing, baseball and golf. My oldest son started whining right away, "I don't like sports games." Well, guess who has been asking to play it the most? It is so much fun! If you haven't seen the ads, the remote is wireless and is used like a tennis racket, or like a baseball bat or golf club. You actually swing the remote and the player on-screen does what you do! It's really cool. Here's a video where you can see some people playing sports, among other things.

Yesterday I played boxing. Let me tell you, forget workout videos, this thing gives you a real aerobic workout! You have to keep punching to win (you punch while holding the remote in one hand and the nunchuk, an attachment, in the other). So you're actually punching to get your player to punch. It's a lot of work!

We also picked up the Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End game, where your Wii remote becomes your sword. Awesome! We're all stuck at the same place in the game right now, but it's still an awful lot of fun! And again, lots of real-life action swinging that remote around!

Today I am sore! My legs and my arms all feel like I've been playing actual sports instead of a video game! This is going to be really good for my oldest who isn't really into sports in real life. It gets us all up off the couch.

Weekend happenings

We went to a wedding on Saturday, one of Hubby's cousins had a daughter getting married. It was nice - we actually got to sit through the entire ceremony without having to take a child out. The boys were quiet, if not completely well-behaved.

Now, I've been to a lot of weddings. My dad was a wedding photographer for years, and when I got old enough, I'd go with him to be his assistant sometimes. I asked Dad, and he agreed with me that he'd never heard of the priest grilling the couple about his homily! Seriously. He gave his message about God ordaining marriage, etcetera, and then he turned to the couple and asked which one of them was going to come up and summarize his homily. Of course, they had no idea what he was talking about. He kept insisting that one of them had to go first, and he wouldn't marry them if they didn't do it! If it had been me, I would have been in tears! Finally, he gave up the joke and went on with the ceremony.

I'd also never been to a reception with a gun turret. It was held at a National Guard armory and there was a big old gun turret right in the middle of the room, the size of a tank! Other than that, it was a pretty normal reception, and everyone had fun. Plus the back of the building was open to the outside, so the kids could go run whenever they wanted to without bothering anyone.

All in all, it was a very enjoyable day. And then yesterday, we had my dear friend Cindy and her family over for dinner. What fun! I only get to see her a couple of times a year, if that, even though she only lives an hour from here. Her four kids and our four kids played, my hubby and her hubby went for a walk down the road, and she and I actually got to sit and visit for an hour, uninterrupted! Moms of toddlers, you know how rare that is!

So, how was your weekend?

SPF - Bounce

Kristine wants us to show our bounce.
This is the guy who helps me bounce back when I'm depressed, who I can bounce ideas off of, who makes me bounce up and down with happiness just by walking through the door when he gets home. The big 15th anniversary is coming up soon!

Incidentally, my son took this picture, which is why we're looking down. I don't really have a double chin. Not anymore.

Did you play?

Soccer mom

Tonight is the seven-year-old's last soccer practice until fall. He has mostly enjoyed soccer; only a couple of times has he sat in the car crying when he was supposed to be getting out for practice. Compared to his older brother, that was nothing.

So, the coach has announced that tonight will be a "fun" night - the parents are playing soccer with the kids. This is just Hubby's kind of thing. In fact, on the nights when he got home early enough for soccer practice, he often took the other boys to an empty field to play while practice was going on. But of course, tonight, the one night he would be able to play a game with other adults VS. a bunch of kids, he has to go to a work dinner.

What does this mean? It means that I, the mom, will be playing soccer tonight. Can I just tell you how little I want to do this? And who's going to watch the other three kids while I'm running around a soccer field? What do you want to bet they'll be running out on the field, too.

At least I don't have to run on the treadmill today. I think tonight's workout will cover it.

WCW - the letter K

This week's Wild Card picture, per TKW, must begin with "K". So, here we have my kids:

This was taken Saturday on the shores of the Nanticoke River, as we waited for the replica of John Smith's shallop to dock. You can see it directly above the post next to my oldest son. The boys had so much fun, and I am still enjoying reading through the website and finding out all about Smith and his journeys.

So, did you play?

Going west

Hubby has a business trip to go on soon, and since it's the week of our wedding anniversary, I decided that I would rather go with him than stay home with the boys. We are going to drive from Pennsylvania to Wisconsin one weekend, and back the next. I'm really looking forward to it - it's been ages since we've gone anywhere but amusement parks for vacay. Not that I don't love amusement parks, but there's so much more to see in our beautiful country.

Now, perhaps I am crazy for wanting to take such a trip with four kids in the car, one of whom is two and makes a lot of noise, but I do have a laptop that plays DVDs and an almost endless supply of Thomas the Tank Engine videos, so I think we're set.

So, if any of you, my blog friends, live somewhere along my route, let me know. I might drop in for coffee. Or to "accidentally" leave one of my kids with you for the week. Hehe.

Living history

We had a fabulous weekend! We went to the Eastern Shore of Maryland, to the town where my mom grew up, to see the John Smith boat come to shore. If you haven't heard about this, it's really amazing. A group of twelve people is retracing the route Captain Smith took when he explored the Chesapeake Bay almost 400 years ago. They are doing it in the same type of boat he would have used, called a shallop. If you'd like to read more about the project, go here.

Here's the shallop as it came upriver.


Here it is at the dock:
This shallop was built in Maryland specifically for this voyage. They left Jamestown on May 12 and will be returning on September 8. As one of the team members explained to me, this is not a reenactment, but a retracing. The route traveled by Captain Smith and his crew is the first National Historic Trail that is entirely on water. They are traveling that trail, and recording their observations along the way. One goal of the voyage is to record the differences between what Smith and his crew saw and what can be seen today.

Another reason I am so fascinated by this is that one of the original crew who traveled with John Smith is an ancestor of mine. This isn't just the country's history, it's part of my personal history, and that of my kids. I've known this for years, but seeing it acted out just made it so real to me, seeing the difficulty of their task, traveling into the unknown not once but twice, and coming back to tell the tale. I loved that.

