Life in the Button Factory

Some Unwelcome Excitement and an Epiphany

2011-09-09T14:39:00.001-04:00

You may have heard that Texas is in need of rain. Oh, that doesn't even touch it. We're basically 261,797.12 square miles of tinder. While we have been relatively far out of the way of the wildfires, the level of devastation in Bastrop has weighed heavily on everyone.

So you can imagine how my heart came up in my throat when I pulled out of our garage and saw this:

Since we were already in the car and headed out, it seemed best to keep going with that momentum. So off we went to get a new football helmet. Fiddling while Rome burned, and all that. Within a mile of the house, about 15 fire trucks raced past us. My blood pressure jumped up a few more points and I decided there was no reason for me to be freaking out all by myself when I have a perfectly good husband--with firefighting experience, no less--who should definitely be let in on this.

His advice was to go on and get the helmet, then go ahead and go to football practice. Because, you know, this is Texas, and you don't miss football practice because of the mere THREAT of disaster. And thank goodness for smart phones, so that I could keep up with developments via Facebook. One of Katie's classmate's grandmothers lives in the neighborhood next to us, so through the miracle of social networking, I was able to see that they were being evacuated. (If you're tracking my blood pressure through all this, add three more points here.)

And then, as I was waiting in the Whataburger drive-thru, I thought about all my stuff...the things that could be literally going up in smoke while I ordered us dinner-by-number. My antiques, my books, my Christmas decorations, my scrapbooks. I expected to feel another surge in my blood pressure. I felt, strangely, nothing. Will & Katie were in the van with me, as was Krypto the Superdog. I would be sad to lose the stuff--I'm just sentimental like that--but I knew in a really profound way that as long as what was in the van was okay, everything was okay.

And that, my friends, was a holy moment.

Daybook September 2, 2011

2011-09-02T14:35:00.000-04:00

For today, Friday, September 2, 2011

Outside my window... it's hot. It's dry. Enough said about that.

I am hearing... Will and Katie are working on their math assignments right now, so I only hear the whir of the fan and the scratch of pencils on paper.

I am thinking... that my phone has gone AWOL (with a dead battery, of course) and I'm going to be in a world of hurt if I don't find it quick.

I am thankful for... AIR CONDITIONING!!

I am wearing... a brown skirt and white tank top

From the learning rooms.... School is back in full-swing, and it is going to be a great year! We are studying Rome to the Reformation in history. Will loves it; Katie hasn't quite decided yet. I can really tell that our work over the summer paid off--their basic skills are much stronger this year and their confidence is nice and high,

I am creating.... I haven't scrapbooked in weeks. :( I've still been scouring Pinterest and finding all kinds of creative ideas. Actually, I've tried a number of the ideas with varying success. (Let's just say the tie-dye swirled manicure where you float polish in water and dip your nails in was an unmitigated fiasco.) I hope that I'll have time this weekend to download first-day-of-school pictures from my camera and maybe do something scrappy with them.

From the kitchen... It's Friday, so we're making pizza. Everybody has their own highly-customized version. Right now I like pepperoni, artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers and garlic. Mmmmm!

Around the house... Things are running fairly smoothly, given that we're in the midst of back-to-school chaos. I'm keeping up the day-to-day stuff surprisingly well, but no guesses on when I'll have the time/inclination to tackle the backlog of clutter and projects.

Looking ahead this week: Football starts!! Will is on the same team with his best bud so it's going to be fantastic! Katie is also playing a sport through the Y this year--volleyball. We don't know yet who is on her team but she is plenty excited to get started.

A picture to share:

No, we don't have a new kitty, but after 7 years, I'm starting to feel ready. Katie saw me looking at kitty profiles on the Humane Society website and saw one she loved. "Look how cute! Get that one, he's winking at the camera!!" I didn't have the heart to tell her that he only had one eye. Is it bad that I laughed?

my latest scrapbook page

2011-07-26T09:28:00.003-04:00

(I'm terribly disappointed that I can't make this look better online, but every single bit of technology in my house is conspiring against me at the moment.)

