Epiphany Springs

It's official

2009-07-28T12:40:00.000-07:00

I've moved. I'm posting at

A Call to Adventure

Please change your bookmarks. Now. Don't wait months like some people I know (I'm talking to myself here, not anyone else who knows who they are, LOL).

:) :) :) <---those smilies mean I'm a nice person and you don't want to lose touch with me.

Even though I'm weird. And whiny.

See you there!

Please? ;-)

The Conundrum

2009-07-15T08:13:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned a few days ago I'm itching to go back to my "A Call to Adventure" blog that I had years ago. I thought maybe I'd just use that blog for a specific purpose, like to chronicle the lifestyle changes I'm trying to make. So I went into blogger and quickly made up the blog...and when I saw it my whole body just went "Ahhhhhhh...."

"Ahhhhhh" is NOT the feeling I get when I'm here. Doesn't that even sound silly? "Here" is not anywhere, it's a piece of cyberspace! Yet I feel anxious when I'm "here" in this little patch of electrons. I named my blog Epiphany Springs in the hope that I would have my dream to go along with the blog - a house a bit further out in the country with some sort of brook or spring near it. That dream seems quite far away right now, and it make me a bit anxious and sad to think about it.

Even dh wants me to take a break from house hunting. He says it's making me crazy. (I counter with the fact that it's OTHER things making me crazy - I house hunt to get away from that and hope for something new and exciting...).

So back to the "Ahhhh" feeling. There isn't even anything over at "A Call to Adventure," it's just a blank Minima template (ETA: a little time on my hands and there are now Epiphany Springs posts over there and a header photo), but it took me back to a time where life was a bit easier, and I felt my call to this crazy homeschooling/SAHMing/Catholic lifestyle a bit stronger, a bit more wonderfully. The title reminds me that we're all called to be saints, and that this life should be considered a grand adventure. I want that Ahhhhh back in my life, that sense of peace in my purpose. Epiphany Springs just reminds me that my will and God's are at odds right now. :(

So I guess there IS no conundrum. The difficulty when I started this post was wondering whether I should keep BOTH blogs going, but I think I answered my own question. Come what may. Give me a few days, I need to pretty it up, but unless in the next week we put an offer on a house with a stream in the backyard, I'll be making new digs over at A Call to Adventure. I need to be true to myself, and true to God's call.

My greatest gift

2009-07-15T06:16:00.000-07:00

I was feeling a little worked up about something this morning, and Jeffrey (21 months) came up to me and hugged me. I hugged him tight and said, "I love you!" and clear as day, this toddler who barely puts two words together said, "I love you too"

Surely that will be my greatest gift today.

Dental math

2009-07-14T11:34:00.001-07:00

I think an hour and a half at the dentist's with five kids should equal enough of an ~~excuse~~ experience to skip science, health and even math for the littles today, right? Maybe even a little purgatory time? Hmmm?

How I know my 11yo is entering the Logic Stage

2009-07-10T16:42:00.000-07:00

And no, it's not because she's getting argumentative, because she's ALWAYS been argumentative, LOL!

This is the scene in the car yesterday. Don't think it's always this lovely.

Jane: I love Mommy a million times more than God loves me.

Skye: I love Mommy a million times more than God loves me, times a thousand plus infinity.

Batty: IIIIII love Mommy plus infinity plus infinity plus infinity plus infinity!

Rose (11) with her "silly little sisters" voice on: I love mommy only as much as is possible.

I actually really got a kick out of that.

This is really beginning to irk me

2009-07-09T17:15:00.000-07:00

and I don't even LIKE the word irk! ;=)

I can't open my own website. Something about IE and blogspot are not jiving lately, and everything crashes. It's not just this site, either, it's many different blogspot blogs, but for some reason not all, and not all the time!

But it's making me really antsy to want to move again. It's like having your front door stick all the time - supposed to be bad chi. You're not supposed to feel unwelcome in your own home. Well, my blog front door is stuck. :-P

And besides, I'm missing my old "A Call to Adventure" personna (and readers, I had readers back then, LOL!) I can hear Willa going, "Cool..." :)

Well, I'm not going anywhere right now, except to put my son to bed. But blogger doesn't seem to be fixing this little problem. So I stay irked.

ETA: Well, I did a little googling and one blogger mentioned that it could be a problem with the "followers" gadget/widget on the sidebar, so I removed mine and it worked! This time, at least.

I still feel like I want to move, but that's probably because our house hunting is going nowhere.

Let's just say ...

2009-07-08T15:58:00.000-07:00

...that PMS and new curriculums and having a super busy dh DON'T MIX.

Lots of new learning notes up over at Epiphany Prep School, and lots of fodder for confession. We're not going to get ANYWHERE with the loveliness of Oak Meadow and Waldorf if I'm loosing my cool over everything. At least I'm not losing it over the children's work - other than trying to organize 3 different levels with a multitude of interruptions - I'm losing it over all the OTHER things like the constant low level sneakiness/forgetfulness/disobedience or certain children who just float around in a dream and so never ever clean up after themselves. Ahem. Oh and the simple chaos of having a few littles, like the toddler taking off his diaper right over the girls artwork, or him constantly shoving his toothbrush in my face, or the incessant low level whininess...ahem again. Not to mention the 4yo on steriods. Sigh.

But like I said, I need to be the thermostat not the thermometer. I'm realizing I'm a very weak personality, and my children have STRONG personalities. I need to get strong. Not sure how. It's not like I let them get away with disobedience, it's so much more subtle than that - but I know I've been like this around kids "forever" because I felt like my clients when I worked as an SLP walked all over me too. It's one of the reasons I have no business going back to work as an SLP with kids. Adults either want to work or they don't, you can encourage them but you don't have to "force them to fall into line with your very presence" like you need to with kids.

All that being said, my kids are enjoying their new work. My oldest is JAZZED by it. That is good. I hope they remember the work and not the fact that it made their mother's head explode. Boom.

Saturday's epiphany

2009-06-27T18:08:00.001-07:00

A few posts ago I mentioned that I wasn't prepared to start school again because I wasn't sure what I was doing yet with Oak Meadow/Serendipity/Waldorf-ish education. Today I realized that while that may be true, what I *really* am is SCARED! Scared that this new way of schooling won't be the healing, nurturing thing I hope it will be. Scared that it's just going to BOMB, and my relationship with my children will wind up deeper in the hole than it already is. We need to do school, and we need to bond more, and be gentle and fun together, and I so desperately want Oak Meadow/Waldorf-ish schooling to fulfill those needs, PLUS be a good education! We can't afford to do "school lite" anymore, esp. with my dyslexic oldest.

Aaaaaaaaaa!! THAT's why I don't want to start school up again. I'm terrified it'll fail, and then I won't know WHAT to do.

Finally, they're giving back

2009-06-26T08:42:00.001-07:00

After all these years of the washer/dryer fairies stealing socks, today we took a cute light blue shirt out of the dryer that none of us had ever seen before. Thank you dryer fairies! :-)

Prayers please

2009-06-24T06:25:00.000-07:00

For Jeffrey and Batty who have high fevers and no other symptoms (other than feeling lousy from their high fevers, I mean), for their daddy who seems sick with something else, and their mama who was up all night with one of the hot ones. ;-)

I'm offering a prayer of thanksgiving that it isn't any worse, and for my mom who came and took Rose to the orthodontist (third time in a week something has broken, grrrr...).

Maybe this will be my new homeschooling room

2009-06-23T11:10:00.001-07:00

In a few days we have an appointment to see another house...5 decent sized bedrooms (I think there are 3 upstairs, one on main floor, one in basement? Four(!) full bathrooms (a good thing with four teenage daughters at the same time, no?), fenced yard, a quiet looking street that even ends in a trail (I think) to a state park/stream. Biggest problem we can see, (without having seen it I mean)? It's horribly overpriced for what it is. *If* we like it, hopefully the sellers will see reason and accept a low offer. Really low. It doesn't look that big either, from the outside. It might be all bedrooms! And a sunroom, I suppose. ;-)

We're still on a break from school, which is good because we seem inundated with doctor and orthodontist visits, house visits, research to try to help my dad deal with my elderly, and now broke, grandmother...

I'm itching to get started again, but at the same time, so NOT READY. I want this to be a creative, beautiful, and healing year for all of us. But I feel like I don't know HOW to make that happen - it feels like a matter of not being able to teach it because I'm not emotionally there myself, YKWIM? I wish I could go back in time and do this curriculum (in a cabin, ALONE, LOL, for at least a year) and learn how to be at peace, and to love, and to do needle felting. ;-)

I need to run and hug my kids, they are almost done with their snack and I've wasted enough time here. Not than any of you dear readers are a waste of my time! But talking to you doesn't get my laundry folded, or the mess that just prompted a big UH OH from my 4yo cleaned up. :-P

Have I said "Thank Heaven for St. DH" lately?

2009-06-17T14:21:00.001-07:00

St. DH is going to bring dinner home so I can ~~be lazy~~ recover after a long day and long drive to a friends house ... on the kind of day I'd rather curl up in a ball with a blanket over my head, LOL. It was a "work visit" - I helped her with her yearly homeschool review, so I couldn't keep putting it off.

Anyway - THANK YOU St. DH for dinner. So I can sit here and blog, LOL! The kids unearthed a Monopoly CD for the computer and are checking it out. I can 'dish' here about the house we saw last night.

I'm glad I didn't get my hopes up. At least I can honestly say it's the best house we've seen so far that we can afford. But they are asking too much, I don't think I can get over the fact that it's right next to a busy road (safety wise), the place is covered with this weird fabric type wallpaper that has totally absorbed the smells and dander of their many cats and dogs, and their fifth bedroom is smaller and more awkwardly shaped than the master bedroom's walk in closet! Now, there were plenty of great things about it, like the large lot and the horse farm you could see from the backyard!

Today I found out that another place we had our eye on has drastically dropped their price - this place is actually TWO houses on one 1+ acre lot. Weird maybe, but functional for an in-law house or my parents perhaps? Their are many downsides to it, but maybe enough upsides to make it work? I don't know - we haven't gone in, only driven by. Now the price is low enough that we could get a mortgage on our own, and get help actually paying it through rent. Because while we could technically afford the mortgage for it, we wouldn't be able to put any money into retirement or education, and would have to nickle and dime everything else. With rent we'd have a cushion again, I think!

Well, enough silly chit-chat from me. The Monopoly game appears to be deteriorating into a Monopoly fight. I'd better help them work out some nasty energy setting the table.

Taking a Cleaning Breather

2009-06-15T13:27:00.000-07:00

Well, I've got a house bee in my bonnet again, so I'm busy packing and cleaning today. Things are looking better.

I showed St. DH a 100-year-old renovated farmhouse on over 2 acres last night and much to my surprise, he liked it! So we are hopefully going to see it in the next few days. Upsides - the 2+ acres, 5 bedrooms are all upstairs, house has been added on to (in late 1980's) and renovated at least to some extent, the family room is full of windows. Downsides - 2+ acres is a lot to care for, it's a corner lot and street that goes alongside the lot is quite busy and fast (there are evergreens/trees almost all along that side, however, and we hope to fence at least a portion), it's OLD and we don't know what is possibly wrong with it or how much has been changed/updated - I'm guessing we'll learn more when we see it. It's also at the upper end of our comfortable price range.

Anyway, I'm NOT getting my hopes up this time. I'm looking forward to seeing it, though. I figure if I stay emotionally non-commital right now, I'll know if I get that "Wow this house HAS to be ours!" feeling when I see it.

Back to my packing-cleaning-decluttering. I'm working on a box of junk that I packed away months ago in a quick-my-parents-are-coming-over tidy. Finally!!

Happy 40th Birthday, St. DH!!

2009-06-11T00:00:00.000-07:00

You are my sunshine
My favorite sunshine
You make me happy
When my hair is gray
You'll never know dear
How much I love you
So grow old with me
Everyday.

:)

I'm so happy to finally have company "on top of the hill." We are not over the hill yet. (That's next year)

Here's 40 reasons why I love you, St. DH!

You are handsome
You are patient with me
You are a great dad
You work hard for us
You fixed the bathroom!!!
You'll come home after a long day and still take care of things that need to get done
You are intelligent
You have relatives in high places ;-) (a priest and a nun!)
You buy me oreos even when they are not on sale
You laugh with me
You cry with me
You put up with me when I keep crying
You enjoy watching LOST with me
You don't say anything when the girls listen do fairy books during breakfast
You help the girls practice their sports
You go to and enjoy their games
You don't get upset when things don't go according to plan
Heck, you hardly EVER get upset
You appreciate the little things we do for you
You like my cooking (!)
You are easy to please
You think I'm pretty
You listen to God and help me listen too
You have a good sense of humor
You can quote Bill Cosby routines (he did this the day we met and that's how I knew we were right for each other :) )
Did I mention you are handsome?
And you forgive me when I can only get to 27 things because Jeffrey keeps waking up!

I love you St. DH. I'll tell you the other 13 things *nudge nudge wink wink* later! ;-)

Wednesday's epiphany

2009-06-10T20:25:00.000-07:00

You'd think with five kids I'd learn this earlier...

Today my 11 and 9-year-olds were doing a project together. They were arguing, as usual, as it was a creative endeavor and they rarely agree on how things should go.

Typically, I bemoan the fact that they are "too old for this," that they are "acting like toddlers" - I say this in my head, and try (and fail sometimes) to be a little more tactful out loud. But still I am grumbling internally that they should know this stuff by now and it sets me on edge.

But today it hit me: OK, they *don't* truly get this stuff yet. If they *did*, they would act better. So I kindly gave them instructions on one good way to share the task, and they seemed truly grateful! The rest of the project proceeded relatively peacefully from there.

So my epiphany was: meet them where they are. Even if you think it's years behind where they should be! LOL Nothing will be gained from scolding.

The Joys of Hearing Loss

2009-06-10T07:47:00.000-07:00

Sometimes having a daughter (Skye) with a unilateral hearing loss can be frustrating, as it is hard to tell when she has heard me and when she hasn't (among other things).

But today we saw the funny side of hearing loss.

The girls were all in one room, having a conversation about a new story they were going to write. They were trying to come up with character names.

Skye: Her first name's Bethany. What about her last name?

At this point I stick my head in the door and ask of her sister, "What is Jeffrey eating?"

Her sister says, "Fishsticks."

Not having heard my interruption, Skye says, "Fishsticks? Bethany Fishsticks? What kind of name is that? That is a weird name!"

We were all laughing after that one.

Is someone trying to tell me something?

2009-06-09T17:35:00.000-07:00

I've mentioned previously that everyone seems to have some kind of eczema/skin thing going on - all different types, but everyone seems bothered at once.

So of course I've been thinking constsantly about it to see what I could come up with as a cause, and trying a few internet searches. Jeffrey's was mostly in one area...I thought, "Maybe it's some kind of bite?" Not soon after, I come across a thread on bedbugs on Mothering.com, and I start imagining some horrible infestation (they are apparently very hard to get rid of, and just for the record, I'm 99.9% sure we don't have them!). But now they are in my head and I keep thinking "bedbugs."

Fast forward a day or so to tonight. A new-ish neighbor and his wife have taken a liking to our kids (they don't have their own yet), although we don't know them very well. He dropped something off inside our door because I missed the bell while trying to wrestle a clean diaper on a very upset Jeffrey. I go to open the door, and see a bag of...

BEDBUGS.

Turns out they are really supposed to be dust mites. ;-) The neighbor pops by later to explain that he works for a pest-control company and they were giving away these things, and he wanted our kids to have some.

I'm still chuckling, but a little :-P.

Morning storms

2009-06-09T06:26:00.000-07:00

There's something so fascinating about a morning thunderstorm. Maybe it's just the novelty - usually we only have thunder here after 4PM or in the middle of the night).

Yesterday ended just as pitifully as it began - my daughter's softball team lost in the playoffs, on a walk, no less. I guess it's just as well, they got IN to the playoffs in the exact same manner - by the other team walking in a run in a tie game in the bottom of the last inning. Jeffrey put a hole in the wall by pushing the front door open hard, even though we have a door stopper. The evening was spent consoling my dd and then killing ants and spraying more poison. I'm not proud of that.

This morning, after the storms, (*warning, gross medical alert*) Jeffrey had a few horrible diapers, with some blood in them. I'm *hoping* it's just something he ate yesterday, as he is not acting sick in any other way. He *did* have some awfully weird things - several without my knowledge - half a hot dog (that he didn't chew too well), an oreo, part of blue and yellow freezer push-pops, and some melon (new to him). I'm going to watch him, but this may negate my plans to have my parents come over and watch the kids while I run to get dh his presents for his birthday. :-( He will understand, but still...

Anyway, the storms are over (darn) and the day is turning hot and humid. Thank you for all your kind comments yesterday. I am hoping my life storms are over and I can have a more *normal* chaotic and stressful day. ;-) Hope springs eternal!

Reality Check Monday

2009-06-08T08:17:00.000-07:00

Lest you think all is sweetness and light here...

-morning started with me in one bathroom and Jeffrey in another, apparently taking off his dirty diaper (the girls were supposed to be "helping" him), screams ensuing, toddler getting poop everywhere and crying.

-soon after, Jeffrey dumps box of cereal as I step out of the room. A second ago there was a girl there in the chair eating, I didn't think I had to protect it.

-clean that up to find we are invaded by ants in the kitchen again even though dh just sprayed poison everywhere. I mean, if we're gonna spray poison, it had better darn work!! Cleaned up as best I could but...

-we had an hour long appointment at the orthodontist to get to, where everyone who saw us went wide eyed with, what was it...horror?...at how many little kids I had with me.

-oh yeah I forgot the screaming fit I had at the kids for trashing the whole house and never cleaning up after themselves. And you know what? I am NOT even sorry for it. I tell them every. single. day that we MUST put things away when we are done with them, and am always following them around pulling them from one thing to say, "You need to put away the last thing." It's not because I am a neat freak, because I'm not (which is probably why we have ants! LOL)...but we are 7 people in a little space, and it is always a disaster. I *need* them to do at least this much.

-Now we are home and the kids are cleaning while I try to eat lunch (they ate) and dd comes to me and says she already has two loose brackets...you know, the ones that were JUST put on an hour and a half ago at the orthodontist?

- Jeffrey has what I thought was some kind of weird eczema on his wrist (looks like little pimply, itchy bumps, almost like a poison ivy? but dd has had similar looking thing on her foot for months and months so I don't think it's that...) but now there are some of the same bumps on his face. Yick. What in the world? And every one of them has some *different* kind of rash or skin problem flaring right now, and I have no idea what's causing it, or even how to deal with it.