If you live anywhere near the Chesapeake, you should definitely check out the website to see when and where you might be able to catch up with the shallop and its crew. They bring a traveling display with them that presents the history of the voyage, so it makes a great field trip.

SPF - My brush

Kristine's assignment this week is your brush. This is mine:

It's a Goody "ouchless" hairbrush and it's the best hairbrush I've ever owned. I have really thick hair and it's very prone to tangles. This brush will go through it, no problem, and doesn't make me scream in pain.

Since I featured this hairbrush on my Favorite Things blog, I have had several comments asking where to get one. I got mine at WalMart. If you can't find them in your area, drop me a line and I'll pick one up for you. I accept PayPal, money orders, and large amounts of chocolate.

So, did you play? Have a great weekend!

Almost done

We just have nine more days of school to go, to complete the state-required 180 days. Today and tomorrow make two, Saturday will count as one because we're going on a field trip, and that leaves six. So a week from Saturday we should be finished.

I'm really looking forward to summer. There are tons of things around the house that I need to get done, and I can't even start when I'm in the classroom half the day. Of course, top of the list is getting things organized for next school year. I'll be teaching a sixth grader, a third grader and a kindergartner next year.

You know, I think I like summer vacation even more than the boys!

WCW - My old house

I'm playing Wild Card Wednesday this week with a picture of the house in which I grew up and lived for 18 years, plus summers until I got married, and even for three months while I was married while Hubby job hunted. My parents sold the house when they decided to RV full-time. Right now they're in Utah rafting down the Colorado River or something while I'm here changing poopy diapers.


Anyway, this is my old house:
The new owners removed most of the landscaping and put in their own stuff. But I didn't recognize the house as we drove through the neighborhood a couple of weeks ago because I was looking for the house with the BIG front yard. Honestly, I looked right past it because it was too close to the road! How could my memory be off by that much? I mean, I lived there as an adult! Weird.

So there you have it. Did you play?

Review - POTC 3: At World's End

Remember Back to the Future? If you're old enough, you remember the excitement of the second and third movies being filmed simultaneously, and knowing at the end of the second movie that the third was imminent. Remember how great the second movie was, and then how lame the third one was? I'm feeling much the same way about Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.

If you've been around here much in the last year, you know I'm a big fan of the Pirates franchise. I loved the first movie, and I thought the second one really lived up to my expectations, as far as what should happen, how the characters acted, etcetera. This third one, I came out of the theater wanting a do-over. Like, maybe give the writers a second chance and they could come up with something better. It was, as Marty McFly would say, heavy.

I don't know if the writers were under too much pressure, or if they just ran out of ideas. First off, the references back to the first two movies struck me as lame. For example, characters randomly mentioning sea turtles for no real reason was apparently supposed to be funny, but just fell flat. And attempting to fit the "why is the rum gone?" theme in by having them ask, "Why is all BUT the rum gone?" just came across as forced.

This movie also moved from the realm of fantasy into the much-less-enjoyable realm of mythology. Suddenly, we have a sea goddess trapped in human form, and major strings attached to Will's mission to stab the heart of Davy Jones (and why do I always think of the Monkees when I hear that?). We also have the bizarre locale of "The Locker," where Jack has been sent. The whole scene there bored me, when it was obviously supposed to be funny. The only part of the mythological aspect I liked was the boats going past, but only because it advanced the plot.

And then there is the ending. SO depressing! It's definitely been left open for a fourth film, but two of the main characters are effectively out of the picture. There is a darkness about the whole film, from the beginning in Singapore to the very end. And yet, the plot lacks a truly evil bad guy. Jones, Beckett, Norrington, Barbossa, Calypso, and even Jack and Will, play the bad guy at various points in the movie, but none of them are the really nasty bad guy you can't wait to see suffer. As a result, no one is truly good and heroic either. You can't have a true hero if you don't have true evil.

Now for the positive. I loved the action sequences. The special effects are magnificent, especially the maelstrom sequence. Though again this smacked of the mythological, since it is obviously not physically possible. The acting is superb. Certain aspects of the plot, for example what happens with Will's father, are very nicely resolved. And the opening for the next movie is sheer brilliance. Perhaps they can return to the fun, fantasy world created in the first two movies.

If you haven't already seen it, wait for the DVD. Unless you are a die-hard fan like me.

Does a crown make me a queen?

I have to go to the dentist this morning. Again. To have him work on that root canal tooth. Again. I cracked it and now I need a crown.

Here's what's cool, though: at soccer practice last night, this other mom I've been chatting with during every practice offered to watch the boys for me while I go! They've been begging to go to her house anyway, so I was thrilled to accept her offer. I might play SPF later, when I'm back and somewhat recovered, but for now I'm going to get ready to go.

LOST finale (Spoiler alert)

Wow! What a finale! It is cruel and inhuman of the producers to make us wait until February of next year. In fact, I considered not watching when I knew it was going to be that long. But curiosity won out and I'm glad.

Now, I know I'm not the only one out there analyzing this show. But I would like to point out that absolutely nothing of my theory from last year has been disproved. If anything, it's been strengthened. Why would Penny be the first face who popped up on the Looking Glass screen? Because her father was part of starting Dharma. The other end of the communicator is in her house. Fits perfectly.

Hubby totally called the "flashbacks" of Jack as "flashforwards" or an alternate universe, one or the other. I was leaning toward alternate universe because he had a beard, and in Star Trek they always had facial hair in alternate universes. Now the question is, was this an actual flash forward, to an unwritten future, or will the show now take place in the present and the flashbacks will be to the island?

Either way, it looks like Ben was telling the truth for once. Though of course no one was going to believe him. I bet his loser dad never read him "The Boy Who Cried Wolf." Now, the question for me is, did Ben actually have some sort of glimpse into the future via Jacob, or Desmond-like? Or was he just stating in general that life is better on the island? And why was he willing to let Jack and Juliet go on the submarine if life was going to be so horrible for Jack later?