I've been on a West Wing kick the last couple of weeks. (I do this from time to time, obsess over a TV show and watch the whole series from beginning to end. Thank goodness for Netflix.) In one of the episodes I recently watched, somebody said something in the midst of a volley of witty banter and it caused me to remember a moment from my childhood. It was more of a micro-moment--definitely not one of the moments we retell and retell. ("I didn't fall, I was tripped!" and "The lady gave me a free hamburger for being able to write my name," would be examples of stories that get told ad nauseam.) Even though I would bet all the guacamole in Texas that I am the only one who remembers this little exchange, I remember it with perfect clarity. It makes me smile, and anything that makes me smile is great scrapbooking fodder.

Daybook for July 14, 2011

2011-07-14T14:27:00.000-04:00

For today, Thursday, July 14, 2011

Outside my window... From inside the house, it looks gorgeous. The sky is blue and there are just a few puffy white clouds. After quickly checking a weather stats, I'm surprised to report that it's only 91 degrees, with 39% humidity,

I am hearing... the hum of the air conditioner and the dog sucking her teeth. My life is SO glamorous.

I am thinking... about what to make for lunch.

I am thankful for...children who, although they are growing up much too fast, have reached the age where they'll let me sleep in.

I am wearing... a black knit skirt and purple top.

From the learning rooms... even though we're on our summer break, we're working consistently to maintain and strengthen fundamental skills. One thing that has been both fun and beneficial is a little CD called Sequencing In A Flash. It helps improve memory and concentration by having you reproduce random strings of numbers, in both visual and auditory modes.
I am creating...new routines around the house. Hopefully this will soon translate into some free time to scrapbook and cook!

Pondering these words... "
A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner, so if one's life is cold and bare he can blame none but himself." --Louis L'amour

From the kitchen... Last night we spontaneously had friends over for dinner, and it was so much fun. Tonight it's just going to be the four of us and some chicken. I need to flesh that plan out a bit, obviously. Some fresh corn sounds really good, but a trip to the store sounds really not good.
Looking ahead this week: We're meeting my niece and nephew at a Children's Museum about halfway between our place and theirs. Should be lots of fun! Scott also has the afternoon cleared on Sunday to watch the soccer game.

Saw this cake on Pinterest and made it for Will's birthday. It was cute and it was yummy, but y'all!!! Too much sugar!!

How to spend a summer day

2011-07-12T09:39:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was a gloriously wonderful day. The smidgen of rain we got yesterday brought temperatures down to the low 80s. (We were back up to 100 by dinner time, but those few hours were delightful!) After completing some chores around the house, we had breakfast with Maria and JB at Las Palapas. Chips and salsa! For breakfast! And the day only got better from there!

After breakfast, we headed off on our big adventure. We drove out to Bandera, Texas--a charming little town if ever there was one--and spent the day at the waterpark of the Flying L Ranch. What a blast! It was a small waterpark, as waterparks go, but it wasn't crowded and the water was cool and plentiful. What more can you ask for, really?

Our kids played together for a while, then started branching out and making friends. The boys joined a group of kids building a fort out of deck chairs under the water-dumping bucket, then later teamed up with a couple of guys who had water guns. Meanwhile, Katie met a 6 1/2-year-old Real Mermaid named Carson. There was, as I'm sure you can imagine, much discussion about that little nugget. Maria finally solved several problems in logic by pointing out the reason that we couldn't see Carson's mermaid tail was that mermaid transformations require salt water, not waterpark water. Maria has an enviable gift for connecting with children.

Maria and I spent most of our day enjoying the lazy river. We even walked a couple of laps to burn off our snow-cones, nachos and chicken salad sandwiches. (I can't speak for Maria, but the walking seemed to only make me hungrier.) Toward the end of the day, we grabbed tubes and just floated around and around and around. It was bliss.

Oh and PS, we all got sunburned beyond recognition, even though I repeatedly and diligently applied sunscreen. Will and Katie achieved a shade I like to call "medium-well" whereas I am sporting a lovely look that Scott is calling "La Langosta."