-OK, I'm off to continue to scrub the kitchen down. Jeffrey was put to bed without lunch after a total meltdown. Lying there nursing him I just couldn't understand why, that when I'm struggling the most, and pleading repeatingly with God to send some consolation or at least lighten up on the crises, He does just the opposite and opens the hatch wider so more JUNK can fall on me, faster...I wondered if I was really some kind of devil child that doesn't deserve love. I SO fear the loss of heaven, but if even God won't help me get there when I can't do it myself, maybe I don't belong there. Nothing like having a faith crisis while nursing your sweet baby.

It's not even noon. It's a good thing we're not doing school this week. Welcome to my real morning. ;-)

The Joys of Today

2009-06-07T16:46:00.001-07:00

-eating raw peas straight from the garden with the children in the fading sunlight

-thinking of my beloved in the middle of a conversation with my daughter and realizing later that it was the moment his plane was landing

-mint chocolate chip ice cream in my favorite mug. I don't even like mint chocolate chip ice cream but that perfect-shade-of-blue mug makes me so *happy*. I don't even care that it has a goofy computer aided design company label that I don't even know what it stands for.

-teaching Skye how to improve her cartwheel, and knowing that at 40 years old with 5 kids, I can still do a cartwheel and not kill myself

-watching Jeffrey so carefully imitate everyone, from kneeling in prayer, to climbing the swingset and kicking a soccer ball, to lying on his tummy with his hands under his chin right next to all his sisters doing the same at the laptop computer.

- bed time. Ahh yes.

Maybe this is why she doesn't like to eat my soup

2009-06-02T16:43:00.000-07:00

Me to Rose: The soup is good for you because it has many nutrients - vitamins - your body needs. Plus it's tasty too.

Batty, listening in: I'll grow big and strong muscles! I'll have humongous elbows!

Oak Meadow all around

2009-06-01T16:40:00.000-07:00

Not one day after updating my curriculum plans in my menu bar, I decided to do what I had been contemplating for awhile - I bought Oak Meadow curriculum for everyone: Rose, Skye, and Jane (6th, 4th, and 1st).

I needed something planned for me. I (and they) needed multi-sensory, creative, artistic. I needed something with much LESS focus on read alouds (sorry Luke!) for now as it was just NOT working with 3 others under 6 who need a lot more direction/attention in the day. I wanted something Waldorf-like but not Waldorf.

With the help of a dear 4Real board member I'm realizing I'm really physically burning out (exhausted adrenals, most likely, and crashing fast) and need to reduce my stress. "Shout reading" over the din was just too much, and happened too often.

I don't know why I feel the need to explain so much, other than the fact that we have used Sonlight all but one year of our homeschooling, and I loved learning like that and will miss it next year. But while I loved *learning* like that, I just can't *teach* like that right now, and I'm realizing the difference. Maybe I'll just buy myself Core 400 some day and revel in it. :)

So we're just going to take it really slow when the books come in, have fun, and not worry about it. Right.

Please pray

2009-05-31T09:35:00.001-07:00

Please pray for the soul of my SIL's mother Olga who passed away this morning, and also for the soul of a different SIL's father, Jerome, who passed away a few days ago. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Please pray also for my dh's aunt, Sr. Gertrude, who underwent surgery, and was about to receive radiation for a lung tumor. I don't have any other information about her at this time.

Memorial Day-Book

2009-05-25T09:59:00.000-07:00

Outside my window...
It's partly cloudy, warm, good "first weekend of pool season" weather. In the garden I've torn out some broccoli that was past it's prime to put in a few heirloom tomatoes that I got from Walmart of all places.

I am thinking...
about summer, about some fun plans to focus on the littles in the coming months, about fixing up the house for sale (or stay)

From the learning rooms...
We have officially ended Sonlight's Core 4. I'm about to pack it away after I get off the computer. The only hint that we were studying that era now are the lingering picutre books about WWI and WWII and the Holocaust. Boxes for Katja is my favorite and makes me cry. As soon as I buy a few supplies (which may take me a looong time getting them at Michael's with 40% off coupons ;-P) we are going to start Along the Alphabet Path. But right now we are enjoying having Daddy home for a day, and taking a short "good weather" break school-wise.

I am thankful for...
A dh that is patient and forgiving, warm-but-not-too-hot weather, new birds at the feeder, new sandals and swimsuits for the girls.

From the kitchen...
Leftover pot roast, fresh garden salad

I am wearing...
long light blue/white checked shorts, light blue top, hair up in a headache inducing ponytail. I need my hair cut!

I am reading...
Serendipity's blog, and just started A Thomas Jefferson Education off my shelf

I am hoping...
my dh and kids are having fun at the pool...that the baby takes a good long nap but still goes to bed easily tonight

I am praying...
for wisdom...for my grandmother...for my family...for many intentions from around the internet

Around the house...
I'm about to put away last years books and pull out what we'll use next

One of my favorite things...
quiet. ahhhhhhhh...

A few plans for the rest of the week...
another trip to Michael's for more sketchbooks, putting away winter clothes and other things in my new bins

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...
Whoops, no picture thoughts, wrong computer. :) Just imagine a tall girl in a new striped bathingsuit doing a cannonball. ;-)

7 reasons why I like hand washing over the dishwasher

2009-05-19T11:43:00.000-07:00

1. It's quiet. Everyone is happy to go somewhere else so I don't ask them to do it.

2. I'm rinsing them anyway, I might as well just use a little soap and a few more seconds and have them clean.

3. I get the satisfaction that *I* cleaned them, not the dishwasher ... since I did most of the work rinsing them *anyway* when I dishwashered them, it didn't seem fair that the dishwasher got the thanks for a "job well done."

4. I can do a little at a time, and then those dishes I've touched are DONE. If I fill the dishwasher a little at a time to run a load, those dishes are still dirty until the whole thing is run.

5. This only works because I can use the dishwasher as a drying rack - even if I let the sink get totally full from all-day-dishes, I can wash them all at one time and the sink is clean. Typically with the dishwasher, we'd have to arrange them carefully and then there'd be some left in the sink that didn't fit. That I'd just leave there. Now I wash them all and stack the ton of them all ungracefully to dry in the dishwasher.

6. While I'm handwashing, the after-dinner-helper (who used to load the dishwasher) has time to bring me the dishes, wipe the table, clean under the table, etc. We're both done at about the same time and the place is much cleaner. They enjoy their part (sort of) and I enjoy my part.

7. The dishes actually come out clean. More than I can say for my dishwasher right now.

Rosetta Stone Giveaway

2009-05-17T11:27:00.000-07:00

How do you say, Jumping on the bandwagon in Latin? Maybe I'll win this and find out! :)

****
Rosetta Stone is the fastest way to learn a language and has been the #1 foreign language curriculum among homeschoolers for a while — and you can WIN the *all new* version 3 Rosetta Stone Homeschool LATIN program… FOR FREE! This is the first year you can get Latin in the brand new Version III update.

This is a $259 program (and believe me it’s worth every penny!)This is a computer based curriculum and Rosetta Stone will also include a headset with microphone, and a supplementary “Audio Companion” CD so you can practice lessons in the car, on the go, or where-ever! Students participate in life-like conversations and actually produce language to advance through the program. Rosetta Stone incorporates listening, reading, grammar, vocabulary and writing along with speaking and pronunciation lessons. For parents, the new Parent Administrative Tools are integrated into the program to allow parents to easily enroll up to ten students in any of 12 predetermined lesson plans, monitor student progress, grade completed work (the program grades the work automatically as the students progress- I love that!), and you can view and print reports for transcripts. Homeschooling a lot of kids at your house? This program is designed to enroll and track up to ten students (five users on two computers) and will work for nearly all ages — from beginning readers up to college students.

To win this most excellent Latin program copy these paragraphs and post them in (or as) your next blog post, and/OR link to the contest from your facebook page and/OR email the information to your homeschool support group – Then go to the original page http://Jeneralities.com and leave a comment saying that you’ve posted about, or have linked to, the contest. Please make sure the link works to get back to the original contest page when you post. And good luck!
****

Mid-May Weekbook

2009-05-15T01:26:00.000-07:00

Things I've learned recently:
-we're studying WWII and the Holocaust, and I'm amazed at how much I *don't* remember from school.
-I'm still having post-traumatic flashbacks of my skin cancer surgery (but only when I hear about someone else going through it, like in a forum post). I am glad I can be there for them though, in a BTDT kind of way.
-that I need more IRL friends, but I don't know how to get them. I guess I'm making some strides, but I still feel lonely! I think what I would REALLY like is the old fashioned "see moms in similar circumstaces over the backyard fence, invite them in for coffee" kind of friendships! We live in a huge suburb, full of two-income families. It's just not the same. Nobody "gets" me (my dh is nodding his head in amused agreement - I'm hard to understand, LOL)
-that there is a video of a Confirmation Mass at the end of our wedding video! In 15 years we've never run it past a minute or two of static at the end of our wedding Mass. Well, after that, there is an HOUR of somebody's Confirmation from 15 years ago. Whoda thunk, LOL.

Garden notes:
-harvesting some spinach, lettuce, and arugula (my favorite!)
-broccoli is growing. Yay! I've always had so much trouble with this in the past. This year we started with store bought seedlings and did much better. I'm not sure how or when to harvest it though, I need to read up on it.
-Peas are starting to flower. They grew much taller than I expected, I must have misread the seed packet. I need to find something to tie a few to.
-I see a few tiny strawberries hiding. I can't wait!

New at the feeder this week:
-our first (very brief) sighting of a Carolina wren

Today I am finally admitting out loud:
-That I am spending too much time obsessively checking Realtor.com for new homes on the market. Our house isn't even market ready yet! But I feel I've reached the end of my rope here and I just want to GO and get this over with.

Thoughts and plans:
-"planning" on getting take out tonight for our anniversary, and "thinking" about what kind!
-need to decide which Core 4 readers/read-alouds to drop so we can take a nice break and then have FUN with a world/geography study. I absolutely love learning about Eastern Hemisphere cultures, and I think I'll get an even bigger kick out of the next year's learning than the girls do! We're just *done* with American History. Two years is too much, at the intensity we've gone, for my girls at their ages.
-will try to get to the library again soon, with the kids this time
-I want to spend my break from homeschooling the bigs REALLY focusing on the littles, who have been sorely neglected lately.

Recent accomplishments:
-15 years of wedded bliss! :)

Seen around our dining room table, like on the floor and the faces of our cuties:
-crock pot whole chicken, with roasted broccoli/garlic and fresh garden salad
-pasta with chili on top, salad
-homemade soup
-Batty's birthday dinner was macaroni and cheese and Sloppy Joes.
-hamburgers and oven baked fries. Let the summer grilling season begin!

Gratuituous photo:

Jeffrey mid-haircut (the "post-haircut" picture doesn't look much different! I was afraid to cut too much)

15 years and counting...

2009-05-14T05:27:00.000-07:00

Today is my 15th wedding anniversary.

Thank you, St. DH for the 15 best years of my life!

When St. DH proposed, he said, "Things may not work out like we plan, but as long as we're together, that's all that matters."

Ain't it the truth!

Love you more than words can say, St. DH. :)

Who are these people and what have they done with my children?

2009-05-11T16:29:00.000-07:00

My oldest asked to watch our Prima Latina DVDs after dinner. Now they are ALL down there, watching, chanting, and laughing hysterically at something. Who are these interested, pleasant youngsters and where did my real family go? Nevermind...I think I like these strangers better. :)

Reality Check Monday

2009-05-11T07:09:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine recently added a little "caveat" to the end of one of her posts, first focusing on all the beauty of the day, then showing what *really* happened in between the beauty - slips, screams, cuts, fights, spills, etc. My heart SOARED realizing that I'm not the only mom living in REALITY and not the pretty-pretty world of homeschooling blogs and forum posts.

Now, no one has ever accused me of being pretty-pretty, but after reading a particular forum post bemoaning all the beauty on blogs and why her life wasn't like that - how do they DO it all, and so well? (Thoughts which I totally understand and relate to, my dear!!), I thought I would give my own little "reality check" posts now and then.

So, for those of you that think everything here is beautiful (in it's own way ;-P) here is my Mother's Day:

--woke up early with one dd, cooked everyone breakfast (it was also 4yo's birthday!)
--had some physical problems which caused problems/pain all day in various ways
--got into two separate arguments with dh that I did NOT start (although I do take blame for continuing them!)
--had to sit separate from family at church because it was crowded, then had to leave Mass 3 separate times due to toddler who needed to be rocked to sleep but kept waking up and crying! Time #2 resulted in my entering a dark room to whisper-yell in mental agony to the crucifix in there. I can be thankful that God doesn't smite me right where I stand at any given moment.
--let a bee into the house when we got home
--made lunch for the 9 of us (my parents were there)
--died inside as my dad offered to move in with us and pay us so we could afford a much bigger house (dying because I **want want want** the house, but just don't think I can live with my parents unless necessary)
--watched as my 4yo opened some great presents, including a huge play kitchen that I bent over backwards to get her, and then had a really loud crazy screaming tantrum that she didn't get what she *really* wanted (Princess Barbie stuff :-P)
-- felt sick all evening, trying to watch the very wakeful toddler, while dh talked to his mom for a hour.
--it being simply "Mother's Day" as an adoptee can be a little conflicting

I also got two great t-shirts for Mother's Day. "They each cost a dollar!" boasted my husband. "Glad you think so much of me!" I kidded back. ;-) (They really DID cost a dollar each, with the coupon they had. I don't mind a bit though, seriously, I needed them, and I love a bargain)

I do have SO much I can be thankful about for Mother's Day, but that's another post for another time. :)

Welcome to Reality Check Monday! :)

Wish me luck!

2009-05-10T14:57:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow we are diving hard back into serious schooling. I took the week off last week, as I always do, after our homeschooling review. A combination of relief and burnout, LOL. I'm ready to just kick it up a notch now, and get this year DONE.

Today was Batty's fourth birthday in addition to Mother's Day. We gave her a play kitchen (pictures soon!) and I'm hoping (praying!) that it will be just the thing to keep the littles a bit extra-busy so we can do all the reading aloud that we need to do.

Speaking of Batty's birthday, I'm off to have my Mother's Day/Birthday dinner - mac'n'cheese and Sloppy Joes! :)

Wish us luck as we get in the submarine to finish off the school year. Baaahooooooooga!

:)

No wonder I'm disorganized

2009-05-07T04:41:00.000-07:00

I got an email today from Dr. Mercola linking to his article, Learn the Secrets of the Super Organized.

Here is a little recap of HIS seven points and MY reality:

1.Reduce before organizing.
OK, this I'm actually attempting - but there is a huge difference between what ONE person can reduce and what one homeschooling family of 7 can reduce. Like some wise woman on my favorite forums once said (I'm paraphrasing): even if each person reduces to just three pairs of shoes - sneaker, dress, sandal/flip flop - that is still 21 pairs of shoes. Let's not even talk about sports cleats and all other manner of kid stuff!

2.Write it down now, always.
I tried carrying a little pad and pencil around with me everywhere. The baby wrote on and then lost the pad, and then drew a masterpiece on my freshly painted walls while I was trying to teach history.

3. Have one inbox & process.
I don't think Staples carries an inbox big enough to fit my incoming work:
-pair of pants to patch
-baby to nurse
-floor to scrub
-boo boos to kiss
I process everything as it comes in, according a top secret formula I have (intensity of child whining plus time left before dryer buzzes divided by how many nerves I have left)

4. A place for everything.
I have a place for everything, and my children also have a place for everything: a different place.

I put the toys away, and they put them all over the floor. Scattered on several levels of the house is best.

I put the pots away, toddler pulls them out and bangs on them.

I put my keys away, toddler fishes them out of the diaper bag and puts them in the toilet.

I hang the clothes up, children decide to play dress ups with every item they own.

5. Put it away now.
See #4
Plus, "now" the baby wants to nurse, or the kids need talking to, or someone just spilled a gallon of milk on the floor.

6. Clean as you go.
See#5.

7. Develop routines & systems.
I *love* developing routines and systems. Lack of time, however, makes that process take several weeks. By that time, each of my children has entered a new stage of life and the systems no longer work.

So *see*? Getting organized is impossible. Guess I'll just go read my kids a book. ;-)

Dare I hope? Dare I?

2009-05-05T10:59:00.000-07:00

The last few weeks have seen lots of stress and exasperated tears here, as I fell in love with houses, only to...feel no peace, realize that if we bought *that* house our kids wouldn't go to college, have one go off the market like lightning. I kept wondering if we should just stay here in our too small house and somehow make do. How I don't know, LOL, I'm just not good at being in a poorly laid out house with 5 intense personalities and all their stuff ON me all the time. But slowly I lost even all peace about the neighborhood I wanted to move to. Yeah, it's peacful and safer out there, but it's also twice the commute for dh, and a whole new set of *everything* from stores to friends to activities. I think dh felt it too, and through some not so sly questioning on my part I'm thinking he would be perfectly happy here in our current town.

Except that "perfect" house is apparently non-existent. It's either RIGHT off a main road (not safe in my mind), or is a huge expensive home on a tiny lot, or is a too small home on a tiny lot w/o any privacy. Oh and that doesn't include those that back right to a huge 10 lane interstate and are STILL expensive (what's up with THAT? LOL) I'm not just thinking of homes currently on the market, either, I look around at ALL the houses and wonder. We currently back-to-trees and so at least in the summer, we have a nice sense of privacy.

Like I said, I felt no peace about moving to the new town, I felt no peace about staying. How, I asked myself, can I reconcile that? And by peace I mean I prayerfully thought about all the options I could see - I was looking for that elusive "Holy Spirit peace" when a decision is right. So when NOTHING felt right, it really bugged me. How can no options be right, including staying?

Sooooo...fast forward to last night. We got a card in the mail introducing a new subdivision being built. A somewhat AFFORDABLE subdivision. On street names like Brook Crossing Drive and _____ Spring Court (SPRING? Did someone say SPRING?) and ____ Creek Way. The roads seem close to stores/library, etc but just far enough away to not be "in town" - just far enough to seem secluded. There are trees, and fields, and I think even a brook somewhere (hence all the Brook/Spring references). I looked up the homes on their website and felt the first sense of peace I have felt in a LONG time about all this. It's not perfect - and I especially never saw myself buying brand new with all that entails - but it seems *right*. Of course I haven't actually been out there, or talked to anyone. ;-)

Dare I hope that this is it? I should take my own advice...hope springs eternal.

Blog business

2009-05-05T10:44:00.000-07:00

Just to clear up some blog hopping I've been doing...this, Epiphany Springs, is my main blog - the place I hope to be "real" but still try to keep things in general happy, hopeful, fun, with a touch of reality (meaning, whining and craziness) because afterall, I *am* a melancholy baby. ;-) There shouldn't be any noticable changes here, still a smattering of life, crafts, links, schooling, God, questioning, and complaining.