And why did Jack tell that other doctor to go get his father? Is Jack's father actually alive somewhere on the island and gets rescued with them? Or was Jack just so wasted that he forgot his own father has been dead for four-plus years? It seems unlikely. If Mikhail can keep coming back from the dead, why not Jack's father? I'm just saying.

Whose funeral was unattended? We know it was someone from the island because it's someone Jack and Kate both knew. Would it be Sawyer? I don't know, I think sentimentally Jack would have admitted to being friends with Sawyer. And that would go for anyone else I can think of from the island. Except one. My money is on Ben being the one in that coffin. Think about it. Ben has no family. He certainly has no friends. Who would mourn his passing? No one. And yet Jack would feel drawn to the funeral, perhaps mourning not the man, but the idyllic past he has been trying desperately to reclaim. Of course, we can't say for sure, because Jack said nothing to the deceased (which usually people will do on television).

The other thing that intrigued me was the landing strip Juliet told Sawyer they were building. "For the aliens," hahaha. What is it really for? The Others sure seem to do a lot of contradictory stuff. They don't want anyone to know about the island, but they want to build a landing strip for someone to land there? Huh?

I'm sure I'll watch this a bunch more times before next February, and see things I didn't see last night. These are just my instant reactions to the show. This was the best finale of the first three seasons, hands down. Kudos to the writers!

WCW - Heroes

For this week's WCW, I didn't so much take a picture as make a collage. See, yesterday I said that I knew Nathan on Heroes was a good guy. But why was I so sure?

Could it be his resemblance to a certain other hero - one Sam Beckett? You don't have to be a fan of Quantum Leap or Heroes to see this.

I don't think I'm imagining things here, people! What do you think? I think anybody who looks like Sam Beckett (played by Scott Bakula, of course) just has to be a good guy. I suppose time will tell whether my theory of "good by reason of resemblance" pans out or not.

TV finale week

With all the finales this week, I just have to comment. After this week, I'll give my new projector and 80+ inch screen a chance to rest. But for now, I'm totally psyched for the finales!

Heroes (Spoiler Alert - if you haven't seen it yet, skip down)
A very satisfying ending. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time (well, not literally. I was in bed). I love that there's no BIG MYSTERY hanging over us until next season. Just a little one. Who is the man who can see Molly when she sees him? Someone worse than Sylar is pretty bad. I loved how all the heroes had to work together at the end, although in my opinion Peter kind of wimped out. He spent all that time studying with Invisible Guy, and for what? So he could learn to control his abilities. But he still couldn't. Don't worry, though, I'm sure he'll be back next season. Nathan might even be, if he just let go of Peter early enough. And speaking of Nathan, I KNEW he was really a good guy. I knew it. Very satisfying ending.

24 - Still in the middle of it - don't spoil it for me!

Dancing With the Stars - No question the winner should be Apolo and Julianne. Wow. Although I was extremely impressed with all the difficult lifts Joey and Kym did. Laila made the Stacy Keibler mistake - completely boring freestyle routine. Yawn. She will be the first to go tonight, if there is any justice.

American Idol - Even though I was sad to see Melinda go last week, I am really looking forward to the showdown between Blake and Jordin. They are both extremely talented, but Blake is something very unique to this show and I can't help but hope he wins. But honestly, just like Elliott told them last week, they're all going to have tremendous careers.

So we'll see what happens. The finale I'm really looking forward to is LOST, of course. I know they're going to leave me with a cliffhanger that will bug me all summer, but that's not going to stop me from watching it!

Happy Birthday, Five Year Old!

Can you believe this little guy is five years old today??Happy birthday, little monkey!

SPF - framed!

Kristine's assignment this week involves frames. I had no clue what to take a picture of. Then we went on this little field trip yesterday. We visited Jerusalem Mill, which is a pre-Revolutionary-War mill near where I grew up. They fully restored it about ten years ago and have a wonderful little museum there now.

Outside, next to the blacksmith shop, sat this little wooden structure. I'm not sure what its purpose is, but I thought it looked like a neat place to take some pictures.

So this picture has two meanings for "frame" - the building is only a frame of timbers, and those timbers are framing the boys in the picture!

Did you play?

Road trip!

The boys and I are going on a road trip to Harford County, Maryland today. I grew up there, but I haven't been back since my seven year old was a baby. Should be fun! Pictures soon!

Wild Card Wednesday 5/16

Here's my picture for this week's Wild Card game, hosted by TKW.

This is my second son playing soccer (boy, I'd be rolling in bonus points if the letter were "S" this week). Isn't he cute? Look how he's way out in front, no one anywhere close to him, taking that ball to the goal!

But what I really wanted to talk about was that woman in the red shirt in the back left. That's his soccer coach. I'm pretty sure she's actually Allison Janney.

Now, I know you're thinking, "What would an Emmy-award winning actress, star of the series "The West Wing" and voice of Peach the Starfish in "Finding Nemo" be doing on a soccer field in rural Pennsylvania?" Let us examine the evidence, shall we?

First of all, she has the exact same voice. The first time I met her, I could almost hear her reading the instructions for the Aquascum 3000. Scary. Second, she is very tall. According to IMDb, Ms. Janney is also very tall, a statuesque 6'. Third, she looks very much like her. Not exactly, but she's an actress. That could be makeup.

Now, all of that could be considered coincidence, were it not for other suspicious things I've noticed. First of all, she has a "husband" and a "son" who coach and play on the team, respectively. The "husband" is very white, as is she. The "son" looks Indian. Obviously, he could be adopted or the child of a previous marriage. But I think a more logical conclusion is that the two of them are local actors helping to give her legitimacy as she studies for a role as a soccer coach in an upcoming film or tv project. Second, the phone number she's given us is a cell phone. Which means when I call her, she could be here, or she could be in Hollywood at an awards dinner. Who knows?

And finally, she is just way too into this coaching thing. She actually seems to enjoy it. If that doesn't scream, "I'm going to be getting paid beaucoup bucks to play this role in a few months," I don't know what does.