I didn't want to totally lose my old red and green apple template that I made (and liked), so I moved that to Epiphany Prep School, where I'm going to cross post any school things I put here, and also put other schooly stuff there. Since we'll be doing a mixture of Sonlight's Core 5, Serendipity's new World Tour, and my own blend of world cultures study, I hope to have a lot to put there in the coming school year. For now, I am burnt out from school and we are just trying to plow through the end without thinking about it much. :-P

Please Send Chocolate, which was my school-y blog, is now going to be a place where I can talk to myself, LOL. I sometimes need a place to just dump - vent - whine, whatever you want to call it, when I don't have someone IRL to talk to. I don't want all that here, in general. I don't think I'll use it much, because every time I try to write a post, I wind up deleting it. I think just the act of writing is helpful. We'll see how it goes.

I also have a blog about my feelings as an adult adoptee. If anyone is interested in the link, leave a way I can contact you and I'll give it to you. I don't want to link it here.

I now return you to your regularly scheduled lack of blogging. :)

Daybook: The School Outside Edition

2009-04-27T07:40:00.000-07:00

Outside my window...
Moments ago, *we* were outside the window, doing school under the deck (it's a second story deck, LOL) while the little ones ~~ate sand~~ ~~threw sand~~ ~~ran screaming from bees~~ played in the sandbox.

I am thinking...
That doing school outside should be a plan for the rest of the week.
Although it was just as loud outside as it usually is inside - those birds make quite a racket!

From the learning rooms...
Our new Apologia book, Exploring Creation with Botany, just arrived in the mail. I think it is perfect timing as things are sprouting all over. I think we'll scrap the rest of Astronomy for now, and pick up botany.
Also, our yearly review will be this Friday - I've got to get my stuff together. :)

I am thankful for...
-warm sun with a cool breeze
-the particularly beautiful shade of green the world turns in spring
-quiet, those few moments a day it comes. I am learning how important it is to ALL our well-beings that there be SOME quiet in our days. It's very hard to acheive, though.

From the kitchen...
fresh cut melon
blackberries

I am wearing...
denim capris, a white T, and a short sleeve denim shirt over it. I still haven't gotten out to get more short sleeve shirts - I can't seem to survive on the three I own - I'll have two going through the wash when I stain the third!

I am reading...
House Lust

I am hoping...
Selfishly hoping, that my children try to be a little LESS selfish than they have been lately (lately? Try always - wow. This is something we've been dealing with for so long and I have no idea what I did to cause it, but it must be my fault because it is SO BAD!) :-P

I am creating...
nothing? Hmmm, there must be something. How about educated children and a house that someone will hopefully want to buy. Actually, it's St. Dh that is doing most of the "house readying"

I am praying...
for my grandmother who is so unhappy

Around the house...
I've been offered a storage space (a friend's spacious basement!) so I need to start packing more.

One of my favorite things...
watching LOST with St. DH (yeah, I've probably said that already, but what can I say? I'm a simple woman and can be happy with the same ol' thing) :)

A few plans for the rest of the week...
more psycho schooling to get done before summer. The kids are enjoying all my reading aloud, but it is stressful (on me at least!) to try to read SO much every day with all the chaos of diaper changes, loud toddlers, kids fighting, etc

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...

Our broccoli and peas. I can't wait to taste the first garden food of the season! Hopefully it won't be much longer before some spinach and lettuce is edible.

Please visit Peggy for more daybooks!

She's got her head on straight

2009-04-22T12:29:00.001-07:00

My 6yo understands there is no Santa Claus, no Tooth Fairy.

But the other day, we were talking about fairies, and my dh said to everyone, "But you know, fairies aren't real."

Jane straightened her back and said with conviction, "Well *I* believe in them!"

So there.

The Simple Woman's Daybook

2009-04-20T05:33:00.000-07:00

Outside my window...
Rain and more rain. This is the one time of year I am OK with that, as I can just feel my little seedlings in the vegetable garden drinking it in and growing big and healthy. Right now there are medium sized broccoli (yay! The first time I've been this successful with broccoli!), and tiny peas, arugula, lettuce, and spinach. The front yard garden is woefully neglected -we'll add "staging plants" that look nice to sell the home when we get a chance. It's low on the list right now.

I am thinking...
Swirling thoughts - there are too many things going on around me at the same time. One reading, one sighing loudly because she doesn't want to hear it, sick baby nursing, sick preschooler whining.

From the learning rooms...
We are so far behind where I wanted to be, so I'm trying to read aloud more to catch us up -chapters a day of history. Good thing there has been a lot of rain. I spent part of the weekend trying to lay out in my mind who will be doing what academically for the next 18 years. Seeing the year my youngest will graduate high school is scary - 2025?? That's the Jetsons Age!! ;-) We realized, too, that there are actually three school years between Batty and Jeffrey, instead of the two I originally thought.

I am thankful for...
this second stomach virus in a month seems to be a mild one.
My *wonderful* dh.
Townhouse Crackers.
Confession.
Jesus' Mercy.

From the kitchen...
all manner of bland food. Not sure what will pass for dinner tonight.
I think I'll call this "The Month of Toast"

I am wearing...
Navy blue sweatpants and a black turtleneck. My slumming "I've got 8 loads of laundry to do and several floors to wash" clothes.

I am reading...
Landmark History of the American People and Little Britches to the girls
I've got a huge stack for myself on my nightstand. My favorite so far was The Omnivore's Dilemma, which I chose to stop midway through - because he was "preaching to the choir" and I had so many other books that maybe would teach me something I hadn't already read about. Someday I'll go back to it. :) Another interesting one is The Spirit Controlled Temperament by Timothy LaHaye. I particularly liked his glowing description of melancholics as brilliant, creative, passionate and COMpassoinate people, not just dark, gloomy Eeyores. :)

I am hoping...
That this is the LAST sickness we deal with for a long time. We have not had one fully healthy week since November. I'm so done!

I am creating...
a more decluttered and organized house
an overarching plan for education for the next 6+ years
a heart that is more truly thankful, not just "I'm thankful, but..."

I am praying...
For the health of my family (physical and mental)

Around the house...
Lots of laundry
Lots of books
Lots of kids
...life is full.

One of my favorite things...
Spontaneous hugs and I love you's from my kids
Spontaneous learning not prompted (erm, nagged) by me

A few plans for the rest of the week...
More reading
more cleaning
and please, God, more rest?

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...

We tried to live capture a chipmunk that was damaging our front steps - but instead we captured a curious squirrel! He was none too happy. We never did capture the chipmunk, but we think the sight of the screaming captured squirrel scared him away from our steps. ;-)

For more Daybooks, please visit Peggy!

Answered Prayers

2009-04-18T10:42:00.000-07:00

I went to see another house yesterday after dropping the girls off at a class. It was only a few minutes from St. DH's job, had 4 big bedrooms, an OK neighborhood, updated kitchens/floors/baths, and --get this-- it backed to a Carmelite Monastery. Did I ever mention that I want to be a 3rd Order Carmelite someday?

So, on "paper" the house looked great. I drove there asking God fervently for a clear sign if the house was to be "the one." My mind is cluttered with many things lately, and I didn't want to miss this opportunity if it was God's answer to our prayers for a new house.

I tried taking back roads to the house, and wound up being a bit late due to many bicyclists and school busses clogging up the thin roads. I got a little grumbly but tried to remember that it was God's will that I get there whenever I get there.

I arrived just in time to see our realtor talking to a young lady, and they drove away as I was getting Jeffrey out of the car. I smiled as the lady and her daughter drove by, thinking it must be the current owner of the house, leaving so we could see the inside.

Turns out it WAS the owner of the house, but not the first owner, it was the lady who just put an accepted offer on it! God certainly answered my prayers of a "sign" as to whether the house should be ours or not! LOL The realtor told me later that the house actually had FOUR offers after being on the market only 6 days. Remarkable! It wasn't cheap, either.

Sooooo...back to house hunting. But I am thankful on behalf of those people that their house sold so quickly, and thankful that God made it clear I don't have to hem and haw over that property anymore.

Guess I'll go declutter some more! :)

No epiphanies to share today

2009-04-07T15:36:00.000-07:00

I *had* one, but in the stress of the day, I promptly forgot it. Do you see why I have to come here and write stuff down now? LOL I'm pretty sure it wasn't anything earth shattering, at least.

We finished the Return of All Clothes To Closets and the Great Girl Swap. :) Now the beds are bunked, and Batty's toddler bed was moved to a different corner. The transition has been surprisingly hard on everyone. Skye, who has wanted to be the one to have her own room for awhile, has been crying on and off all day, and has a variety of different things that have set her off, but honestly I think that she is unexpectedly LONELY and doesn't take change well, even if it was something she wanted. The others have been all manner of crabby and out of sorts too, but none as bad. At least this is a warning about what may happen when/if we move! I, personally, really like the look of the new arrangement, at least. Before it was wall to wall beds practically, you couldn't open the dresser drawers all the way, and there was only a small square in the middle to do anything, like walk. Now there is much more floor space. Other than the beds blocking the window, it's not bad.

No more rearranging tonight - dh and I are going to take it easy for an hour and watch the season 2 finale of LOST. We thought we would be watching it LAST night, but didn't realize it was a two-parter, so only had time for one (Dh wanted to watch the end of the NCAA championship game. Men. ;-) ). I can't wait to see what happens. Since I'm also watching season 5 as it goes along, at least I can console myself with thoughts like, "Well, I know Kate/Sawyer/Jack/Hurley, etc won't die tonight because they're still around 3 years later!" Makes me feel better when everyone's shooting at each other.

Jeffrey has been taking up a storm lately, and I love it. It's still only 1-2 words at a time, but it's better than the *nothing* we had a short while ago. My favorite thing is when I'm setting the table and talking to him about dinner, he'll run to the stairs and shout something like, "Emma-naa-eee" which I think is him imitating me yelling "Dinner's ready!" Hey, he tries.

Now that you've gotten through the most boring post ever, God bless you, and I hope you have a good day. :)

Yes, I'm procrastinating

2009-04-06T11:24:00.000-07:00

Do you know what cracks me up most about Twitter? So many people post things like "I'm cleaning my desk out" or "Reading to the kids" and I can't help but think, "NO, you are TWITTERING! You are not doing those things you say, you AVOIDING doing those things you say by sitting at your computer (or phone) and typing into Twitter." Let's be honest here. Just type, "I'm twittering!" That being said, I'm completely guilty of this myself. My last "tweet" was something about dismantling our family closet, and of course I was not actively bringing clothes up the stairs with one hand while "tweeting" on the computer with the other.

So yes, I'm dismantling our family closet. It's just another eency weency step in trying to get this house more normal looking. I don't think *anyone* who comes to look at this house would understand the family closet thing, instead, they would just assume we did not have enough closet space. Well OK, I don't think we DO have enough closet space for 7 homeschooling people, but it is enough for the typical 2-4 people that would most likely live here after us.

I'm seriously going to miss the ease of taking things right out of the dryer and hanging them up 5 steps away. Sigh. Hopefully the exercise will help me "miss" the gut I've developed since having Jeffrey. :-P

We're bringing the clothes back into the closets (parental clothes were always upstairs but we used the rods downstairs as a kind of "first step" where they languished for days before being brought upstairs), then moving Rose into the room with her sisters so we can re-bunk the beds. She's the only one safe in a top bunk around here. Rose, Jane, and Batty will share the one little closet in there. Thank God for closet organizers. Skye will have her own room for awhile. She's got more clothes than most of her sisters put together so it's good she has her own closet. :)

Sorry I've been kind of quiet lately. I've written a bunch of half-posts, and then deleted them - just not knowing how to express how messed up my mind has felt in the past week. So take thoughts about unkind family members, really old cranky grandmothers, house renovating, futile house hunting, a huge bunch of hormones, kids who don't clean up after themselves or listen...mix all that up in a huge bowl with a blender, add in a ton of clutter, and you've got a good picture of what my blog would have looked like last week. :)

We'll I'd better stop procrastinating. No rest for the weary around here. Think I'll go twitter, "I'm twittering." first. ;-)

Saturday's Epiphany

2009-03-28T16:25:00.001-07:00

Today found me driving home from a twice yearly ~~total nuthouse~~ children's consignment sale. It was nice to have a few moments alone with my own thoughts.

I was praying and asking God, yet again, what we should do about the house. Do we move? What town do we move to - close to work or farther away? Do we stay and make do? And of course I did my daily wishing I had a crystal ball or The Voice of God just tell me what the future holds so I know how to make the right decision.

Months ago, I sincerely felt that God asked me to start packing. Now, after seeing many different houses with the realtor, I wondered why we weren't finding anything we liked and could afford. Could our current house possibly be the best we could do? (insert picture of me looking faint)

All week I've been planning what I would do with this house if we stayed, and I actually started to *like it* and think it might just work. So in my prayer time I wondered why I should be packing, and at the same time falling in love with my own house?

That's when it hit me.

Contentment.

I think God wants me to be content here. I'm getting the feeling that we will still be moving in the not-too-horribly-distant future, but in the meantime, I am to be content. The grass is not greener on that 1 acre cool house plot. Well, OK, that's not exactly true. The ACTUAL grass IS greener on the lot of our favorite house. ;-) We have a lot of weeds mixed in with our dying grass. But seriously, the proverbial grass, even on that favorite house, is not a better shade than our own. Yes, there is more room, a nice yard, a cool potential school room, a neat sun room (oooo, somebody stop me) ...but there is also a longer commute for St. DH, a more expensive mortgage, a well and septic that we are not used to, neighbors we don't know,more to clean, more to mow, and utility bills that are much higher than what we pay now. Oh and this particular house is under contract, LOL. So, not greener, just a different shade. I guess my job is to determine which shade is the most flattering for us. :)

Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. - I Timothy 6:6-8

I'm subversive

2009-03-28T03:10:00.000-07:00

The other day we attended story time at a local library - the same story time we have attended countless times before. It's usually pretty decent as far as these things go. Several different librarians rotate through hosting it each week and sometimes they bring in a special guest reader or character (which I can usually do without, lol).

But this time seemed different. One of the usual librarians was there. I got in early and set up camp (you know, with four thousand coats, a rolling book cart, a huge book bag, and a clingy toddler around me). I sat where two seats had been set up. The librarian comes over and somewhat brusquely tells me to move those seats waaaay over there to the corner of the enclosed kids room because the place I was sitting was in the way. "This section is for the kids activities and all the parents need to sit back there." OK. The kids have always been fine doing their movement activities with stools lining two sides of the room, but whatever. No big deal other than the fact that we've never had to do that before, the seats were there when I got into the room, and her somewhat rude tone.

So I move our four thousand coats, huge book bag, rolling library cart, growing stack of books, two library seats, and my toddler to the corner of the room. Good, I thought, I can have some anonymity back here.

Storytime got started and everyone settled in while she went over the rules. Rules? What, there are rules now? We've never needed rules before. Granted, some kids wander around a little too much for my tastes, but most of the kids listen, and these kids range in age from newborn to about 6 (mine, the other 6yo's are in school!) so you can't expect perfection.

Kids were now not allowed to have a book with them on the mat while she was reading. "I want their attention on me, not their books. Parents please put them away." Gee, and I thought the library was all about wanting books around you. ;-) Never before had a child with a book caused a problem. Usually the kids holding books were too young to really pay attention to a half hour story time anyway. They never caused any harm.

"Parents, I expect your participation! Get up when we get up! Dance when we dance!" Ummmm, no. Just no! I take my kids to the library story time so I can get a little break. So I can SIT and watch them be entertained by *someone else*. I occasionally help my toddler do a finger play or something, but he doesn't CARE yet and my older girls don't even give me a second thought. I'm not shakin' my patootie so somebody elses kids will participate more fully, and I totally resent being told to do so. Luckily I wasn't the only parent who didn't, although most did. Because I'm also a pushover when it comes to peer pressure. I had the excuse of my toddler to hold.

"Parents, if your child is getting restless, please feel free to take them out of the room so the other children can pay attention." Hmmmm, while I do see some need for stating this, in practice it actually made things more chaotic.

It was at that point I realized just how much I resent being told what to do. And how much I *love* homeschooling. And how much I want my kids to not have to deal with the whole "line up and do what I say" mentality from someone who doesn't really care about them. I believe fully in obeying one's parents. But this is different. I even started wondering just how much I *should* be demanding obedience from my kids when I hate with a passion how that librarian made me feel.

We didn't need stated rules. Honestly, the half hour didn't run *any better* than it usually did. Only now, we had several parents/daycare providers who seemed much more tense then they usually did. It was much more distracting for the group for me to get up and take a book from my 3yo, who then got upset, than it was for her to just get up and wander off for a book. She's 3 feet tall and was quiet until I made her make a scene. Same for the other parents. And just where should we draw the line? What does "restless" really mean? Wandering? Making some noise? Story time has now gone from a fun, loose, half hour, to a stressful and regimented time to listen to the librarian, who by the way spent waaay to much time reading to the parents about all the upcoming library events. If you want the kids' attention, lady, grab it when they come in and don't let it go until story time is over!

It didn't help that during the story time I noticed a mom with four kids under 5 or so. All boys, the youngest looking to be only 2-3 months old. I was hoping to tell her what a beautiful family she had, when I overheard her say she was a daycare provider. We bumped into each other on the way out, and she gave me a big smile and said, "Oh, are you a daycare provider too?" "No," I smiled and said, "They're all mine." Her face fell and her tone of voice got snide. "Oh," she stammered, in that 'you're crazy' kind of way, "Wow. You must be, ummm, really busy." I smiled and nodded, fearing that if I actually opened my mouth, what came out would not be very nice. I'm sure I'm no busier than a daycare provider who has four kids under 5 during the day and her own 5, 8, and 11yo's after school! But because 'they're mine' and I don't get paid to take care of them, I'm crazy and not worth a nice comment. Sigh.

Luckily, I went home with my brood to a house where my dh was working from home. I saw him and all was right with the world again. I am so lucky.

Friday's Epiphany

2009-03-27T07:41:00.000-07:00

...is that I'm pathetic.

No, seriously, it is that I am *impatient* and it is ruining my spiritual growth.

This morning was a morning like many mornings. Things weren't going well, and I started to have a major anxiety attack.

"Please, God, make it stop!" I wailed," I can't stand this anymore! Where ARE You? Why don't You listen to me? Don't You care? Do You really hate me? You must, because I keep sinning when I'm like this and You won't make it stop so that I can stop sinning and be with You forever." I didn't say my logic was the best during an anxiety attack, lol :-P I tend to have this all consuming fear that I'm going to go to Hell because I can't seem to stop sinning when I'm having an attack and since God won't stop them even when I beg, He must not love me (yes, I'm that special that He loves everyone else in the world but not me :-P) Hence, I'm going to Hell.

See? Pathetic. ;-)

Many minutes and many tears later I managed to get a few things done without myself or someone else ruining them and the worst of it lifted. That's when I had my epiphany:

It lifted.

Just like it always does. Just not the *moment* I begged for it.

He heard my cry and answered me.

OK, I think I really AM pathetic, but God *does* love me, hear me, and answer me. I just need to WAIT. And it's usually not all that long!

************

I hope you all don't mind me sharing these things. I don't do it to show how screwed up I am, or how holy I am (NOT!) - I write them down so I don't forget, and in the hopes that they may help somebody else.

************

In other news, I decluttered a multi-book set of "Teach Yourself to Play Violin" (not it's real name, I can't even remember what it was nor do I want to go look for fear I will not be able to control my urge to take it out of the give-away bag.) I have always wanted to teach myself the violin. I've had those books for years with the hopes that it would happen some day. I don't have a violin, nor do I have space to *store* a violin, or time to *practice* or learn the violin. Besides, I have two instruments here (electric piano and flute) that I *do* know how to play and I never bother. If I want to be musical I should use what I have - bloom where I'm planted and all that.

It was hard, but I really felt the Holy Spirit nudging this one. I did put it in the bag with a prayer that if it is meant to be, these or something better will find their way back to me at the right time.

I feel free.

"Bookshelves are for books"

2009-03-25T09:43:00.000-07:00

Tuesday was full of epiphanies.

In between calming a cranky baby, breaking up fights between Frick (Rose) and Frack (Skye), and oh yeah, homeschooling, I realized many things.

One: Bookshelves are for books.

My dh said that to me a day or so ago. Lightbulb moment! I had packed away boxes and boxes of books, trying to make our bookshelves look less cluttered (or something) for our move. Yet all over the house were flotsam and jetsam of toys and learning manipulatives. THAT is the eyesore. Books on the bookshelf look appropriate. Polly Pocket shoes in every nook and cranny do not.

So I spent much of yesterday UNpacking the books (oh how I had missed you, friends!) and placing them back on the shelves, as eye-pleasingly as I could. This is definitely a work in progress. As soon as I am done, all but the minimun of toy and homeschool clutter will be packed away. So much of it was out "just in case." I mean, if I haven't used that 12 tape set of Intensive Spanish in the four years I've had it, am I really going to need it in the next six months?? Ditto the pattern blocks, most of the puzzles and board games, the yarn, the fabric stash...well, maybe I won't go THAT far.

Two: My 6yo is special.

I hate to use that term. And I don't mean to say that my other children aren't wonderful and special in their own right. But have you ever known a child who just seemed especially pure and graced by God in some special way? Heh, maybe it's just in comparison to her more "prickly" sisters, but Jane seems different. She carries her holy cards around, she prays on her own at night without prompting, her typical answer to a jab by her sisters is a concern for the other person, and just yesterday she told me sweetly, "I often ask God at night to forgive my sins."

I pray that I don't mess her up somehow.

Final: I am SO LUCKY.

Some people very near and dear to me are acting like, well, I can't even say what they are acting like and remain charitable. The situation is disintigrating, and I don't know what to do, how to help. It's ugly, and a bit scary. Yet because my dh/children/home are not directly involved (yet, lol), I can step back... breathe deep ... and know I am the luckiest woman alive to have a sweet husband, five vibrant and exciting children, and a roof over my head.

Did you know I have running water that comes right up to my pipes and out a faucet? Not only that, the water pressure is fabulous. I have a washer that agitates clothes for me! A local market (or 12) that has all manner of food for me. I can turn a dial and my house gets warmer! And thanks to the wonder of the internet, I can chat with friends all over the globe at any time of day, dear friends who pray for me and mine, and watch LOST every night with my sweetie. Bliss, I tell ya.

Pure Bliss.

Tuesday's Epiphany

2009-03-17T20:00:00.000-07:00

Thinking over what the realtor said last week ("OMG you have a lot of STUFF" lol), and mulling over what we had already considered doing about it, namely -- renting a storage unit until the house sells, I realized something.

98% of the things I would be storing I bought at yard sales, consignment sales, library sales. In other words, for pennies on the dollar. Or they were gifts. The local storage facilities charge about $60 per month for a climate controlled 5x10' space, and upwards of $80-90 for a 10x10 space (necessary if we are storing any furniture to make the house look nicer. Our furniture has definitely seen better days). The fact that they give a "$1 first month" special is irrelevant since if I do my calculations based on 2 months of needed storage it could just as easily be 3, or 5, or 8 before the house is sold. Revelation: I could give away most of the stuff we would store, and buy back what we *need* for less than what it would cost to store it. Plus, the thrill of the chase, trying to find something at Goodwill/Craigslist/yardsale is FUN for me.

We certainly DO have *some* room for storage, so I can make this situation work even better by giving away what is easily gotten again (i.e. kids clothes) and use that space to store things that are more expensive or I wouldn't buy used (curriculum, extra towels, etc.). Heck, even buying 30 rubbermaid bins to stack floor to ceiling in the basement room would be cheaper than 3 months of storage at a storage place. No, we can't put our old but still used kitchen table in a rubbermaid bin, but with everything else out of the way maybe we could deal with that a different way.

Thinking, thinking...

"OMG you have a lot of STUFF"

2009-03-16T07:25:00.000-07:00

Gee, thanks Ms. Realtor Lady.

She was nice overall, but that line did not win her points in my RRS (Realtor Ranking System. Which I just invented on the spot to mark her down 50 points for that line.)

Semi-Nice Realtor Lady cold-called me last week to tell me about a local open house. I take any serendipitous events like that, when I'm in the middle of a multi-novena to St. Joseph for house concerns, seriously. So after chatting for a few minutes we agreed to get together yesterday. She looked around our house, gave us some advice, and ~~begged us on bended knee to become our realtor~~ left her card and asked us to think over contracting for her services.

But that's not why I started this post. When she opened the door to the unfinshed side of our downstairs (raised ranch/split foyer remember: upstairs is all finished, downstairs is part finished part ~~butt-ugly~~ unfinished), she walked in to the "basement," wide-eyed, and said "Oh my GOSH you have a lot of STUFF!!" To which I replied, "No, not really, we just have no where to keep everything!"

Which is for the most part true. 95% of the kids clothes are in that room on racks (Family Closet). Our file cabinets are down there. A big table for messy crafts. Our pantry on open shelves. Another open shelf with games, toys, and pool stuff. File cabinets. A few book cases. Dress ups.

I guess compared to the average world citizen, we have way too much, but compared to the average American family, we really, really don't. There is just no place to put it all in this house with tiny closets.

But I probably STILL have too much. Things I don't need. I'm going to challenge myself to get rid of another 27 things today (my Flylady roots are showing). Anyone with me?

BTW, my favorite house (with the big closet) has been put under contract. My second favorite house (the one with the stream) has been taken off the market or sold (not sure which). There is not much else out there that is affordable, with big enough rooms for our family (i.e. if we want to be cramming kids in tiny rooms we might as well just stay where we are). The realtor made it sound so easy: "You just sell your home and then pick one of the homes available, there are so many!" But the "so many" are not what we want. We don't want the beautfiul house on the nasty street where a chemical spill happened 5 years ago, or the too expensive home on the even more expensive street, or the just right house next to the future gang memebers. Or too big, or too small, or too hilly, or too...I don't know...totally boring. I am hoping that my multi-novenas to St. Joseph will be fruitful and something perfect for us will come on the market just when we need it.

St. Joseph, pray for us all.

ETA: I was shocked how easy it was to hit 27 things to give away this time. 10 items from my closet (just how *does* one gather three different black turtlenecks?) 10 from the girls/boy, and another 7 manuals to things we no longer own. :) And by easy I mean it was all there for me to gather *easily*. It is not necessarily easy to give away that nice light blue shirt I bought with my hard earned money that never sits right on me and always needs ironing, or the L.L. Bean black turtleneck that dh always compliments (even though I now have a new one almost exactly like it given as a Christmas present). That's hard.

I think that's going to be my new decluttering motto.

It's hard.
Do it anyway.

:)

Avoiding Burnout

2009-03-11T05:48:00.000-07:00

Great post from ElizabethEsther on Avoiding Burnout.

Her basic recipe: do your vocation, find and persue your passion, let the rest go.

I realized in her comment section - I don't know my passion. Like her, I know things I'd like to have as my passion: sewing, crafting, writing, crocheting.

Can sleeping be a passion? Because lately that's all I want to do. ;-) I guess haiku-ing could be a passion, but since the muse only strikes once every 4 months or so, I hardly call that a passion. That's more like the flu. And besides, I don't think haiku-ing is even a word.

I need to think about this. I do know this has been an issue for many years - I don't know myself or my passions, so I have trouble relaxing, enjoying myself, finding my groove. I just search and never settle.

I'd love to hear from you - do you know your passion? What is it?

(ht: Jen)

Because I need things spelled out extra clearly

2009-03-10T09:50:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was reading the girls' religion chapter to them, part of which contained the teaching from Matthew 25 about the sheep and the goats and Matthew 10:

"Then the righteous will answer him and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry
and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger
and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in
prison, and visit you?' And the king will say to them in reply, 'Amen, I
say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did
for me.'"
and also
And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because he is a disciple--amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.

I started wondering...do I do this? Enough? I convinced myself I do - after all, I'm home with my 5 kids all day, doing things for them. I must be OK in this area, right? But I am tired (lazy?) often and want the kids to do as much as they can for themselves. I wasn't sure I was drawing the line appropriately. I asked God to help me see this more clearly, exactly what I should be doing.

Well, today, I had just sat down after a marathon baby chasing/nose wiping/laundry starting/breakfast cleaning session. Just sat down. Isn't that always the hardest time to be asked something? And my 3yo came up to me.

"Can I have a cup of water, Mommy?"

"Ummmm, no. (thinking I just sat down!) Didn't you just eat breakfast? You're done." I've been trying to break her of the habit of leaving her meals half finished only to ask for something else 10 minutes later.

Hellooooooo? Did you not just hear her ask for A CUP OF WATER? How much clearer can I make this?

Ugh. Sorry God. "Yes dear! Water, coming up! Would you like ice in it?"

It's a start.

Lord, make haste to help me. I'm not very good at this.

The Simple Woman's Daybook

2009-03-09T06:39:00.000-07:00

For Today...

Outside my window... it's warm! Oldest dd just headed out for a walk. An empty garden holds lots of promise (just waiting for a break in sickness to do it!)

I am thinking... how I'm a little (OK, a lot) disappointed/sad that my favorite house got sold, but excited at the prospect of something perhaps even more perfect for us. I feel God is saying strongly, "Trust Me."

From the learning rooms... settling in to a semi-routine for dyslexia treatment. I'm still not getting done as much as I'd like to, but I have my daughter's (all of them!) emotional health to look out for too

I am thankful for... a dh who puts up with me and works so hard for us

From the kitchen... not sure yet. Something quick and easy since two sick littles aren't giving me much space for cooking

I am wearing... jeans, a tie dye t-shirt, an old sweater. Today's just a messy day

I am reading... my girls' Sonlight readers so we can better discuss in their new reading journals

I am hoping... the children will feel healthy very soon, that dh and I won't get it, that we can continue with house fix-up projects at a decent pace (next in line: painting over a poorly done mural in 11yo's room), that I'll know what to do regarding moving/purchasing when the time is right

I am creating... a new home, healthier kids

I am hearing... a Strawberry Shortcake video, the baby who just feel asleep on me struggling to breathe through his nose

Around the house... Monday always holds so much promise. A new week! Cool! (LOL, it's Tuesday I have trouble with..."gee, that 'new week' thing wasn't all it was cracked up to be") We'll probably paint a bit tonight. I'm guessing less than usual will get done by me today as I help wipe noses and oversee schooling

One of my favorite things... watching the sparrows come back to nest in our birdhouse and above our bay window. Chocolate chip pancakes, even straight out of the freezer. A dh who makes said pancakes most Sundays.

A few plans for the rest of the week... a pretty empty week for a change, busy in the million usual little ways but few big outings. Hopefully some walks, some cleaning, some house projects, and five healthy children and two healthy adults! :)

Join Peggy for more Daybook entries!

Interview the kids meme

2009-03-08T15:30:00.000-07:00

Seen all around the internet and facebook (My comments in parentheses)

1. What is something your mom always says to you?
Rose (11): I'm not sure
Skye (9): Stop fighting with your sister
Jane (newly 6): "Go and..."
Batty: I love you (awwww...)

2. What makes your mom happy?
Rose: Chocolate
Skye: Us not fighting
Jane: A box full of oreos...well actually, being loved (I love this child!) :)
Batty: Loving

3. What makes your mom sad?
Rose: Grumpy kids
Skye: Us fighting
Jane: Having all her kids not listen to her
Batty: When you get nothing

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
Rose: She says something funny or ridiculous
Skye: I don't know. She doesn't do it a lot.
Jane: Saying silly stuff
Batty: By putting your hand out of the kitchen door

5. What did your mom like to do when she was a child?
Rose: I have no idea, she never talked to me. She danced.
Skye: I don't know, play with her doll?
Jane: Watch one of her favorite shows
Batty: Nothing

6. How old is your mom?
Rose: 40
Skye: 40
Jane: 40 (pronounced 4-D)
Batty: 40 (I just turned 40 so they remember)

7. How tall is your mom?
Rose: Somewhere around five feet and a few inches
Skye: 4 foot 11 inches
Jane: Six or five feet
Batty: SO tall

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
Rose: Be on the computer
Skye: Have alone time
Jane: Spend time with us (I love this child!)
Batty: play the computer

9. What does your mom do when you’re not around?
Rose: I don't know, I'm not around! Blog about bad stuff about me.
Skye: Nurse Jeffrey, clean the house
Jane: Take care of the baby
Batty: Nothing

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
Rose: Something like the best babysitter in the world. You have a lot of kids, you'd be good at that.
Skye: Being the best mom with five kids, four girls and one boy. 'Cause there's nothing else you really do
Jane: Nothing.
Batty: Being happy

11. What is your mom really good at?
Rose: Seeing things behind her back (LOL!)
Skye: Nursing babies
Jane: Taking care of us
Batty: Typing (she was watching me type)

12. What is your mom not very good at?
Rose: Getting Batty to obey her
Skye: Anything other than taking care of a family. Except eating, she's good at eating.
Jane: Treat us like a good mother (hmmmm...thinking of revoking my "favorite child" card, LOL)
Batty: not good at sports

13. What does your mom do for her job?
Rose: Sitting around eating chocolate on the computer. Just kidding. (She admitted she can't put the real thing into words)
Skye: Take care of the family
Jane: Take care of us
Batty: work

14. What is your mom’s favorite food?
Rose: Chocolate
Skye: Chocolate
Jane: Chocolate
Batty: food

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
Rose: She can really make me feel good sometimes
Skye: She's my mom
Jane: doing something well, very well
Batty: you

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Rose: I don't remember the names of the people or comics. You know the one with the family and the girl that looks realistic? (We figured out it was Sally Forth)
Skye: I don't know (I think she gave up at this point...she hates to be wrong and needs very concrete easy to answer questions)
Jane: Florence Nightengale (from Amazing Hero Classics video) (OK, she can have her card back)
Batty: herself

17. What do you and your mom do together?
Rose: Go food shopping
Skye: *shrugs*
Jane: math games
Batty: play

18. How are you and your mom the same?
Rose: Our eyes
Skye: *wide eyes* ummmm, next time they should make this easier.
Jane: our hair
Batty: when we wear the same clothes

19. How are you and your mom different?
Rose: I have a different shape
Skye: *crickets chirping*
Jane: size and voice tone
Batty: When our clothes don't match

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
Rose: The tone of her voice
Skye: That's hard.
Jane: When she's very happy with me around
Batty: Because I know you

21. What does your mom like most about your dad?
Rose: He gets her oreos even if they are not on sale. He ONLY buys what's on sale, so that's a lot.
Skye: I don't know.
Jane: He's helpful, helps around the house
Batty: how loving

22. Where is your mom’s favorite place to go?
Rose: Away from us. ( :( )
Skye: I don't know. This is hard.
Jane: out in a place where there is nature
Batty: the park

One track mind

2009-03-06T17:48:00.000-08:00

Here's a Wordle image using the URL of my blog. Can you tell what's been on my mind lately? :)

A Good Sale for Annie's Mac and Cheese Users

2009-03-05T08:39:00.000-08:00

Amazon is having a sale on many different types of Annie's Mac and Cheese through the end of March. I know many of my readers buy this for their children for any number of different reasons, so I wanted to give you the heads up.

Click here if you'd like to buy it through my Amazon Associates link so I get like a dime for every ten people who buy something. ;-) (Seriously, I've been an Amazon Associate for years and think I've made a whopping $20)

Here's the non-associates link for those who would rather use it. I know some people have an issue with people trying to make money off their blog.

After you click on either of those links, you can check out "Subscribe and Save" by clicking on any of the products. Using Subscribe and save will save you an extra 15% and always comes with free shipping. Your selection will be delivered on a regular basis (time period of your choice) and you can skip an order, get an order sooner, or cancel at any time. I really like using it for certain things I know I can get cheaply from Amazon that we use on a regular basis - typically things I'd have to drive 40 minutes to the health food store for, like coconut oil and egg replacer.

Hope this helps someone!

Taking a few moments

2009-02-25T07:18:00.001-08:00

to sort out some thoughts here.

Thank you to all who wished me a happy birthday yesterday! Yes, the big 4-0! LOL

(interrupting myself to share that my just-turned-6yo came in and said, "Mom, I'm looking for some other finery!" She's making a costume for a play they are putting on. Her working vocabulary always astounds me. Anyway...)

I got a wonderful gift from St. DH yesterday: a card that said I get to pick which house we move into. WOW! And...YIKES.

I currently have EIGHTY homes saved on Realtor.com. In all manner of place, cost, age, etc. They really run the gamut of possibilities around here - and this is just in the small range we can afford! Can you tell we live in big suburb?

Right now I have two clear favorites from what I've seen (about 70% of the list is things I have not seen, that are in a new area we are considering) and another house that has caught my attention. Each has REAL drawbacks and REAL benefits. We are having a hard time deciding just *what* is most important to us - affordable vs. big mortgage? good commute so I see dh once in a while? (good meaning 20 min vs 45+ ...there is nothing closer that is affordable and still in a safe-ish neighborhood). Relatively safe? Must this be our "forever house?" Each house appeals to me in totally different ways.