Chickpea guts

I recently bought some hummus at Sam's Club - they were giving out samples and it was really tasty. And it's pretty good for you, too. So, the other day we made some pumpernickel in the breadmaker, and I tried a piece of it spread with hummus. Yummy!

I went to Hubby. "You've got to try the bread with hummus," I said enthusiastically.

He looked at me like I just said he should lick his own shoe. "Um, what is hummus?"

"It's chickpeas. Ground chickpeas. With a little bit of spice. It's good."

He still looked unsure. "I thought it was that Scottish stuff with sheep guts."

"That's haggis! This is hummus. Totally different."

He reluctantly tried it, carefully nibbling one corner of my bread as though it was going to nibble back. Then he had to agree that yes, it was good! Silly man.

More tomorrow

I have so many things I want to write about, and really no time to do it. I had a doctor's appt. this morning and it just threw off my whole day. I'm fine, by the way. Just a recurrent bladder infection that's now gone. I had some blood drawn, too. That's always fun. I usually get all woozy and start to fall over, but I was okay this morning. I think I was too annoyed at how long I had to wait to get too woozy. Half an hour, just to get into the lab to get blood drawn? Add that to the half hour I waited to see the doctor, and I was really wishing I'd remembered that book I left sitting by the back door.

Well, I'm going to have some good stories, pictures, anecdotes and whatnot this week, so make sure you come back. Now I have to go do school.

SPF - A handful

This week, Kristine's assignment is a handful of something.

I hear it every time I go out. First, it's "Are they all yours?" and then when I confirm that, yes, they are, I get (Every.Single.Time.), "Wow, you've really got your hands full!"

Like this is something I haven't noticed. So my standard reply is, "They keep me busy." Which is a polite way of saying, "Just because you couldn't handle it doesn't mean I can't."

And then yesterday, I got this one: "Four boys? Gonna try for a girl next?" Let's examine the idiocy of this question. Was anyone out there aware that, barring expensive procedures, we could actually CHOOSE? Holy cow, how did I miss this?

1. So, in short, yes, I am busy. So is my friend who has four girls. Kids are work.
2. Four kids is not so many. I know lots of people with more.
3. You cannot decide ahead of time what you're having, boy or girl.
4. No, we are not having any more.
5. I love being the mom of all boys.
6. Yes, occasionally I wish for a little girl to dress in pink and TKW's tutus.
7. However, I would not trade one of my boys for her.
8. And overall, my life is actually easier because all my kids are one gender.

Any questions? Next time you see someone with kids of all one gender, especially if it's three or more, say something intelligent. Like, "You are so lucky!" Those are the comments that make my day. Because, yeah, I am.

EDIT: And now I see that I was supposed to put something in my actual hand. Oh well. That's what happens when you look at the assignment on Friday morning.

Thursday

Okay, first of all, I told you so. I told you Locke was getting himself into trouble by trusting Ben. These stupid TV people never listen to me.

Someone visited my blog from the Unilever company the other day, by searching Technorati for mention of a certain weight-loss drink I've been using (which they manufacture). I wonder what they were looking for? A spokesperson perhaps? Someone upon whom to lavish many wonderful gift items? Free samples? Come back! What do want from me? Come back!!

You know, you probably can't tell from my blog posts (snicker, snort), but I've been feeling really scatterbrained recently.

I have to take the boys to the dentist this morning, which means a one-hour-each-way drive and lunch out somewhere. I'm thinking McDonald's. They have diet food, right? Salads. Where they get off charging $4 plus for one, I don't know. Maybe I'll get two side salads. Grr, why does the dentist have to be so far away? Hey, if you're reading this and you know a pediatric dentist who wants to move, give him my email. He/she needs to come here.

Okay, gotta go get ready now.

Wild Card Wednesday - M

This week, TKW wants to see the letter M represented in our Wild Card pictures. At least, I think that's what she said... Okay - mountains. I know people out west will be saying, "That's not a mountain" in a Crocodile Dundee accent, but around here, this is what passes for mountains.

I hope you've enjoyed the pretty scenery. And if you haven't read the first two chapters of my novel yet, head on over to my portfolio and check it out!

Bunch of stuff

Thanks to everyone who read my chapter yesterday. And if you didn't, what are you waiting for?

My oldest son had his homeschool evaluation last night. As always, the evaluator made me feel so much better about school in particular and life in general. She has a two year old also, a foster daughter, who screams just as much as my 2-yr-old, so I asked how she gets school done with that going on. She gave me a few helpful pointers, and sympathized with me in my search for a boarding preschool (just kidding - but any mom of a toddler knows what I mean). All in all, she said we're doing an excellent job, so I'm happy.

We have soccer practice tonight, which isn't terribly exciting for me, but the boys love it. While the 7-yr-old practices, the other three run around like maniacs. I should say the other four, because Hubby runs around too. At least there are other moms there to talk to. I really hit it off with one lady in particular. She's also homeschooling, and then I found out she lives on a side street from our street! I'm going to invite her over sometime - our kids seem to get along pretty well, and they can run around outside while we sit inside and chat over coffee.

Okay, on Heroes last night, how did Sylar unfreeze time? Or did Hiro just lose his concentration? That was disappointing. What's it going to take for someone to kill this guy? And why didn't Suresh kill him when he was knocked out a couple of episodes ago? Stupid.

Finally, you might have noticed I haven't picked a favorite on Dancing With the Stars this season. I can't. I like them all. Well, maybe not Billy Ray. He is an awful dancer, no matter how fun he is to watch. But I can't pick between the other four. Much like AI. I like them all. Who do you like?

Okay, enough of this randomness. I'm sure there's something I'm supposed to be doing.

A Cappella, Chapter Two

I finally have Chapter Two of my novel to the place where I want some feedback. If you go to my Writing.com portfolio, you'll find Chapter Two ready to view, as well as Chapter One if you missed it. I've been doing some major editing of the following four chapters as well, but they're a long way from ready.

I look forward to your comments! Are the characters believable? Are Ellie's actions believable, if not understandable? Do you sympathize with her or just think she's stupid? Is there enough description of the setting? Don't hold back on me - I used to be critiqued by grad students when I was a freshman in college - I can take harsh criticism.

Thanks!

Onesies for Faith

Stacie is a mom of four, whose blog I've been reading for almost the whole time I've been in the blogosphere. Her youngest, Faith, is about the same age as my youngest little boy. Faith has had many health problems since she was born. My heart always fell when I would read that Faith was once again in the hospital with pneumonia, on breathing treatments, or even when she had a cold because that always led to something worse.

Finally, after many tests, doctors have diagnosed Faith with 22q Deletion Syndrome, a genetic problem. She's going to need surgery to place a feeding tube, because of her aspiration problems. My prayers are with this family, as always.

After the surgery, the doctor wants Faith to wear onesies, the little tops that snap underneath, so that she won't easily be able to get to the PEG tube or pull it out. Stacie is having a onesie drive for Faith, because she doesn't have any for her right now. I've already said I'll send her some onesies. If you can spare the cost of a pack of onesies, size 2t, please email Stacie(oneladymedic(at)yahoo.com) and let her know. She'll give you their address.

And I know she'd appreciate your prayers, too. Thanks.

Sorry - must rant about LOST

You know, I used to love John Locke. He was the best character on the show. Now, I don't know. He scares me. Last night's episode was completely predictable, but that didn't make it any less amazing.

The thing that bugged me about this episode is that Locke wouldn't ask any questions. I'm sorry, but if I were on that island and my mortal enemy suddenly appeared in front of me, I would have to ask questions. Especially when said mortal enemy says things like, "You haven't figured it out yet?" and "Don't you know where we are?"

Sawyer was asking all the right questions, but since Locke was lying to him the whole time, it didn't matter.

Sayid was asking all the right questions because he's smarter than eight other castaways combined.

Kate was asking the right questions because she doesn't like being out of the loop.

Jack was asking the right questions, even though he didn't like the answers.

But Locke? Total babbling fool.

I am glad Sawyer finally got his revenge. And Locke's father definitely got what he deserved. But why? Because Locke is trusting Ben. Again. Because it worked out so well for him last time.

Okay, rant over. At least the two AI contestants who left were the ones who deserved to. Now the final four all need to be named joint winners.

Wild Card Wednesday

For this week's WCW, I bring you this:The "W" for this picture is "Watch your back!" Friday's concert was awesome (more about that in this past Monday's post, if you want to read it). And they always end with "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?", arguably (and sadly) their most famous song. So, at the end of the song, they shout, "Watch your back!" and point into the audience. They've changed a lot of stuff in their concerts over the years, but this has been the same since the first time I saw them twelve years ago.

Oh, Rockapella, how I love you!

Did you play?

Heroes

Wow, what an episode last night! Hubby and I didn't see it coming, which always makes for a good show. It can be rather boring when you're as brilliant as we are and can see every plot twist from a mile away. But, wow! What a show!

Who's your favorite Hero and why? We love Peter Petrelli. He's just awesome. And five years in the future he's even more awesome. Hubby raised a good point, though: if he can heal (which he definitely can) why does he have a scar on his face? I'm sure there's some good explanation.

The next few final weeks should be good. If you haven't watched this show, catch up on NBC.com. Especially if you're a sci-fi/comic book hero fan. Awesome. That's all I have to say.

Rockapella!!

Friday night, Hubby and I went to the first Rockapella concert I've been able to attend in over three years, and it was everything I hoped for and more! The evening got off to a perfect start when I ran into Scott Leonard (the high tenor - blonde guy in the middle above) outside the theater. He was running in to ask where he should park the rented Toyota Sienna, and I almost bumped into him. I said, "Scott!" And he said, "Hey, how are you?" or something like that. And he gave me a great big bear hug. So right away, I was flying high. We went to a little cafe next to theater for coffee before the theater doors opened, chatting happily the whole time about some of our favorite Rockapella memories. Finally, concert time arrived!

They did several songs up front that I had never heard before. I love it when they do new stuff because it means that a new album can't be too far in the future. It was only my second time seeing the group with bass singer George Baldi, and the first time I ever saw John Brown, their new baritone. I totally love their new sound. Scott, of course, continues to be the powerhouse of the group, with vocals that give me goosebumps. Kevin Wright, who has now been with the group ten years, is amazing as well, shining in his solos, and creating perfect background accompaniments the rest of the time. And of course, Jeff Thacher cements his position as the world's best vocal percussionist with every performance.
Some of the new covers they performed were "Under the Boardwalk," "My Girl," and "Papa Was a Rolling Stone." They were all brilliantly arranged and flawlessly performed. The new original "California Sad-Eyed Girl" was a beautiful ballad. My favorite new addition to the song lineup was "Ain't Too Proud To Beg," which replaced "Pretty Woman" as their pull-a-girl-out-of-the-audience song. This is one of my favorite songs of all time, and just happened to be #1 on my list of songs I hoped Rockapella would cover one day. I was practically jumping out of my seat I was so excited! And of course, they completely recreated the song into a new masterpiece.
There was lots of amusing banter between the guys onstage. George, with his deep bass voice, kept referring to the other guys as "the girls." At one point, Kevin yelled out, "Chambersburg's got it going on!" and there was very little response from the audience. So he said, "You're all looking at each other like, 'We do?'" Too funny.

After the show, I caught Scott on his way to the meet & greet and told him briefly about the weight loss challenge between Blest and me. I told him I lost 40 pounds so far, and he gave me another hug and said congratulations! I asked about his kids, and he asked about my oldest son by name. Then he said, "He's not your only child, is he?" I said, "No, I have four boys." You should have seen the look on his face. He looked over at me like I was kidding. Then he realized I wasn't. "Four boys? Really?" It was priceless!

So after he got done signing autographs, I went over to ask him for a picture. The first thing he said was, "Wow, 40 pounds!" And he looked me up and down. I don't know if he was impressed, or if he was thinking I must have really been a cow before, but whatever! He put his arm around me and Hubby snapped a picture. And then he asked how I lost the weight. What was my brilliant answer? "Um, I ate less food."