So I'm going to bore you all by thinking out loud about the three top houses I've seen (well, two we've been in and one I've only seen online). You'll see the great things and issues.

HOUSE #1

probably 40+ minute commute. Commuting roads are either good but totally crowded and slow (so longer than 40min) or they are tree lined and wildly hilly. Cost of gas an issue
has septic/well/oil heat when we are spoiled on city water, city sewer, and gas heat. We know nothing about their use/maintenance. Cost of oil an issue
stairs galore, house is built into a hill so you've got some just to get to the main floor (thinking grocery carrying, my aging parents). Even the stairs inside seem a bit thin and steep
the master bedroom is HUGE. We could probably divide it into two rooms (it was an add on over the garage). That bedroom's bathroom, however, is extremely tiny.
There is a second master bedroom upstairs, with a decent bathroom (good for teenage girls! LOL) - except the sinks are out in the bedroom...weird. We could probably wall it off, somehow...
It's nicely decorated, even the kitchen is new, we'd have little to do in that regard.
It's probably twice the size of our current house. This is good and bad. Lots to clean, but lots of places to BE and places for our stuff. We'd need more furniture or the place would be barren.
Two car garage! We don't have one at all now
The main way to get to house#1 is through a street with huge mansions on it. You drive through with eyes wide with the grandeur...then hit our little street. Dh is afraid we'll either grow to covet or despise the homes. Neither is good.
It's got two acres. Again with the good and bad: the owner said it took him 3hrs a week to mow/etc and that's time better spent around here. But the kids would certainly have space to run and play
Their asking price is $130K *more* than I think we'll get for this house. That's a mortgage I'm wondering if we really want? Is it worth it? We worked so hard and scrimped and saved and made sacrifices to pay off our current home. We talk a lot about not living with debt. Was it all just talk?
The place is like a nature preserve. It's like a nature-lover-homeschooling-mom's dream come true, if it weren't for the allll the drawbacks I mentioned above. Look!

That picture doesn't do it justice. It's a stream, that is that small in places and larger in others (not too big). There is a small pond, that we are thinking of trying to empty into the brook because it makes me nervous with little children. We drove by the other day and there were geese in it!

HOUSE #2

#2 is in the same town as #1, but in an even more remote area (think small country-ish town on the outskirts of a suburb...you have to drive to the next town to shop, etc) It's about 20 minutes from where we currently live...so we could see friends but not as often. We'd make new friends as it's a very family friendly little town. It's a low crime area. I'm having trouble weighing expensive/very low crime vs. cheap/higher but not horrible crime
remote means more hilly driving for dh, just a bit more than house #1. You avoid Millionaire Alley though, LOL
It's about as big as #1, and their asking price is a little higher. It's been empty awhile though and is owned by a relocation company now, so we're thinking they'd accept a lower offer
Two car garage like house #1, plus a lovely flat driveway for bike riding, etc.
On a cul-de-sac, so kids could play everywhere, which makes up for the loss of an acre (this lot is just shy of one acre). Still room for a garden of some sort.
The bedrooms may be a tad on the small side for a family of 7 (there are 4BR). What if we have more kids? We are moving to AVOID the room stuffing we are doing now, I'd hate to spend so much money just to be cramming kids into rooms again.
There are so many places to just BE in this house. A sunroom, the kitchen, a small living room, a family room, your bedrooms, the basement, and THIS. This is what sells me this house like the stream sells me #1:

This is a HUGE, HUGE walk-in closet off the master bedroom. Now, before you think I'm a clothes horse that needs this room-like closet...no. When we saw it, it was empty, and my mind immediately flashed HOMESCHOOL QUIET ROOM. There are all sorts of nooks and crannies for sitting with a good book, we could put books and manipulatives on the many shelves, and a slab of wood over the clothes bars for a desk (or two...or four). There are three windows, heat, and a fan! And if we do have another child, this could be (*sniff*) turned into another sort-of bedroom...of course then we'd lose the cool school room that is what is selling me the house! LOL

HOUSE #3

This is the house I haven't gone into yet, haven't even driven by, although I've driven that road any number of times... I just don't know which house it is (I only saw the listing on realtor.com yesterday). This house is *completely* different from the other two. Isn't it cute?

It's a cape cod. I'm not sure where they are fitting them all, but it says there are 5 relatively large bedrooms! I think the whole house is finished and they are claiming 2700 sq ft. That's more than we have now. No garage.
It's about 1/3 acre on a busier street than we currently live on. Less for dh/I to do but only the backyard to play in. No stream, no cool school room, in our higher crime neighborhood. It was built in the 60's. Why do I like it, you ask?
We could most likely buy it outright after we sell our own house. We can afford to buy the house and move into it while continuing to fix up our current house - a worry of mine since we are squished in here and it doesn't present well at all that way. If I'm a debt free proponent, shouldn't I *live* like one??
It's modest. Do I really want to be all about big? Can't I get over having kids underfoot and no where to go? It looks like it would be *enough*. Isn't that what I'm always saying I'm all about??
Even though the thousands of new homes around here LOOK nice, I've heard countless tales of how they were quickly and poorly built. This one and those will probably fall apart at the same time.
It's CUTE! :) From the pictures, it also looks like a blank slate inside, I could use the money we aren't spending on mortgage to decorate, fence the yard, build a little deck, garden, maybe even a sunroom or something, and still be debt free.
We'd know the town, the people, our friends/coaches/businesses. Shopping is right here. Not that I necessarily LIKE that, but I know dh really does, and I'm scared of something new. :-P
We wouldn't have to stay there, we could pretty it up and move if we wanted, unless the housing market totally dives again.

Sigh. I wish I knew what was RIGHT. I want God to just drop out of the sky and say "This is it!" And this doesn't even *touch* the other 77 homes I have saved, LOL. Those are all in a town that's an even longer commute, most likely, than the first two houses, although they are in a busier town with city utilities (two big plusses for dh)

Thanks for reading this far. I'd love to know everyone's thoughts. Unless you are thinking, "What a Whiny Wilma, why don't you worry about something that's a PROBLEM??" ;-) 'Cause I'm not really whining, just thinking out loud, weighing pros and cons. Even though it *looks* like I'm whining. :)

Breaking my blog fast

2009-02-16T09:09:00.000-08:00

...to tell you I've started another blog, LOL. Cheating my blog fast, you say? ;-) Actually, it's only to keep track of what I'm doing therapeutically and academically(sp? and sp?) with Rose. My mind is a sieve. Since I need to write it all down anyway, why not write it in blogland to keep the house uncluttered with yet another notebook. Maybe it can even help someone else.

It's just the resurrected old "whole family" record keeping blog, Please Send Chocolate:

Please Send Chocolate

I thought it was appropriate considering how I feel after a morning of hyperacademics with Rose while trying to entertain the middle two, making sure Skye is getting some work in, and wrestling with Jeffrey who seems to have no idea WHAT to do with himself these days.

It will most likely be jotted notes of our days that might not make sense to anyone else, but you are free to come see if you'd like. :)

OK, back to my normal blogging fast. Such as it is. LOL

Lent came early this year

2009-02-09T09:05:00.001-08:00

Just a few days ago, before we got Rose's dyslexia (et al.) diagnosis, I was wondering if I was going to pick my Lenten sacrifice or if God was going to hand me one, like he has in the past. I think this year it's a little of both.

My plan was to cut down on my internet time. I was thinking of just using Twitter and a 1x or 2x a day email check. Check blogs, message boards, etc only when everything else was done and no one needed me (i.e., probably never?? LOL).

Now that I'm understanding that Rose needs intensive training/retraining on many skills, I'm realizing that I simply WON'T have time for the internet (much) if I am to do justice to her needs and the needs of the rest of the family. For example we spent all morning with hands-on phonics and alphabet instruction using clay, and doing specific "therapeutic" exercises to burn off steam. Great, but we still have the *rest* of the school work to do! (Read aloud, history, science, math, etc). Plus it's a beautiful day so I need to allow outside time and free happy-boredom time. :) Oh and who can forget the preschooler and baby, who weren't thrilled that all of a sudden I was being "boss" of everyone's time to an unusual level for us.

Add in a house move (please! hopefully! soon!) and my every waking moment may be planned out for me. This is not necessarily bad.

Anyway, all that to say that I will be scarce, here and in your comment sections. (Not gone, but scarce) If you need me, email or Twitter me! And please pray for us.

Oh, and if you have any suggestions for:
dyslexia
executive functioning problems
adhd (inattentive type)
non-verbal learning disability (mild)
slow processing
sensory processing and integration issues (mild)

particularly activities to help or books I can read, I'd love to hear it! I'll still get comments emailed to me, so feel free to comment here.

Thanks!

Dip me in ketchup, I'm fried.

2009-02-06T10:25:00.000-08:00

We have just returned from the follow up visit for Rose's psycho-educational evaluation. She's been officially diagnosed with dyslexia and ADD.

Nothing I didn't really know deep down already, just from working and living with her.

The follow up lasted almost three hours. That's a lot of information! I'm extremely thankful that the evaluators were so friendly and thorough, but at the same time I'm ready for a long nap. And a good cry, LOL. I didn't think it would hit me so hard to have a professional tell me what I already knew.

I came home to find out that the baby had fallen down the stairs, my oldest two had been fighting like cats and dogs while I was gone, and at one point all 5 of them were crying at the same time. My poor parents!! I bet they want a nap now too. :)

Now I'm off to figure out just what to do next. The examiners suggested Orton-Gillingham training given my background as a speech-language pathologist. I wonder if they have a session that takes nursing toddlers? ;-)

Think About These Things Thursday

2009-02-05T03:40:00.000-08:00

whatever is true - our heat is working well, Jeffrey is going down for naps without a fuss

whatever is honorable -
my dad changing his work schedule to be with my mom when she babysits our kids on Friday, St. DH and I complimenting each other (he really is wonderful!)

whatever is just (righteous, deserved, proper, fair, upright) - the happy tiredness after a day full of accomplishments (this was the children, not me, LOL, I'm just tired)

whatever is pure - the pictures my 3yo is drawing: recognizable and so dear, the joy my kids get listening to books on tape

whatever is lovely - the vision of snow falling in front of the streetlights in the pre-dawn hours, the new paint on the walls where it hasn't been mangled yet ;-)

whatever is gracious - dh is bringing me home a little treat EVERY DAY for my birthday month after I joked about it (the man knows the way to my heart!), him listening to me while I have my nightly midlife crisis

if there is any excellence - girls improving their swimming skills with hard work

if there is anything worthy of praise - my children starting work early and working hard to get through it one day

...think about these things.

I caved

2009-02-03T06:55:00.000-08:00

I did what I said I would never do.

"Those people are crazy," I told myself. "Sheep. Addicted. It's unhealthy."

But then I experienced it for myself.

Hanging my head in (mock) shame and humility here.

I'll whisper it to you.

I've become addicted to LOST.

I had never really watched a show until this years opener.

And I was hooked.

Now dh and I are watching the shows from the very beginning together, every spare night on abc.com. It's good bonding time.

Baaaaaaa...

A Groundhog's Day Epiphany

2009-02-02T06:32:00.000-08:00

And no, it wasn't that spring would be six more weeks away, LOL. Darn that scaredy-cat groundhog!

As school started up this morning, I was reading aloud on the couch while Jeffrey and Batty colored at the end table next to us. Loudly. Batty does everything loudly. Add Jeffrey and his incessant "Uuuuuuh!!! Aaaaaaaahhhh!!" and I was having trouble being heard over the ruckus, especially with a case of laryngitis forming.

This is a very common scene here (ummm, like daily?), which usually ends in me shout-reading, and getting increasingly more fed up and snappish. Well, today a thought passed through my mind as I was struggling to read: "You are thankful for Batty. She is precious, and joyous, and behaving appropriately for her age. Smile and enjoy the ruckus."

Wow. Smile and enjoy. What a novel idea! So I continued reading, and kept "I am thankful for Batty and her ruckus," in the forefront of my mind. After all, no one else was having trouble with it. Let me tell you, it made such a difference to my mental state and the whole mood of our reading time. Yes I was still reading LOUDLY to be heard, but it was with a certain joy and not an exasperation. Because I am SO LUCKY to have Batty and all my children.

Thank you, God. One step closer to being a thermostat and not a thermometer.

Seven Quick Takes Friday

2009-01-30T12:44:00.000-08:00

.1.

I'm sick again. Inconceivable! (I don't know what it is with me and movie quotes lately, AND me and sickness lately.)

..2..

I loved watching this video (ht: Creative Minority Report) on the Dominican Nuns of Summit, NJ. I used to work at a bank in Summit during college, and the Nuns were one of our customers. I remember being escorted by police car to the monastery to make a delivery. I was so nervous. I had no idea what the cloistered life was all about. I talked to a nun through a little window in the wall and thought I was causing her to sin by talking to me.

...3...

I'm 80% finished with my first non-scarf knitting project. It's a pair of mittens (pdf)for Jeffrey in a nice midnight blue. Well, it's not actually my first non-scarf *project*, just the first one I haven't torn right back out.

....4....

Add "magic marker to new bedspread #2" to the list of mini-disasters happening since trying to fix up the house (marker on new bedspread #1, new paint chipped right off wall, pencil on new paint...this doesn't include the major fix ups that still need to happen). I'm going to lose my mind before we are done. There is just no way to keep a house nice with 5 homeschooling kids under 12! I'm getting kind of despondent that we will ever sell in this market.

.....5.....

We've been watching old home videos of the kids lately. Wow - I had forgotten so much of what they were like way back when, although personality wise they have hardly changed!

......6......

My 16 month old Jeffrey thinks it's the most fascinating thing when I do the Itsy Bitsy Spider for him. He's so cute when he tries to sign and ask for it.

.......7.......

Ummmmm, can't it be SIX Quick Takes Friday? I usually run out of steam after 4 or 5. :) Wait, I can't forget my usual "reader question" - our computer is giving us fits lately, running extremely slow and overheating a lot. It's old and on it's last legs I think. Anyway, I have a ton of pdf files that I've downloaded from various sources and was wondering if there is a good place online to upload them to store privately, so I can access them from different computers?

For more 7 Quick Takes, visit Jen at Conversion Diary!

Think About These Things Thursday

2009-01-29T04:10:00.000-08:00

(from the last two weeks)

whatever is true - the house and yard we saw *were* beautiful even if not meant for us; despite being pretty (last week) sick I am functional most of the time; I'm lucky to have a tub to wash dishes and not need to take things down to a creek in the snow! My three year old loves me.

whatever is honorable - St. DH was willing to take hours off at work during an extremely busy week so that I wouldn't have to drag the few healthy kids to urgent care with me and the baby; my mom willing to watch all the kids by herself so dh and I can go to Jane's dyslexia follow-up together; dh's humongous efforts to be uplifting to me; the fact that I noticed such efforts

whatever is just (righteous, deserved, proper, fair, upright) - OK, I think I just don't know what this really means. I'm having an awfully hard time coming up with something from my life that would be "just" - could my wonderful readers give me an example?

whatever is pure - the innocence of the toddler not feeling well and letting me know it in no uncertain terms; a room full of homeschoolers of various ages all laughing and enjoying the same kid's movie (I think it was Piglet's Big Movie); sitting with dh eating popcorn, just chatting after the kids were asleep; Jeffrey's toothy grin

whatever is lovely - huge flakes of snow drifting slowly down, my girls in their dress-ups dancing around the living room to classical music, a much decreased laundry pile; the emptiness of the cabinets after another declutter/packing session

whatever is gracious - Jane taking the littles out in the snow with her; dh accepting whatever I make for dinner as "great" even if it lacks a certain something

if there is any excellence - Skye's recent burst of creative writing

if there is anything worthy of praise - my 5yo is making her bed without being asked

...think about these things.

Tuesday's Epiphany

2009-01-28T06:56:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I spent more time packing, trying to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit - I packed a box of kitchen non-essentials. I have decluttered the kitchen fairly recently, so was pretty amazed I could pack a whole box of stuff that we don't need. Who needs a hamburger patty maker when you have two hands? A powdered sugar shaker when you have a spoon or fingers or a sifter?

The real epiphany came, however, when I looked at my two ladles. We have soup a lot, and so I always kept the extra (which had come with our new, larger crock pot), in case the first one was dirty. When telling this in the evening to St. DH, we both exclaimed aloud at the same time, "If the one was dirty, we COULD JUST WASH IT!"

Duh.

My new motto

2009-01-28T05:08:00.000-08:00

I'm loving this.

Wabi-Sabi

It's my new motto. It's my code.

(10 points to the first person who knows what movie we watched this weekend.) :)

Monday's Epiphany

2009-01-26T09:29:00.000-08:00

You'd think with a blog name like "Epiphany Springs" and a homeschool named "Epiphany Prep School" I'd focus more on the epiphanies in my life. Well, I think my blog would more appropriately be named "Sieve Springs" because I have a mind more like one of those, LOL.

But this morning I *did* have an epiphany, and I remembered it long enough to bring it to you. I know you are all waiting with bated breath. ;-)

I tend to search outside myself, sometimes obsessively, anxiously, for the answers to what plagues me on any given day. I'm always looking, reading, blog surfing, googling. When I'm not actively doing that my mind is a-swirl with the information I've taken in from those sources. Through it all, I'm usually crying out to God, "I'm so confused about situation X, what do I doooooooo?"

Well, it hit me this morning - and probably not for the first time, mind you (remember the sieve) that God has all the answers already, he is an infinite storehouse of knowledge bigger and better than I could ever imagine, and that I cannot hear God and tap into that vast storehouse if my mind is always in a tornado of thoughts and sights (or should that be sites? It's often computer forum/blog related). I'm pretty well read in general, it's unusual for me to come across a TRULY new idea that I want to institute, so God can use what is already in my subconscious to teach me what to do next, but I must be able to hear him. There must be a mental quiet.

The answer isn't out there. It's in here, where God resides.

"I feel like I killed your cat"

2009-01-24T13:41:00.000-08:00

That's what my dh said to me this morning after a brief but deep discussion on the House That Most Likely Would Not Be Ours. You make me laugh, dear. I love you.

He brought up some very valid points, not the least of which was that house prices are PLUMMETING around here. Some $5,000 in the last 30 days on average. That means if we buy House A, and don't sell ours quickly, the difference in prices will be too great.