After the pics, he said to Hubby, "Four boys, huh?" Obviously, he was impressed by this. Either that, or frightened by the thought. Then he said, "So, it's been a long time since we've seen you." I said, "Three years," inwardly very pleased that he realized it's been a long time. "I've had a baby since then," I said. And then I said THE stupidest thing. I mean, any time I talk to these guys I end up saying something stupid, but this was like, really embarrassing. I said something to the effect of, "The last two kids I had, I had after seeing a Rockapella concert." Scott looked at me, looked at Hubby, and then he said to Hubby, "Stay back!" Then to me he said, "It's those smooth harmonies." I didn't mean I had kids BECAUSE of the concerts, but I guess that's the way it came out. So then I had a Jerry Maguire moment, you know, where you're not embarrassed now, but you sense tomorrow's embarrassment?
There's me with my mouth open, babbling, and Scott grinning patiently. Fortunately for me, Scott never remembers the stupid things I say. Plus he's one of the most gracious people I've ever met.

And, like every addict, I am now jonesing for my next Rockapella concert. They get better every time. Thanks, guys, and especially Scott, for an awesome evening!

SPF - Happy Second Birthday!

This week, in celebration of two years of SPF, Kristine is taking us back to the beginning. The very first SPF was the inside of the refrigerator. This week, we're to show our refrigerator, along with a self-portrait indicating the number 2.

So here I am in front of my refrigerator. I spend a lot less time here than I used to. I have now lost 40 pounds! Fifteen more and I will no longer be considered "overweight."

And of course, the number 2 when used in conjunction with the word refrigerators prompts me to use both of my refrigerators for this special birthday edition of SPF. This is my upstairs one.

So, did you play?

I think, therefore I blog

TKW has honored me with the Thinking Bloggers Award. Apparently, I make her think, "Thank God I don't have any boys." But I'll take it, and thank you! Now in turn, I must name five blogs that make me think. Think about anything, not necessarily something deep or important. So here we go.

1. Jody - She makes me think about how precious my family is. Her husband had a stroke a while back, and he's only a couple years older than my husband. He recovered, but the whole situation just brought a new love and joy for life into their family. And by sharing that on her blog, she's given a gift to a lot of other families as well.

2. Steve Camp - Besides being one of my all-time favorite singers, Steve writes an amazing blog. I never fail to gain from the in-depth theological discussions over there. Many times, he says exactly what I've been thinking about a particular topic, only in a much more articulate way. If anybody wants to know what I believe and why, go read Steve's blog and you'll get the idea.

3. Mrs. Darling - I've followed her journey with her daughter, who has thrived since being taken out of public school to be homeschooled. That thrills me. But I also love how she shares honestly about every aspect of her life, from cooking and cleaning to what it means to be a friend. She is a very special blogger who I know wouldn't hesitate to invite me in for coffee if I ever showed up on her doorstep.

4. Grizzly Mama - Another PA homeschooler, Grizzly Mama is also very politically active, and since I happen to agree with her politics, I'm always interested in what she has to say. Also, every Friday she's been in the habit of sharing an Aesop's Fable. Those always make me think.

5. Ellen - I found Ellen's blog a couple of years ago because she had linked to mine, and I loved her instantly. She has a terrific sense of humor, she shares my passion for LOST, and most importantly, she eloquently expresses the feelings in her heart. I was upset when she quit blogging in December, and thrilled when she recently picked it up again. Add her to your must-read list and you'll never be disappointed.

So, the rules are, if I tagged you above, do the same post on your blog, linking back to this post. I'll have the graphic up later if you want to snag it for your sidebar.

Wild Card Wednesday

Today, for TKW's "show-me-a-picture; any-picture" game, I offer the following:
Rockapella, kings of a cappella music, will be performing a mere twenty minutes from my home this Friday night! Those of you "in the know" will notice that this is an old picture. (Elliott, the guy second from the right, has not been with the group for a long time now.) That's because this


is the last time I saw them in concert. Three years ago. Imagine going without something so vital for three years! And the best part? I will be going alone. No children climbing all over me. I will be free to enjoy the concert, and to hang around afterward for as long as I want.

If these guys ever come near your town, you MUST go see them. Though I warn you, they are addictive and extremely habit-forming.

And finally, thanks for the award, TKW! I will be doing my "thinking" post later. It's too early to think right now.

I'm going to brag

I don't often get a chance to brag on my kids about stuff like grades or awards or things, because of course, they don't get them. I mean, not the objective-third-party kind. When I was in school, I was always bringing home certificates for this and awards for that. Not to mention lots of A's. When you're homeschooling, giving your own child a certificate saying he's the best in his class is kind of meaningless.

Anyway, here in the stupid, annoying state of Pennsylvania, we are required to give our children a standardized test in 3rd, 5th and 8th grade. Now, I'm not sure how accurate these things are supposed to be. The fact that they don't even look at his score should tell you something. They just mark off whether he took the test or not. But I'm still going to brag.

My son, age 10, fifth grader, scored at a 12th grade level on the reading comprehension section of the test! In vocabulary, he scored "Post-High school!"

Okay, brag over.

When 2-year-olds attack

I had trouble falling asleep last night, which I always do when Hubby's out of town. I finally drifted off around two a.m. And what do I get this morning? My two-year-old climbs into my bed at 7:20 and starts yelling, "Mommy, wait bup!" (which is Mommy, wake up in his language).

Thinking that perhaps I could buy a few more minutes of sleep, I turned on a Thomas video for him. Great idea. Except that he positioned himself so that his feet were in my face. Then he started kicking. Finally, after an hour of this self-imposed torture, I decided to wait bup.

Lately, he seems to think he's in charge around here. I say no, he says yes. Now, some of you may be saying it's the age. Terrible twos and all that. Until this child, all of mine were the worst at three. Two was a cake walk. Which has me really scared for next year. But I digress.

His favorite thing to do is play with trains. And his favorite new game with trains is Telling Mommy What to Do. He gives me the remote, and then yells, "Dop!" or "Doe!" And I make the train stop or go. This can go on for hours. I don't even like trains.

If I leave the room for a moment, he screams, "Mommy!" as though I've just vanished off the face of the earth, and if I tell him I'm going somewhere and I'll be right back, he screams, "No!!" I don't do everything he wants me to do, but that doesn't keep him from expecting me to anyway. And that screechy sound he makes when I don't is enough to make my teeth hurt.

Now if you'll excuse me, I think there's a train with my name on it.

Wild Card Wednesday

If you want to play TKW's new game, just post a picture, any picture!

I have a 'W' for this week: weird. Because my camera is not "my" camera, there are often pictures on it which I did not take. Lately, my seven year old has been borrowing the camera. When I reviewed the photos, I found this one.

This is just one of several similar pictures. What in the world? I'm sure when he wakes up, he can explain it in detail. But that doesn't make it any less weird.

Yesterday

My prayers are with all those who were affected by yesterday's events at Virginia Tech. I cannot even imagine.

Monday again

What's your week got in store? We have:

• 2 chiropractor visits
• 2 soccer practices
• 1 co-op showcase
• 1 Wed. night church
• 5 days of school

Plus I need to get back to the dentist and get this filling filed down so I can bite properly again.

This is my burnout time of year. I get to this point in the school year, still have fifty or more days of school left to teach, and I just want it to be over. And it seems it never will be.

So here's what I have planned for the rest of the school year: um, nothing. I am SO bad at planning school it's not funny. I loved when we had a pre-planned curriculum and I could just turn on the computer and there it was. But the boys hated that. They love the way we've been doing it this year. I wish there were some happy medium (sigh).

Well, I need to get everyone moving. They should have been up forty minutes ago. Have a happy Monday, such as it is.

SPF - Stuff

Kristine wants us to gather a pile of stuff that speaks to who we are. I am clearly a mass of confusion, but here we go.
Okay, just the fact that I had to carefully arrange this stuff is very telling. Everything here is representative of many things. First we have my laptop. Obviously for blogging and email, but also for Bible study, writing, digital scrapping, and game playing. Then we have assorted DVDs. The one with the oval things that looks like an old record player is the Monkees Season 1. This represents all the tv I watched as a kid and teenager, not just the Monkees. Then we have The Little Mermaid: I love Disney animation. And of course Pirates and MIB sort of represent my current taste in movies. Oh, and the giant Star Wars across the top - this was taken under our Star Wars foosball table.

Then we have a picture of me with Hubby, representing my marriage of course, but also my kids because they wouldn't be here otherwise! There's a picture of me with Rockapella, because I didn't have any CD cases handy. In the back right is my makeup case. And then the books, just to show that my tastes run from Shakespeare to romance novels and everything in between. I am sure I left something important out, but you get the general idea.

So, did you play?

Opposites

Things that don't go together:

• Kids with ear infections who can't hear, and parents with sore throats who can't talk
• New short sleeved shirts I'm dying to wear, and 40 degree weather
• Tight jeans, and playing on the floor with a 2-year-old
• My teeth - where the dentist didn't file down the new filling
• My desire for a clean house, and four boys
• My desire for a clean house, and a dog with incontinence
• All the books I've bought recently, and all the time I have to read them
• The button on my size 12 jeans, and the buttonhole (but hopefully not for long!)

The two-year-old has mastered opposites. Some words he can't say yet, but he can say the opposite word. So, for example, if he wants to go down the steps, he points to them and says, "Not up." He's also mastered an essential skill in this house: the blame game. Last night, I found all the train tracks in their room torn apart and spread everywhere. I asked who did it, and he said, "Not me. I-tick." (which is what he calls the 5-yr-old).

Wild Card Wednesday #4

It's time for TKW's random new game, Wild Card Wednesday! It's also the day the dentist finally finishes my root canal. Yippee!

So, for today's WCW, I have a riddle. What has eight red ears, six pink eyes, and cost me $300 yesterday? Yeah, it's my kids. All four have double ear infections, and three of them have pink eye, but the doc just gave all four eyedrops because there's very little chance the fourth one won't get it. At least it's the once-a-day antibiotic instead of three or four times a day. That right there is $218 worth of medicine. After insurance. Plus the $20 per child copay at the doctor's office.

And I haven't even gotten the bill for my root canal yet.

So, did you play?

What does the PG in PG-13 mean?

This morning on a box of sugary kids' cereal, I noticed an ad for Spider-Man 3. It got me thinking: why do PG-13 movies get advertised to little kids? I mean, it's one thing to have ads on television, but when they put toys in Happy Meals or cereal, which you know no self-respecting 13 year old is going to admit to eating, they have to know who the target audience is.

And that got me thinking that they wouldn't waste money on advertising and promotion if they knew it wouldn't pay off. Which means that there are parents who let their six-to-twelve year olds go see these movies. And I just don't get that. My oldest son will be 11 in July, and even though I would love to share some of my favorite movies with him, I don't. Movies like the first Spider-Man, while fun, are also very scary, and have a fair amount of violence. Even my beloved Pirates is just too intense for him (though in its favor there is no bad language).

I know that a lot of the movies I watched as a child and teenager were rated PG, when today they'd probably be PG-13. But I was forbidden to see R movies, even on video. And that is as it should be. Why are people so anxious for their kids to grow up? I knew someone a few years ago who let her five-year-old watch the Indiana Jones movies and Harry Potter movies. My son still hasn't seen those.

Maybe I'm just over-protective. I won't argue that I'm not. But I think that the world could benefit from a lot more over-protectiveness and a lot less 8-year-olds watching people kill each other.

Good morning, um afternoon!

I am just now having my morning coffee. It's 2 p.m.

As you may remember, I had an unexpected root canal about a month ago. For whatever reason, it decided to start hurting yesterday. I tried various home remedies for toothaches. Some worked. Some didn't. But the pain kept getting worse. By bedtime, even extra strength pain relievers were doing nothing. I tried to sleep but I couldn't.