Totally understandable. Yes, but my cat is still dead, LOL. I do have the strange feeling that God is preparing me for something MORE, although after all these years I'm finding it increasingly hard to be patient. God's tactic lately has been to pour on more difficult things, not better/happier/nicer ones, so it's hard to get my hopes up that pretty birdies will soon be tweeting joyfully around my head. ;-)

Also, if we aren't going to move now, or in the very near future, *something* has got to give. I try and try and try to work on increasing virtue with the children and nothing helps. I won't give the laundry list of things but we are all just stressed from each other and the associated problems. I can't live like this anymore. I just wish I knew WHAT to change. I think of things (some new furniture so we all have a place to sit in the living room, for example) and then I can think of 1,001 reasons why I shouldn't do that. Oh well.

I'm off to measure our house. I looked on Zillow and it's said our house was several hundred square feet smaller than I thought it was. If that is true, it's no wonder we want to throttle each other on a regular basis, LOL.

I hope all my readers have a wonderful, restful weekend.

7 Quick Takes Friday

2009-01-23T05:02:00.000-08:00

*1*

I'm loving Jen's new Official 7 Quick Takes Logo. I feel so professional now. :)

**2**

I'd forgotten what a good ab workout having bronchitis is. I haven't had this good a workout since...well, since the LAST time I had bronchitis. I won't say how long ago that was, LOL. But wow, what a burn!

***3***

I'm still in love with the house I mentioned the other day. Dh, not so much. I keep trying to fall out of love with it, reminding myself of it's shortfalls. All that does is help me come up with ways to get around those. The place has soul.

****4****

That being said, dh found a number from our old mailbox this morning on his way out to work, and brought it in to throw away. I burst into tears and said, "Don't throw that out!!" He gave it to me and a minute later as he was leaving for real, I said "Don't laugh at me. What else can I bring with me from this house that has been so monumental in our lives? [first house, all kids grew up here, etc] Ummm, but now, good riddance (house). I'm ready!" LOL I *want* the memento of this house, but I also REALLY want to move into something a little bigger and better laid out. I've got the faded old house number, now get me out of here. ;-)

*****5*****

I'm still trying to climb out under the deluge of toys/stuff from three birthdays and Christmas. People went nuts with Jeffrey. I hate to get rid of stuff so soon, but tell me does he really need TWO walk behind toys/scooters, TWO play phones on a string and one of those doggies you lead around? (and that's just the beginning) Not ONE of my children has ever dragged anything around by a string. Maybe our first boy will, but I can tie one of his other toys to a string if he wants, LOL. Just like all our other kids, this child barely plays with toys, he just wanders around getting in trouble opening drawers and getting into his sisters' stuff. Now, if we were in a bigger home, I could hide it all in the basement and I really wouldn't care HALF as much, but right now this stuff is all under my feet all the time.

Of course with Jane's birthday coming up, it will start all over again anyway (Mom, I reaaaaaallly want the So Hip Cruise Ship, a Ty Girl....) Sigh.

For my 4oth birthday I want either a dumpster or a bigger house. ;-)

******6******

Back to the "I want the house, dh doesn't," I'm wondering what my readers do when you and your spouse are on different sides of important issues. What about when it's a dream of yours? I mean, this is not just "What shall we watch on TV" or "Where shall we go on vacation" which if I give in to is over in an hour or a week, so it's easy to always give in. This seems different. But maybe I just really CARE this time. Dh knows, though, that my degree of obsession over something is often not in direct relation to its true worth. I'm having trouble deciding whether he's right (I'm just obsessed and blind to oh so obvious flaws) or I'm right (It's a dream come true - at least for me - and every affordable house will have *real* downsides)

*******7*******

Just call this the "house obsession edition" of 7 Quick Takes. See what I mean about obsession? Hey, it's a dreary and cold January, I'm about to turn 40, we've all been sick nonstop for weeks and weeks. I need something to dream about. So sue me. ;-)

Join Jen at Conversion Diary for more 7 Quick Takes!

A few delirious and sleep deprived ramblings

2009-01-19T05:27:00.000-08:00

Jeffrey and I have taken this cold virus to new heights (or is it depths?). I enjoy many hours surfing the internet at 1AM because I'm coughing so loud I don't want to wake the baby, and he has stuff coming out of every orifice and is alternately miserable and energizer-bunny. We'll be calling the doctors offices as soon as they open to try to get this taken care of. I believe we've hit the point where antibiotics will do more good than harm. I may miss my midnight Twitter checks though. ;-)

Hopefully we can also have a plumber out soon. Our kitchen drain is completely backed up. We've been nursing a slow drain for weeks, and it finally bit the dust. You just haven't lived until you've washed dishes in the bathroom tub with bronchitis and a sinus infection.

Yesterday we went driving through a nearby town. I showed dh a house I had my eye on. Well, the owner saw us parked in front of his house for five minutes checking it out, and he invited us in! He and his girlfriend were very nice. The land is to die for - it's about 2 acres, just enough for us. It has a little babbling brook running along one side, and a teeny pond fed by a spring. A spring? Remember way back when, I was trying to name our little home here, hoping that *some* day I would have my dream home and take the name with me? Remember all of a few weeks ago when this blog had "Epiphany SPRINGS" up top instead of Epiphany Prep School? (you feed reader people probably haven't seen a difference, LOL). Does that sound prophetic? Hmmm?

Along one corner of the yard there is an electric fence visited by a few cows. The owner says that sometimes there are fish in the little pond, but that a heron often comes by and eats them up. Trees, but not TOO many, and a few good for climbing. I think dh is thinking it's all a little more work than he was bargining for, but I'm thinking the girls need more chores to keep out of each others hair.

Here are the pros and cons about the house, particularly the inside:

Pros -

quirky layout (this is both a pro and a con - I like "quirky" but I need functional)
woodstove insert in family room
the owner will probably leave the riding mower as they are going to rent next
nicely decorated without a lot to redo
2 master bedrooms - the older girls could have a bathroom to themselves which will be helpful when they get older
3 full bathrooms (again with the house of 4 teenage girls thing)
the whole "back to nature" thing with the yard. Ahhhhhhh....
a deep two car garage (we don't have one now)
a small pantry right in the kitchen (we use shelves in the basement now)

Cons -

the "quirky" layout is that the second master bedroom is off of the dining room. It just seems...weird. I think it would make a GREAT "bonus" room or homeschooling room, but then there aren't enough bedrooms.
the bathroom in that bedroom is teeny. I'm used to teeny, but still...
the current dining room looks like it will be too small for our family of 7. We would need to either use the living room as a dining room and/or break down the bit of wall that connects the living room to the dining room so that we can walk around our dining room table, and the table would probably jut out into the living room (it sounds worse than I think it would look)
the kitchen has a breakfast nook that doesn't look like it could fit us all either. Although I think with a rectangular table and benches...maybe. It would be CROWDED then.
stairs. Lots of stairs. There are a bunch of steps to get up to the front door. You can go in through the basement or the garage but then there are still stairs to get to the main floor, and then more stairs up to the top floor. We are not used to this, LOL. All the girls were like "whoaaaa, steep stairs!" It really wasn't that bad. We just have a raised ranch right now and our only stairs are two, short, 6 step ones.

The problem with all these cons, though, is that I don't think we can get much BETTER for this price. This affordable price. Definitely not with a spring out back! :) It seems rare to find a house with a huge dining room or a huge breakfast nook, YKWIM?

Thanks for listening to me ramble this morning. I'm off to figure out how to wash the dishes that are piling up. Maybe I can hide them all in the tub until after the plumber shows up??

Think About These Things Thursday

2009-01-15T05:11:00.000-08:00

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. - Phil 4:8

I have this quote printed out in a huge font and taped to our dining room wall. Yet, in a big way, I fail to take this to heart and actually DO it on a regular basis. Oh sure, I think of good things now and then, but it's usually more like, "Yeah God, I'm thankful for the child you gave us but could you please tone her down a bit?? Just for a few minutes?" Or "Gee thanks for all this yummy food that I can even get with just a few clicks of my mouse, but it would be really nice if I didn't have to cook around 5 different food allergies."

Ahem.

So, because I think Think About These Things Thursday just sounds nice, I'm going to remind myself of how I should set my mind all the time. In a "daybook/meme" sort of way. Since I haven't done a daybook entry in half since forever.

Whatever is true...
My husband loves me...my children loves me...my God loves me...and He doesn't expect perfection, he just wants me to try ... we can watch Cosmeo videos all day for school because I'm sick and it's OK. If I present it with love and we have a good time, it's more than OK, it's good.

Whatever is honorable...
because I'm sick as a dog this morning and have to take the kids out to the orthodontist, St. DH tried to do as much as he could for me before he left for work, even though he hurt his ankle again and was limping around to do it. (Actually, HE didn't hurt his ankle again, he went to the doctor for an unrelated reason, and the doctor poked and prodded it and it hasn't been the same since!)

Whatever is just...
Although I'm not particularly happy (yet) to be sick, it is certainly just, as I haven't been eating as well as I should and have been allowing God's peace to be stolen from me. Plus, the more I accept suffering, the more love I can grow to have. And I certainly could use more of that. (There are other definitions of "just" but this is working for me for now) :)

Whatever is pure...
The dusting of new fallen snow...the intentions of my 3-year-old despite how her actions appear to me...the joy my youngest two had monkeying in front of the mirrored desk at our appointment ... a rare long snuggle time with my 5yo this morning as the sun was rising

Whatever is lovely...
Again with the new fallen snow...the warmth of a thickly knit sweater...my own knitting project that is actually coming out nicely so far and is not (yet) a tangled mess of buttercup colors that make me smile ... the brace filled smile of my oldest with new "silver and gold" rubber bands that she's so proud of

Whatever is gracious...
The kind lady at the orthodontist smiling warmly at my goofy horde of children ... the dyslexia tester gushing with compliments for my oldest

If there is any excellence...
The efforts of a reluctant child folding towels and t-shirts...

If there is anything worthy of praise...
again with the t-shirts ... the loving way the girls made lunch for everyone today ... the efforts of St. DH at work despite stress and broken promises

...think about these things.

Because I don't want to forget this

2009-01-12T16:36:00.000-08:00

We were playing "Marshmallow Challenge," where the girls answer questions and we throw marshmallows at them for correct answers, when dh ask Jane (almost 6) what were the three gifts the Magi brought Jesus.

Jane: Ummmm, silver or gold?

Dh: Gold, good.

Jane: Oryen tar.

Dh and I: huhhh??

Jane: Oryen tar! You know "We three kings of oryen tar, bearing gifts we travel afar?"

All: :) :) :)

No wonder I like our new color coded bookshelves so much

2009-01-10T16:09:00.001-08:00

Apparently it's a good technique for right brainers!

And I thought it was just a chic home staging thing.

Thank you

2009-01-10T10:35:00.000-08:00

Thank you all for being patient with this blubbering mess of motherhood I've become. Yesterday's little Statcounter incident was just the straw on the camels back, and I let it get to me. I hope no one thought my whine was a coy plea for comments - but I *do* appreciate each and every one of them! They really helped me feel better about the whole thing.

Today I got to watch my oldest practice for her roller skating recital. Her class is doing a routine to "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun". Watching her brought tears to my eyes yet again - it is just so amazing and beautiful that I can have a daughter out there skating and trying her hardest - and having a blast! - to a song *I* used to sing and dance to when I was not much older than her.

So it's not just Statcounter that causes my eyes to runneth over, it seems like it's everything lately!

Thank you again for taking the time to read and comment on my blog. What sweet people you are to try to make me feel better. :)

Curses to you, Statcounter!

2009-01-09T08:12:00.000-08:00

Who was it that was talking about not checking (or even having) a statcounter the other day? I should have taken her advice. I check my statcounter maybe twice a month, usually just to see if someone has linked to me that I need to thank or some such thing.

Let me just state that I know up front that people do read through Google Reader or Bloglines. I also know just how many (or few) subscribers I have there.

So today I admit to you that it actually made me cry, what I saw there on Statcounter (that and being totally hormonal and sleep deprived with a 3yo who won't.stay.in.her.room. for naptime). Man, what a punch in the ego. I understand people are busy, that people are on feed readers, that people have better things to do than listen to me whine about blog stats. I also know that I used to get many more hits than this.

I had 7 hits so far today. And that's with being linked in Jen's 7 Quick Takes! Yesterday? Five. FIVE! Total. The day before was a whopping nine. Woo hoo I'm so popular! :-P

I *don't* blog to be popular or to get hits. I blog to share things, to think out loud, to converse and laugh and complain and let people do the same.

But FIVE hits? That's demented, and sad, and not even social! (Ten points to the first person who knows movie line that's referring to)

I know I shouldn't care. Detachment, detachment, detachment. It should be my word for 2009.

But I do. My dh is so busy, my kids are disrespectful and argumentative and unhelpful, and my online buddies are my *lifeline* to thinking that just maybe I'm an OK person, worthy of love.

Five. Bleh!

OK, rant over. Thanks to the five of you that read this, LOL!! :)

7 Quick Takes Friday

2009-01-09T03:27:00.000-08:00

1

I think putting cosmetic touches on the house this early in our "fixing up process" before putting the house on the market was a bad idea. For Christmas, we gave the girls all new comforters. Then the next week we painted the living room. The living room already has marks and a big chip where the baby was smacking a brush on the wall (the chip is actually from me trying to rub off the marks. A little wet paper towel and that paint peeled right off!) The comforters already have magic marker on them thanks to our resident 3yo Picassa. The next few months are going to drive me insane trying to slowly make things look nice while the destruction crew hides in corners trying to undo it all. Do you know anyone who would like to buy a house that looks really "lived in" for a price that says "Better Homes and Gardens"?

10

We're sick. Again! As soon the cold passes through all of us and we enjoy a day or two of health, it starts in on someone and we all come down with it again. This makes I think 5 times for the baby, three times for me and dh and a combination for all the other kids, since Thanksgiving. I don't know why this bugs me so much, but it does. At least the sun is out today after many many days of blah. It makes a world of difference in our energy and happiness levels around here.

11

I figured out the other day that my 40th birthday will be on Mardi Gras this year. Fun!! And much better than Ash Wednesday, don't ya think? (That will be next year.)

100

Last week's theme was OBO -- Operation: Bookcase Organization. I arranged the two tall bookcases downstairs by color, and left several shelves open for our nicer looking toys and some decorations. I don't know where ANYTHING is now, but it really looks nice! :) Now that I've taken most of the books off of the upstairs book shelf, and about 2/5 of the books downstairs, I've got a big pile of boxes in the basment. I took off mostly those books that I thought we wouldn't want in the next few months, but in going throught them all I kept thinking, "Do I *really* want to move this book? Has *anyone* ever sat and read it? Does anyone care but me, and me only because someone recommended it/everyone else raves about it/it's part of a trusted curriculum/I paid good money for it? I think my children never read half of the good books because there are so many books around they don't even really see the good ones - and that is even with me bringing out and showcasing different baskets of books. We can't see the trees for the forest. So (and this is turning into a not-so-quick-take, isn't it!!) I am really going to get rid of many of our books. Even if they are technically "good" books. I need to keep my eyes on my own work, on my own family, on our own needs, and what God is calling us to. It's pretty clear that God is calling me (and maybe all of us) to a life of simplicity, and having five huge bookshelves full of books is quite the antithesis of simplicity. So after taking to dh to make sure I wasn't just doing this in a fit of hormonal-headcold induced insanity, I'm going to give away a ton of books. Probably literally, from the feel of those boxes! :)

I'm thinking toys are next. Mwahahahahahahaha!!

101

My 95 year old grandmother is going to be the death of me. She lives several hours away but relies on me to supply her with things her other "helpers" (i.e. my dad) don't understand - like long underwear, tights, etc. The thing is, she is not all in her right mind anymore, and can't hear me on the phone. So I'm yelling into the phone trying to understand just what she means by "woolens" (ARE THEY LIKE LONG UNDERWEAR? DO THEY GO TO YOUR KNEES OR YOUR ANKLES?) and she has something very specific in mind and just won't describe it to me or answer my questions. Then, when I finally try to order something, I've got all these other voices screaming in my head that sound remarkably like my other relatives- "Why are you letting her do this to you? Don't bother! Did she call you AGAIN? Have your Dad pay for it! You spent HOW MUCH? She's not going to like any of it and she's just gonna give it away to a neighbor who'll throw it in the garbage. How am I supposed to know what she's talking about? Why can't she just wear a lap quilt like a normal 95 year old ? (OK, those last few are mine. *blush*)

But really all I can think of is, "This poor woman says she's COLD. I need to help her stay warm whatever way she'll comply with."

110

It wouldn't be 7 Quick Takes Friday without a question for my readers, now, would it? Here's todays: I've never had a problem with my weight until now. Baby weight would peel off under the crazy allergen free diets. Well, Jeffrey is tolerating food better, and is still nursing so I'm hungry alot - but the weight has come back on and seems to be staying. Thing is, it's almost all in my belly - that "pooch". I've heard that's from an excess of cortisol - which is from stress, so I can totally believe it!! Here's my question (finally, right?) -- is there anything specific to do for that kind of weight issue? If you reduce the stress and the cortisol lowers, does that weight disappear or are you stuck with it until you diet/excercise more? Share anything you know!

111

I'm a math geek. 1010 points to the first person who understands my numbering system for this 7 Quick Takes. :)

Our Patron Saints for 2009

2009-01-01T12:58:00.000-08:00

Our family has a tradition of putting all our Holy Traders cards in a bag, and selecting a patron saint for each of us for the year. We like to think that they select us. Judging by how *perfect* the selections seem in hindsight each year, I believe that's true. Despite having probably 40 or more cards, several saints reappear frequently. God must know we need them or haven't yet learned what we should have from them.

Here are our patrons for 2009.

Dh: St. Katharine Drexel (Rose had her two years ago)

Me: Bl. Laura Vicuna

Rose: St. Josemaria Escriva (he was Jeffrey's last year)

Skye: the Children of Fatima (somehow a K4J card got it, but it's perfect for Skye, who is developing a love of Our Lady of Fatima)

Jane: St. Thomas Aquinas (just right for our little scholar!)

Batty: St. George (great for our little fighter ;-) )

Jeffrey: Sts. Anne and Joachim (this was either Batty's two years ago or Jeffrey's the year he was born, I can't remember, and just as touching now as it was then! It really was special, I just can't remember who it was special for, lol)

Saints and Blesseds of God, pray for us!

Could I possibly reflect any more?

2009-01-01T09:11:00.000-08:00

Yes, and I'm not done yet! Danielle Bean had a good "Questions for 2009" post up at Faith and Family that I want to tackle next time. :)

But for now, I want to do something I saw at Willa's which she got from There's No Place Like Home. Post the first sentence of the first blog post of each month, and include a picture if you like.

(I wish I had seen this one before I did the other one - this one is much easier!) :)

January 2008:

School work? What is this, "school work"? LOL, it's been so long I hardly recognized it.