I spent most of the night, until around 4 a.m., awake and in agony. I was finally able to get a couple hours of sleep sitting on the living room sofa. Finally, at 9:20, the dentist was able to see me. He said I should be 100% better now, but he left the tooth open to allow any trapped gases to escape before he finishes the job on Wednesday.

So I got home around 10:30 and went to bed. I just got up at 1:30. The boys have been good, considering I wasn't around to get them snacks every three minutes. And hopefully I will be able to sleep the next two nights before getting this thing finished.

SPF - Holy...

Kristine's assignment this week is Holy. No, that didn't come out right. The assignment itself isn't holy, but we're supposed to find a picture to represent Holy. Does that make sense? Okay.

There are so many directions I could go with this, but here is what I chose.

This is my 42" television. It died. Now, fortunately we bought an extended warranty on it, so I just called up the warranty people. This was four weeks ago. First I had to go through the whole receipt and read all the numbers on it.

"And how much did you pay for the television?"
"Um, $250." It was on clearance. Somebody returned it because it had a problem. Apparently those people never heard of manufacturer's warranties.
"Really? $250?"
"Yeah."

So they send somebody out. He says he needs to order a part. But since this is the same part that was bad when we first bought it, he thinks Samsung might replace the television for us. Cool!

Three weeks later, I find out that the part we need is not made anymore. The warranty people are going to have to replace the television. At this point, I'm thinking what if they only give us our $250 back? Or what if they give us a $250 television? So they called on Wednesday with the model number of the tv they are going to send us. It's a Sony, it's 50", and it's REALLY nice.

But then, the woman on the phone says, "Or we can send you a replacement check for $1895."

And that's where the "Holy...!!!" comes in, folks.

They are sending us a check for $1900 (she's rounding up for us). For a tv we paid $250 for. And we've already decided we're going to get a nice multimedia projector instead of a television, so we can have a giant 11' picture if we want to. Those are generally around $1000. What about the rest of the money, you ask? We're going to Disney World! I mean, we were already planning to, but this will help pay for it!

Life lesson - When buying open box or returned merchandise, always, always, ALWAYS buy the extended warranty!

My top four

Over at Ellen's, she has come up with wonderful idea. Everyone has those three, four or five favorite recipes. You know, the ones you make over and over because your family likes them and they're easy to do. So, why not share those old faithful recipes with everyone, and maybe find some new favorites? If you have a few favorites, feel free to join in, and just let Ellen know. So, here are mine.

Spaghetti Sauce (this is great with almost any pasta)
1 lb ground beef
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
2 Tbsp Italian seasoning (or 1 Tbsp each of basil and oregano)
1 tsp crushed mint
Salt to taste

Brown and drain beef. Add the rest of the ingredients. If sauce is too thick, add water until you're happy with it. Pour over pasta of your choice and serve.

Mardi Gras - This is a casserole, but probably the best one ever!
1 1/3 cups Minute Rice (white or brown)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can (14 oz) white meat chicken, drained
1 cup water
1 Tbsp oregano
Dash of cayenne
Combine all ingredients in casserole dish, mixing thoroughly. Then,
1/2 stick butter
3 Tbsp flour
1 can evaporated milk
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
Melt butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour. Slowly add milk, stirring continually, until thickened. Add cheese, stirring until melted. Pour cheese mixture over contents of casserole dish. Sprinkle with paprika. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. And my Dad would say, Serve with Ritz crackers!

Mexican Lasagna
1 lb ground beef
1 can refried beans
1 can tomato sauce
1 envelope taco seasoning
6 large tortillas
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
Spray a casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray. Layer three tortillas on the bottom of the dish. Then, brown and drain ground beef. Stir in beans, tomato sauce and seasoning. Spread half of beef mixture over tortillas. Sprinkle with half the cheese. Repeat tortilla layer, beef layer, and cheese layer. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Easy Lasagna - got this recipe recently and it instantly became a favorite!
1 lb ground beef
2 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
15 oz ricotta or cottage cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan
1 egg
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 cup water
12 lasagna noodles, uncooked
Brown beef and drain. Meanwhile, mix 1 1/4 cups mozzarella, 1/4 cup Parmesan, and the ricotta cheese and the egg until well blended. Set aside. To the beef, add the spaghetti sauce. Fill the empty jar with water and shake well. Add the water to the skillet. (This is what will cook the noodles) Spread 1 cup of the meat sauce on the bottom of a casserole dish. Top with three noodles. Spread with 1/3 of the cheese mixture. Repeat layers two more times. Top with remaining 3 noodles and remaining meat sauce. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan. Cover tightly with foil and bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 15 minutes.

So, those are my top four! Let me and Ellen know if you're posting yours!

Wild Card Wednesday #3

If you read The Kept Woman's blog at all, you probably remember her recently discussing small-town newspapers and the types of things that make "news" in them. For example, someone signing up to be a Pampered Chef consultant becomes an item in the paper. So when I saw this picture, I knew it was perfect for her new game, Wild Card Wednesday. This picture not only appeared in my local paper, it appeared on the front page, right under the banner. What is the headline news from this past Friday? A child is enjoying the park on a spring day! Wow! Who'd have thought?

And as a bonus, this smiling child just happens to be my oldest son!

"Back" him up, please!

I have been going to a chiropractor for a couple of months now, and he has helped me tremendously. Now it's my turn to help him. On April 16th, he will begin a journey, running on a 10-person relay team from Boston, MA to West Palm Beach, FL. Yes, you read that right! They are RUNNING 1,639 miles!

You can read Dr. Larry's bio here. I think you'll be as impressed as I was. He will be running to raise money for the DMSE Foundation. The DMSE Children's Fitness Foundation is working with schools, communities and youth organizations to promote physical fitness and counter the epidemic of childhood obesity and diabetes.

So if you feel led after reading about the relay, I know Dr. Larry would appreciate your support. He told me any amount, a dollar or a dime, would be greatly appreciated. To donate, go here.

Thanks!

EDIT: I also found this great resource for teaching your own kids about health and physical fitness as you follow the team's progress.