One of our weather fairies.

February 2008

Birthdays, holidays
February highs and lows
Life to the fullest

(it was Haiku Friday)

Caps for sale!

March 2008

Another one from Jane (5):

During our before dinner prayers...
Rose: Let's pray for the poor souls in purgatory.
Jane: And let's pray for the poor souls in church!!

April 2008

Sorry I kinda forgot I asked for my readers' questions all those many weeks ago.

By our front steps.

May 2008

There is no way to make this come across well in writing, but today my children were arguing in opera.

Batty as a baby. May 2008 was her 3rd birthday.

June 2008

While waiting with my dd for some muffins to cook, I took a little quiz at Myfootprint.org .

July 2008

Today the exterminator showed up at our door despite the fact that my husband had called yesterday to cancel their service.

A typical way to find Skye.

August 2008

TGIF: Is it irreverent to use God's name in that way? I mean, I really AM thanking my God who is in Heaven that it is Friday, and my beloved will be home soon!

An outtake from Jeffrey's portraits.

September 2008

I'm a hooker.

Rose on vacation.

October 2008

Reason #486 why Jane (5) is the sweetest child on earth (I'm not playing favorites, but her temperament IS more pleasant than all of her siblings put together, LOL).

Jeffrey and the Purple Crayon.

November 2008

Chocolate: It's what's for breakfast.

December 2008

A) I ate too much Thanksgiving turkey and can't roll to the computer.

(from a poll on why I wasn't blogging much)

Our advent wreath craft on the first night of advent.

Happy New Year everyone!

A Reflection "meme" for 2008

2008-12-31T18:43:00.001-08:00

Simple Mom had a series of Reflection Questions to help you look back on 2008. I've repeated them here to think out loud with my dear (poor!) readers. :)

I found the following questions extremely difficult to answer - not through any fault of the questions themselves, but mostly probably due to lack of brain cells and a horrible memory. Also, I tend to be a much more global thinker who loses the details of my life over time - I have a very hard time picking "one event" as an answer - especially when I can hardly remember last week, LOL.

Reflection Questions for 2008
1. What was the single best thing that happened this past year?
Watching Jeffrey go through babyhood? The rare date with dh? Winning the haiku contest? LOL

2. What was the single most challenging thing that happened?
Recovering from skin cancer surgery and childbirth while trying to homeschool and deal with a colic-y baby and a difficult toddler (see, I can't pick *one* thing - there was no ONE thing there was just a stream of not-so-little things every.single.day)

3. What was an unexpected joy this past year?
Watching the girls interact with their new brother.

4. What was an unexpected obstacle?
I'm an eeyore, I expect all obstacles. ;-) I didn't think adding another student would be so hard - she's very smart but I'm not finding any *time* to work with her properly.

5. Pick three words to describe 2008.
Simplifying (of stuff). Challenging (in good and bad ways). Tiring.

6. Pick three words your spouse would use to describe your 2008 (don’t ask them; guess based on how you think your spouse sees you).
Hmmmm, I'd probably say the same three things I said.

7. Pick three words your spouse would use to describe their 2008 (again, without asking).
Gratifying (family). Long. Dissapointing (work).

8. What were the best books you read this year?
I can't narrow it down to a few - I'll have to think about that, I can hardly remember what I read.

9. With whom were your most valuable relationships?
DH, hands down. No one else comes close.

10. What was your biggest personal change from January to December of this past year?
Weight! LOL. I went from freshly postpartum to way underweight due to allergen free eating, back to overweight (for me) again now. Technically my weight is probably on the high side of average for my build and height, but it is ALL in my abdomen. Ugh.

11. In what way(s) did you grow emotionally?
I wrestled with several issued from growing up/being adopted, hopefully for the better. I gained slightly more control over my hair-trigger high-sensitivity and temper.

12. In what way(s) did you grow spiritually?
I think I have a slightly greater appreciation for suffering.

13. In what way(s) did you grow physically?
See number 10. ;-P

14. In what way(s) did you grow in your relationships with others?
I think I'm getting better at being straightforward with dh. While I was never dishonest, I think I'm expressing my wants and needs more instead of wanting him to guess. My relationship with my three year old is improving.

15. What was the most enjoyable area of managing your home?
Decluttering! Nothing like a good purge.

16. What was your most challenging area of home management?
Simply trying to house 7 people and all their stuff in a small-ish house with very little real storage space.

17. What was your single biggest time waster in your life this past year?
The internet - it's great for a limited time each day, but then the rest is just a waste.

18. What was the best way you used your time this past year?
Reading aloud to the girls, especially our Sonlight books.

19. What was the biggest thing you learned this past year?
I'm stronger than I think and I'm a better parent than I give myself credit for

20. Create a phrase or statement that describes 2008 for you.
Ummmm, over? :)

2008: The Year in Review

2008-12-31T15:14:00.000-08:00

I have enjoyed my fellow bloggers' retrospectives of 2008 so much, that I thought I would do my own - mostly to refresh my memory of just what happened this year! I tend to get very scatterbrained after having a baby and have very little memory of the first year of each of my children's lives.

*ugh - so scatterbrained that I just pushed "publish" - my apologies to those on feed readers!*

JAN 2008

*I was recovering from skin cancer surgery and reconstruction.
*Jeffrey was Baptised on Epiphany!
*We studied the weather and made weather fairies.
*My theme for 2008 was supposed to be "I get to" (as opposed to "I have to ... cook, clean, stay up all night, etc"). I still have a loooong way to go with this. I do think I have made progress. I'll have to come up with a 2009 theme soon.
*I started chatting with an accountability partner - while it didn't last too long, it was extremely helpful to get me on track.
*Jeffrey was on the tail end of many months of colic.
*I started cooking on a two week rotation of meals (which we are still using with some minor modifications to this day - I'm much more flexible with in now though)

FEB 2008

*Jane turned 5 and I turned more than 5 (34 more than 5, lol)
* A devastating tornado touched down less than .5 mile from where dh was on a business trip.
* I wrote what was probably my highest-commented-on post (19 whole comments, LOL!) in response to a nasty anonymous comment.
* I answered a variety of readers' questions.

MARCH 2008

*Lent seemed it's usual really-hardness.
*We dabbled in unschooling and discussed different parenting styles.

APRIL 2008

*Skye played her first season of softball.
*We started (and ended!) the Prairie Primer.
* I answered more readers' questions.
*Here's a day in the life from that time.

MAY 2008

*Batty turned 3!
*Lots of decluttering (what else is new here?)
*We celebrated our 14th anniversary.

JUNE 2008

*My laundry disappeared.
* I found out about D-MER.
* I started counting calories to gain weight (I was on a very restricted diet. Now that I am on a *less* restricted diet, I'm having the opposite problem!!)

JULY 2008
*We gardened and started Sonlight's Core 4
*Jeffrey lost a tooth in a freak accident

AUG 2008
* I wrote about and discussed my Personal Rule of Six for improving my parenting.
* DH won the county fair's pie eating contest, again!

SEPT 2008
*Jeffrey turned one!
*We went to the beach for a real vacation.

OCT 2008
*Jane lost her first tooth
*Lots of Civil War study
*A day in the life from October

NOV 2008
*Rose turned 11 (I can't believe it) and Skye turned 9
*I learned more about the value of suffering
*We went on a date. A real date! With another couple! :)
*The girls started earning their computer time by doing chores.

DEC 2008

*I start packing for no good reason.
*I joined Facebook (and that was the last time I was ahead of Willa in anything brain related, lol)
*I became the Catholic Living Haiku Champion of the World. ;-)

This was harder than I thought! I don't seem to blog much about what we do, so much as what I'm *thinking*. And no one wants to live through THAT again. ;-)

Happy New Year Everyone!!!

Well, there's that...

2008-12-30T09:33:00.000-08:00

I was trying to get some school work together for the girls' swimming lessons (there is a several hour wait while each girl takes a lesson), when the bagful of workbooks toppled over and they and a handful of pencils slid out and down the stairs, topping off a kind of messy/crazy morning.

"God, *big sigh* this is all too much. What's with all this chaos? What am I doing wrong that everything always falls apart and creates more stress? I don't think Caroline Ingalls had to shove 3 huge beach towels, 3 swimsuits, 3 pairs of goggles, 6 workbooks, and 4 pencils and a sharpener into a bag for swim lessons, not to mention carry the separate diaper bag, and toddler while dragging the ever-obstinate preschooler."

"No, but she did have to kill and prepare a chicken with her bare hands on a regular basis. Which would you rather do?" I heard the Spirit nudge.

Well alrighty then! Is there anything else You'd like me to carry with me to swim lessons? :) :) :)

(and God made me laugh by reminding me of the three videos that need to go back to the library and the package for Paperbackswap that has to go to the post office...)

I'm packing

2008-12-28T12:30:00.000-08:00

I'm packing.

No, we are not moving. Yet.

No, we don't really know *when* we're moving.

And we're not sure *where* we're moving.

But something has gotten into me.

For years now, dh and I have been going back and forth about whether to move or just fix up this house. We always say "move" and then a week later something will happen and we will change our minds and be thankful we are staying put. ("We" meaning "me" most of the time. Often, dh just wants me to be happy and he would be happy here, happy there, happy anywhere, as long as it was where *I* wanted to be). As of a few months ago, we had this "five year plan" where we were going to fix up the house and continue to save for something bigger. We (most likely meaning me again) always felt sort of wishy washy about it all. "What do you want to do?" I'd ask dh. "I don't know, what do YOU want to do?" he'd say back to me. Mr. and Mrs. Indecision.

But now, all of a sudden, something has changed. Something's spurring me on from inside. It's like a compulsion to pack. I *must* pack. I am giddy with joy when I find another empty box to put things in. Right now I'm packing our books by category (I could hardly lift "Catholicism" LOL). This may take awhile. ;-)

I feel like Noah building the ark. I'm not sure what I'm doing or why, but when it happens, I'll be ready!

Whatever "it" is.

Back to the land of the living

2008-12-25T07:04:00.000-08:00

We've been sick all week. Christmas morning saw half of us climbing out of the pit of despair ;-) and the rest of us are surely soon to follow. It was definitely a little heart wrenching to see dh, Batty, Rose and Skye dressed in their Christmas finest, leaving the rest of us behind for church. But the day is sunny after two weeks of clouds and rain, and (after a good cry) there is hope in my heart. :)

*****

"Interesting" conversations from yesterday:

DH: OK, everyone get ready, we're going to drive around and look at lights!

Jane: Daddy, if you and Mommy die at the same time, who will take care of us?

Me: *thinking I changed my mind about getting in the car!*

Later, in the car...

Batty: Who comes on Christmas?

Dh: Christmas is Jesus's birthday. Jesus comes on Christmas.

Batty: No, not THAT Christmas, the other Christmas. The real Christmas. Who comes on Christmas? You know, the REAL Christmas, not the Jesus Christmas. The big red man.

Me: *thinking I've got a lot more teaching to do*

************

So far dh has kept his promise not to get me anything. He seemed disappointed though, so I said he could get me some rubbermaid bins to organize what is sure to come in this Christmas. We'll pick those up after Christmas (there's got to be a sale, right?) Jeffrey didn't want me to go without anything on Christmas, so he gave me a decent night's sleep after several weeks of being sick. Thanks, Jeffrey! I really needed that.

********

Favorite gifts so far:

Jeffrey: Veggie Puffs (toddler junk food, LOL)

Batty: Melissa and Doug Birthday Cake, a princess book and karaoke thing (imagine loud preschooler with a microphone) , anything Jane or Jeffrey is playing with

Jane: A new Polly Pocket with knees that bend, to replace her old Bending Knees Polly that broke and became Amputee Polly

Skye: Fashion Design Studio Kit

Rose: a cute sweater/turtleneck/scooter/tights outfit, 20Q

Dh: not sure yet - I'd ask him but he's on the phone. I'd love to say it's the scarf I knit him. ;-) I think it's probably the Dockers he was in desperate need of.

Me: Dh gave me a nice fat check to give to whatever charity I want. :) Close second was Fernando Ortega's Christmas Songs CD

******

Since our lovely old laptop is overheating again, I'll leave this rambly post with a heartfelt wish to all my readers, that your Christmas/holidays were a blessing to you and those you love. Merry Christmas!!

7 Quick Takes Friday

2008-12-19T03:58:00.000-08:00

For more quick takes, visit Jen's post at Conversion Diary!

ONE

I've missed a few weeks! By the time I could get to it, it was always Saturday or Sunday, although "Seven Quick Takes Sunday" does have a nice ring to it. ;-) I've been busier than normal, but mostly I just can't think of anything to say lately. Blame it on...

TWO
(Luke, you can stop reading right now, LOL!)
breastfeeing infertility finally coming to a close. I was thinking the other night that I've only had two or three cycles in the last SIX years! That's a lot of PMS to make up for, and I'm doing a good job of it. Add that to the fact that my 1yo is all of a sudden feverish and up all night, and I'm wishing for the days when I would be considered unclean. I'd like nothing more than to be alone in a hut with my baby, a little fire going, us curled up doing NOTHING.

THREE
This of course looks NOTHING like what my baby would rather I do. I've never had a child (you'd think with five, there'd be odds, but no) who was cuddly and would just be happier sitting rocking in a chair together. Every one of our children screams bloody murder until you get up and pace around with them. Fast. But at least...

FOUR
Dh's vacation starts tonight!! Woo hoo! We'll probably get very little done of the million things I'd like to accomplish, but if I just make peace with that fact now, I'll be OK, right? We don't have lights out, we don't have the tree up, we don't have any decorations out, we have shopping left to do, we haven't painted still... but I only want to be in a hut by the fire with my baby. ;-)

FIVE
It's hard to write anything when the baby (tddler, sorry) on my lap keeps whining, crying, and hitting me. I'm just sayin.'

SIX
Speaking of the toddler, his newest cute thing is when he puts one arm up in a "charge!" position, tilts his head, and runs into another room. Too funny.

SEVEN
I am the Catholic Living Haiku Cyber Champion of the World. Danielle said I'd have cyber bragging rights, so there I go. I'll stop now, I'm really not the type! LOL

:-) :-) :-)

2008-12-17T09:40:00.001-08:00

That's all I can say:

:-)

And I think everyone's haikus were wonderful. Catholic family life is so full and beautiful, isn't it? Even in the rough parts.

Oooo, go vote, go vote!

2008-12-15T08:34:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited! Two of my haiku are up for nomination to win a year's subscription of Faith and Family Magazine. I won't tell you which ones are mine, just click on over there and vote for the haiku you like the best - the one that best shows Catholic family life. Honestly, I don't think it's mine! :)

C, D, E, and I...

2008-12-10T07:51:00.000-08:00

A) While I *did* eat too much Thanksgiving dinner (and then leftovers!), I can, in fact, still walk around the house and reach the computer. Barely.

B) If my children DID ever sleep through the night, I think I WOULD die of shock. I think the last time I had a full night's sleep was some time back in early 2002 (my second born was a good sleeper. Of course we now know it probably had something to do with the fact she couldn't hear anything out of one ear. There are plusses and minuses to everything!)

C) As Jenn, and Willa (and now Luke) can attest (oh and Angela who didn't comment because she's probably lost in the Facebook black hole and it's all my fault), I've been spending time on Facebook ~~whooping Willa's behind on GeoChallenge~~ working hard to improve my vocabulary on their word games and catching up with old friends. ;-)

D) This one is true also. My children are loving some of the games and continually ask to play them. My 8yo is getting quite the lesson in geography and I think will soon beat me (and Willa) ;-)

E) This one is also true. I have a few Christmas knitting projects going, and some of them have been torn out at the last minute.

F) Christmas and Advent crafting are kind of a low hum in the background. No children or adults were injured in the making of our Advent wreath.

G) Oh, I WISH! LOL

H) Plans to paint the livingroom were put on hold when dh hurt his ankle. We've talked to three painters about estimates. One was extremely expensive. One was a total goofball and kept saying things like, "I reaaaaallly like kids. No, I'm not crazy or anything." And the third never sent us his estimate despite us contacting him several times. Looks like I *will* be going up a high ladder soon. Gulp.

I) You know I'm a sucker for a good haiku. Luckily I had a whole website of them I could choose from, and only came up with one new one on my own. There were some great ones in the comments over on Faith and Family!

Thanks for playing my silly little game! I think you all won. :)

A Poll: Guess the reasons I haven't been blogging

2008-12-09T07:34:00.000-08:00

A) I ate too much Thanksgiving turkey and can't roll to the computer

B) The children all slept throught the night and I died of shock

C) I've become completely addicted to Facebook and the games there and use up all my computer time

D) My children have become completely addicted to the games on Facebook and fight me for computer time

E) I'm too busy knitting and re-knitting the same durn Christmas presents

F) The children and I have glued ourselves together with glitter glue making Christmas crafts.

G) I've run away and become a hermit.

H) I've gone up a ladder to paint our livingroom and I'm too scared to come down

I) All my time is spent thinking of haiku to win a free subscription to Faith and Family

You may pick more than one answer. :)

It's a myth

2008-11-30T19:01:00.000-08:00

Told dh I was heading to bed relatively early tonight, since I'm sick and need to hit the ground running tomorrow.

He reminded me that they proved that wasn't possible on Mythbusters last night.

I'm not sure if that makes me feel any better.

Guess I could always try to crash and burn. At least then I know I could be successful.

;-)

Seven Quick Takes Friday

2008-11-28T14:30:00.000-08:00

Stop by Jen's for more 7 Quick Takes!

*I*
We decided that instead of going to my MIL's like we had originally planned, we would stay home, because, well, we weren't actually *invited* and it turns out she had other plans, LOL. Plan B was to invite my parents over. We decided to get sick instead. Result was an extremely pleasant and relaxing Thanksgiving with just family. We weren't THAT sick, just contagious enough to keep everyone away.

*II*
I'm still sick so my family went to my BILs without me and the baby. Result? I get to stay home and attack my oldest's room while she is gone (*insert evil laugh*).

*III*
Oldest's room was SCARY. I found at least 15 socks, some with matches, about 50 hangers she wasn't using (we have a family closet so all she keeps in her own closet are a few coats), candy wrappers, tons of paper scraps, any number of odds and ends really owned by other family members... it looks much better now. The room is 8x10 so it quickly looks like a bomb hit it. I wish I had time to do the other girls' room because that is scary times three (the three being Skye, Jane, and Batty).

*IV*
The only reason I have time to type this is Jeffrey fell asleep while nursing and if I move he'll wake up.

*V*
Does anyone know where I can get boys pajamas that look like a football jersey - that aren't a REAL football jersey because those are too much $$$ ? I've looked everywhere. I thought pajamas was going to be an easy gift!

*VI*
Something or other brought dh and I onto Facebook the other day. Found a ton of people I had forgotten about, people I went to school with. They all look so different, so OLD. I had Facebook nightmares last night, like being back in high school trying to get into a top college, and the only math class they would let me take was by this old druggie teacher from his book How to Count to Ten Using Rocks and Pebbles. I blame it on the rich turkey dinner.

*VII*
Taking all the books off of one bookshelf yesterday (to paint, which we never got around to) made me realize I have too many books. I really need to read them and decide whether they are good enough to stay. But I keep getting more books out of the library - usually in some vain attempt to make sense of my life like All You Ever Need to Know to Teach Your Dyslexic Daughter and Cooking With Only Exotic Non-Allergenic and Impossible to Find Ingredients - and I never get to the books I own. Meanwhile my wish list books on PaperbackSwap continue to roll in and I'm drowning in books. Although like I said last week, if I've gotta go some way...

In this house, I wouldn't be surprised...

2008-11-24T04:43:00.000-08:00

While discussing our Thankfulness Tree with Batty:

Me: Skye made the trunk after you went to bed (*pointing*) and later we'll put leaves on it. Each leaf will say what we are thankful for.

Batty: *gasp* They are talking leaves????

:-)

7 Quick Takes Friday

2008-11-21T05:44:00.000-08:00

~1~

I for one am very grateful that Jen kept the "7" in "7 Quick Takes Friday." I do not have one extra iota of emotional energy to waste on such things (I'm too busy trying to decide what type of ~~sugary cereal~~ breakfast to feed the kids in the morning) and am thankful to not have to wrangle with the decision of how much to write every Friday.

~2~

My experiment with gratefully accepting suffering (does anyone else see the paradox between this "take" and the first one? I'm lame.) is ~~pure torture~~ coming along well. As I expected, the 2nd full day of trying it was filled with one test after another. I'm trying to figure out whether it's OK to be emotional about this stuff - as a hormotional woman I'm prone to get overwhelmed and cry - is that NOT accepting things? Or is that simply my sensitive nature showing itself? In other words, is it wrong and UNthankful to be overwhelmed by people yelling at you, children never obeying (my 3yo is unREAL), noise, pain, or is it just human? Can I be saying "Thank you Lord!" as tears stream down my face from the stress of it all?

For example, like right now? As I'm trying to mess with this html that won't "uncenter" everything and keep the baby from chewing the computer cord or pull out every tissue in the box and the 3yo just called to be wiped and I had to scream to her to be heard over exhaust fan and I had just bit my tongue on my breakfast? It's TOO MUCH. Yet it's most of my waking moments.

~3~

I think it is the cutest thing how my 13 month old tries to pick up his own foot with one hand and shove it into his shoe in the other hand.

~4~

Speaking of Mr. Cutie Pie, he is waking up *soaked* every morning. I went up a size in diapers to see if that would help, and it hasn't. He does nurse a lot at night still, which I'm sure is part of the problem. If I change him in the middle of the night, however, he is sure to wake up fully and then I'm up for a few hours just for the sake of clean pajamas. No thank you. Is this a boy thing? Are there better more absorbant diapers? (we use Luvs in general). I have cloth but I thought they would be even less absorbant for a super duper night wetter.

~5~

Dh is planning on taking a few extra days off next week to paint our living/dining room. It shouldn't be too bad except for one area in our stairwell with a high ceiling. Hopefully I'll remember some before and after pictures. It's a ~~putrid~~ pale yellow now and we're going for a slightly darker, neutral tan/brown. Then I can finally buy new curtains to replace the ugly ones I made in the living area and the ones that never matched in the dining room. Then I can replace the ~~playground equiptment~~ rocker recliner I gave away a few weeks ago. (This is why I don't feel so noble that I want nothing for Christmas. I am able to buy things for the house all year round when "necessary.")

~6~

Speaking of home decor. It's getting increasingly difficult for me to feel good about housecleaning. I scrub and scrub and things don't look any better. Why bother? I mean, there is only so clean 40 year old bathroom floor grout can get, ya know? And we have one (really two) of those floors where there are a thousand little tile squares/rectangles, so there's a lot of ~~pee stained horribleness~~ grout. :-P

~7~

Let's see...something pleasant.
Dh let me have an hour or two to hide out last night and get our Christmas card done. I got as far as coming up with the layout/colors and he did all the tweaking to make it look good visually (i.e. pictures the same size, lined up, etc), which is hard with our cheapo scrapbooking software. We are a perfect couple. :)

(here's a 7.5 - it just started snowing!! The kids all cheered and ran outside.)

For more Seven Quick Takes, hightail it over to Jen's.

Weekbook: Pre-Thanksgiving

2008-11-20T13:57:00.000-08:00

Make that: Week-and-a-half-book.

In the memory banks:
Celebrating my now 9yo's birthday, going out on a date, eating Chinese food, having a no-good-very-bad day (where breaking a favorite bowl was one of the *nicer* things that happened)

In the fridge:
At least a quart of pureed ~~front stoop decorations~~ pumpkin and a pint or two of pumpkin butter. The last (BOO HOO!) of the lettuce from the garden.

In the craft pile:
I'm still making the gift I can't discuss for ~~the nosy blog reader~~ my wonderful dh. ;-) And also a pair of mittens for Jeffrey. I've never knitted on double pointed needles before, and I feel like I'm wrestling a porcupine most of the time. They are coming out well, considering my lack of experience and talent. :) Let me rephrase that. They *were* coming out well, and now I can't find my 4th double pointed needle. :-P

In thanksgiving:
I'm extremely thankful that the doctor thinks some worrisome symptoms of dh's are something simple. Time will tell...

In the planning stages:
I'm contemplating taking all of Advent off from normal schooling (except math) to focus on art and music. I think the Advent/Christmas season lends itself well to that. I think we (read: me) are burning out a bit (ummmm, how can one burn out when one doesn't even DO much? But still...) and I'm looking foward to being able to do this, to recharge.

In school:
Just finished Across Five Aprils
Copywork is The Gettysburg Address
I think we are winding up the Civil War study. I think that's a good thing. I'm so done.
We're a bit behind in math. I'm trying not to panic. ("A bit" tends to landslide around here)
Writing lots of thank-you notes and pen pal letters (emails)

In an insane moment:
I agreed to sew another choir robe for the church sewing guild. Those sewing guild meetings are funny. It's three 80 year olds, eight 70 year olds, maybe four 60 year olds, and me and my five kids. On a good day I love being the baby of the group. On a bad day I can't figure out why these people can't find time to sew, leaving it to those of us who have to carve it out of our precious non-existant sleep time.

In another life:
I might think my dd's new birthday present is cute. Right now, it's on my last nerve

In a calm moment:

A calm moment in Batty's life, from several years ago. I think it was her last.

OK, so I've had nicer thoughts running through my head...

2008-11-20T08:31:00.000-08:00

I have several fears regarding death.

I'm terrified of drowning, of driving off a bridge, or falling from anything high. Heck, I'm not a big fan of any kind of pain.

So I chuckle each week as I lovingly strap my full book cart into the front passenger seat of my van after our library trips. It's really the only place it fits in the car, and I put the seat belt over it to keep it from becoming a projectile in a crash.

But seriously, if God in his Goodness has ordained that I die in a car crash, what BETTER way to go than to be crushed by a huge pile of books!

It was her love of books that did her in, Officer...

I found it!

2008-11-17T14:15:00.000-08:00

The devotion I mentioned in my previous post is on EWTN's video and audio on demand. It's under Benediction, click on either video or audio according to your preference. I don't know how long it will be there, it may only last a day because it was different yesterday. Here's the quote I was talking about, I believe the priest talking is Fr. Dominic Mary:

Love is purified, increased, and perfected by suffering. Which means not only bodily pain but crosses of all kinds. God allows everyone all the sufferings they need on earth to cleanse, strengthen and perfect their love. But most people waste their sufferings. They do not want them. They complain about them. They try to escape them in every manner possible and even by committing sin they try to escape their sufferings. Because of this attitude the fires of their suffering are unable to burn away the selfishness from their love. So that it would be perfect. So they must go to purgatory, where they will have to suffer much more intensely than they would have if they had accepted the sufferings of earth. Their love is purified in purgatory but it does not grow. And that's an imporant point: we are going to suffer worse in purgatory than any suffering that is allowed us here on this earth, and we can't grow in love through it. The love is just perfected but we can't grow. The charity whith which we die s the charity that we'll have for all eternity, but if we accept the sufferings of this life, the love and charity can grow and we'll have a higher place in heaven. But for many, including myself, our faith is weak, and so we don't take advantage of what we have ... In purgatory God's cleansing fires burn away the souls selfishness until its love becomes perfect and it is ready to fly to heaven. It's sufferings only purify love but don't increase it. And so for all of us we need to take advantage of all the things God allows us to suffer with in this life.

I've been thinking on this all day. I had asked God how to increase in love when you don't feel it coming from anywhere - like how can you give what you don't have? But this seems to answer that question. Love will grow when the selfishness is burned away by suffering -- suffering accepted not fought off at every turn (guiltily raising hand).

Today I tried to just accept what happened, all the little daily mortifications of a mom of many: lack of sleep, interruptions, sick husbands, children getting frustrated with their work, rosaries being broken by babies that don't know their own strength, babies erasing what I took a half hour to transcribe... with every one I tried to say a heartfelt "Thanks Lord! Now my heaven will be even MORE wonderful!" I know that sounds silly, but it did help. I'm left wondering if that isn't selfishness in itself: accepting what's going on because it will ultimately benefit ME, instead of accepting it simply because God loves me and it's from Him. One day at at time, I guess.

I still grumbled quite a bit internally today, but I was outwardly much more calm as all the buttons I had were pushed. I'm hoping the "inwardly" part of me will come along in time, as my selfishness is burned away.

Burn, baby, burn.

Wow. Wow. Just wow.

2008-11-16T15:34:00.000-08:00

Have you ever heard something that just struck you and changed the way you live your life?

I was just watching EWTN and a priest was talking on suffering. It was something I had never heard before, and it's on a topic I have really needed to understand lately.

He said that we are allowed to suffer on earth to perfect our love. That if we just surrender to the suffering - if we stop complaining about it, fighting against it, just ACCEPT it (an aside: Oh my word I am PATHETIC. I just *yelled* at my daughter while writing this because she was making me suffer by not listening to me. PaTHETic). Anyway, he was saying that if we accept the suffering, our love will grow and be purified. That if we DON'T accept the suffering, we will need to be perfected in purgatory. AND, that once we die, we can not GAIN more love, meaning whatever amount of charity is in you at your death is all you get -- your "place" in heaven can't change. But if you grow in love *during* your time on earth, your "place" in heaven, your amount of eternal bliss so to speak, will be higher than if you just complained your way through life.

Oh that was a poor summary of what he said. I wish I could find it in print! I need to memorize and live it. It was on EWTN's 6PM Eastern time Benediction and Devotions tonight.

Seven Quick Updates

2008-11-16T15:00:00.000-08:00

...to the Seven Quick Takes.

1. Guess I really was able to think of 7. :)

2. It was fabulous. I can't wait to do it again.

3. I got her this.

4. Dh cut my hair after reading my blog. It looks SO much better.

5. He actually said "Dad" today. I think it was a fluke. ;-)

6. We can't wait to get together with friends!

7. Since dh reads this blog (I sort of forgot that when I wrote the 7 Quick Takes) I may really NOT get anything for Christmas! :) Convincing my parents will be a whole 'nother (probably fruitless) issue.

Seven Quick Takes

2008-11-14T15:33:00.000-08:00

Jen at Conversion Diary is sharing her 7 Quick Takes meme, a chance to share 7 things you're thinking of without having to write a long post about each one. Right up my alley! ;-)

~1~

I was away from the computer for much of today and composed at least 5 "quick takes" in my head. Of course, now that I'm sitting here, I can not think of one single thing.

~2~

I'm going on a date tomorrow. A DATE. A d-a-t-e DATE! We are even going with another couple. In 14.5 years of marriage, I don't think we have ever done that! Since having kids, getting both families to have babysitting (without using each other as the sitters!) has been next to impossible. The stars are aligning just right, apparently, and tomorrow dh and I get to go have Chinese food and talk to 2 other adults for TWO HOURS. You bet your sparkly fairy wings I'll be trying to remember every single minute of it. It will probably have to last me another 14 years until that "stars aligning thing" happens again.

~3~

That reminds me, I need to buy the other mom a present. We are going out to celebrate her birthday, which is Sunday. I don't know what to get her. She's a mom of 7, fashionable while still being modest, likes handbags (but everyone knows that so she gets a lot). Hmmmm... I am a horrible gift getter.

~4~

I am in desperate need of a haircut. Not only am I trying to grow out my bangs, but I've got that whole postpartum fallout/regrowth thing going on, so the hair along my hairline is a totally different (and weird) length than everything else. These are things no one tells you when you are getting married and signing up for the whole "I agree to have children" thing. It's ugly. The hair I mean, LOL.

~5~

Jeffrey says one word. Gah. He says it for everything, with different inflections. Gah. Gah? Gah gah (that's "daddy"). At least he has several signs so I'm not left going ???? all the time. Just most of the time.

~6~

My oldest daughter has never really had a special girl friend her own age. There are boys her age, and girls who are younger. I know, as homeschoolers, that it shouldn't really matter - the kids all play together anyway. But as she matures, she has been asking for a special friend who would understand what she is going through, growing up - someone she can really relate to. So we began praying. Today a mom at their homeschool fitness class said that her daughter has become friends with Rose and wants to get together again soon now that the class is over for a few months. Yes! Thank you God for answered prayers, for a friend for a dear girl. What is even more wonderful is that the mom and the rest of the kids are also great, so it is a win all around. (Hi Kathy :) )

~7~

I've decided I want nothing for Christmas except for my family to give to the poor the money they would have spent on me. I can't think of one thing I *need*. I've said the same other years, and then find any number of things we could use to put on my list. This year is different (money going towards some needed house renovations nonwithstanding). I would like nothing better than to open as stack of envelopes that said, "I gave $10 anonymously to Heifer.org for you" or any number of other worthy charities. According to this video (I hope the link works) people spend $450 BILLION on Christmas. Sick. I'm all for giving gifts, but when people in the world are dying for lack of fresh drinking water, it kind of makes one's new iPod shuffle a little nauseating.

Goodness, that was seven. On that happy note, I hope everyone has a nice weekend! (#8 Would be "Do you know I'm very sarcastic in real life?)

Thanks Jen for sharing your fun meme!

Haiku Friday

2008-11-14T06:22:00.000-08:00

They scrub, dust, vacuum
Should have thought of this sooner
Earning their screen time

My house has never looked cleaner. I'm solving two problems at once: the one where I'm ~~too lazy to do housework~~ busy homeschooling and taking care of the littles and so can't get to everything, and the constant ~~plucking at my last nerve~~ ~~driving me insane~~ requests for computer and TV time. They are now required to do work to earn that time. Not their normal chores, but things I normally do that I'm not getting to -- an extra vacuum after a particularly messy meal, cleaning the bathroom sink/counter, washing the kitchen floor.

I'm getting a clean house and they're learning how to do housework and how to work towards something they really want. They still pester me constantly, but at least it's now, ~~"How can I serve you, Your Highness"~~ "What can I clean to earn computer time?" instead of the constant, "Can I watch TV? Can I play on the computer? Can I? Can I? Huh?"

Yesss.

For more Haiku Friday, visit A Mommy Story!

Sometimes I need to be hit upside the head more than once about stuff

2008-11-12T08:45:00.000-08:00

If I have obedient children but have not love, it is nothing.
God does not want their obedience MORE than my patience and kindness. If all I can manage is the patience and kindness, the obedience will have to wait.

If I have a clean kitchen, decluttered basement, shelves with nothing out of place, but have not love, it is worth nothing.
The cleanliness, generosity in giving things away, and orderliness are secondary to the love in which I made that happen. If I neglected to give time to a needy child, scowled at a messy preschooler, or rolled my eyes about a poorly done chore, I sullied the end product. It no longer matters at the cost of my lack of love.

If I have workbook pages done, a science experiment accomplished, or that last chapter of historical fiction read, but have not love; I was just a clanging cymbal.
The work we accomplish in school will amount to nothing in heavenly terms if it was not accomplished with love on my part... on all our parts...

I get all worked up trying to spin my plates, keep all the balls in the air ... but in the end, when I stand before God and go over my life, none of it will matter if there was not love in it.

Love is never...
envious
boastful
proud
rude
self-seeking
easily angered
recording wrongs

Love always...
protects
trusts
hopes
perseveres
delights in the truth

Wordless Wednesday: Harold and the Purple Crayon

2008-11-12T06:49:00.001-08:00

Weekbook: First week of November

2008-11-09T11:46:00.000-08:00

I know I keep saying this, but time seems to be flying. I can't believe it's November already and 2008 is starting to turn the corner towards 2009. 200NINE! Wow. It seems like just yesterday I was 15 and thinking the year 2000, and turning 31, were a lifetime away.

On the nightstand: Getting Things Done, College Prep Homeschooling

On the couch: We're still reading Across Five Aprils. Almost done though!

On the needles: I can't say. It's a gift for someone who occasionally reads this blog, LOL. Let's just say it's warm and chocolatey colored.

On the deck: This surprise visitor:

On the table:

Sloppy Franks (sloppy Joe type meat - we used browned ground beef mixed with a can of Hormel turkey with beans chili, and put it into hot dog buns), with garden salad (this is real salad from our real garden! What a treat.) and steamed veggies

French Bread Surprise

Crock pot chicken (it was legs/thighs this week) with salad

Soup made from the broth of the chicken bones, French bread, garden salad

Premade Tyson breast tenders, garden salad, veggies, baked beans, and cut up apples

Tonight - not sure yet! We need to shop so I'm sort of "shelf shopping" for dinners

On my mind: Oh, everything. I'm a woman, after all, LOL.

On tap for next week: God willing, a trip to a museum and dinner with a friend. Dinner out one night with another couple. (That's almost like a date. Can you believe it??) Orthodontist visit. Skye's birthday! My baby's turning nine.

Speaking of Jeffrey (was I? Well, he's always on my mind) he's up from his nap, and my computer is giving me fits, so this will be an abbreviated weekbook entry! :)

Haiku Friday

2008-11-07T01:26:00.000-08:00

hey feverish child
please learn the difference between
tissues and my shirt

Poor Jeffrey has a cold and is probably reacting to his latest shots at the same time. Poor Mommy has not slept in two nights. Here's hoping we're over the worst of it!

For more Haiku Friday, visit A Mommy Story!