It's like a dream come true!

2011-07-07T10:03:00.000-04:00

I have, according to my husband, "too many books." Scott and I are very much alike in very many ways, but as the saying goes, if two people are exactly alike, one of them is unnecessary. This would be one of the areas that keeps him from being unnecessary. I mean, is that a crazy idea or what--too many books?? (Just typing that, I was a little surprised that spell-check didn't squiggly-underline "too many books" because it just does not compute.)

Fortunately for me, Scott stopped fighting that battle a couple of moves ago. He gets that my books make me happy, and he gets that getting between me and my books makes HIM unhappy. So when I saw this idea on Pinterest, I just about swooned with delight. Then I spent about a week thinking about nothing else. Finally I decided it was worth mentioning to Scott.

We converted the closet in the office/schoolroom into a library! Cutest thing ever, right??

Originally I had envisioned actually building shelves in the closet, which would have made the whole project way more complicated. (And more expensive, I learned after a fact-finding trip to Lowe's.) We happened to be near an IKEA a couple of weeks ago and found these bookcases, which were the perfect height and width for the closet. (Bonus: there are few things my son loves more than assembling something from IKEA.)

After Will & Scott got it the bookcases assembled, they took out the plastic closet rod and shelf, slid the bookcases into place and stood back to admire the finished project. Scott said it looked so good that he wanted to just leave the closet doors open all the time now. Then he looked at the paned doors leading into the office and I could see the wheels turning in his mind. I just stood quietly, holding my breath, because he was on his way to deciding on his own to do what I secretly wanted. (Don't you love when that happens?) In no time at all, he had switched the doors and started congratulating himself on his brilliant idea. Love. That. Man.

The books are divided into broad categories that fit most of the books we have or are likely to buy (Children's, Faith, Homeschool, Fiction, Reference, Writing/Creativity, etc.). I toyed with the idea of the Dewey Decimal system, and then I remembered that nobody in this house, including me, would make any effort at all to maintain a system like that. Obviously, I have a long way to go before I'm completely moved into it. Right now I'm just enjoying sitting at my desk, looking into my library.

I'm saving up for one of these and then I don't think I'll be able to stand the perfection.

A scrapbook page & thoughts on antiques

2011-06-11T21:08:00.000-04:00

I've had this page in my head for a good while, but it took its sweet time coming into being! I'm okay with that, though, because it came out just how I pictured it. These are a few of the antiques I've collected in the last six or seven years. I am ridiculously sentimental (which, at least in my case, leads to pack rat tendencies), and I just cannot seem to resist things that evoke memories for me.

Seems like to me, there are three kinds of antiques: pretty antiques, technological antiques and sentimental antiques. Of course, pretty antiques can also be sentimental, as can technological antiques. Let's look at some examples, shall we?

Pretty Antiques. This is my mom's niche. When we go antiquing together, we never have to worry about fighting over a find, because she zeroes in on the pretties. I definitely appreciate the pretties, but they're not what gets my heart racing.

Now, technological antiques...ooooh, that's what makes my heart sing. Old phones, old cameras, old typewriters...Sign. Me. UP.

I actually wanted to get a fan like this for my daughter's room. My husband took one look at all the places she could easily stick her finger and crushed my dream.

My collection of cameras sits on the shelf above my scrapbooking table. I can't even glance at it without smiling.

Finally, sentimental antiques. These are the ones that make kindred spirits squeal, "Ohhh! I REMEMBER those!" and normal people ask, "Is that a....????"

Like this thing:

The Wham-O Magic Window. My grandmother had one--just like this one, in fact--and if I ever come across one, I'm snapping it up. Back in the day, everybody seemed to have one, but now they are scarce as hens' teeth. Who would have thought that I would obsess over 1970s kitsch?

Or this, the glorious Donut Phone (also available with rotary dial):

And what I would give to casually pull this little number out of my purse to refresh my lipgloss after dinner with the girls:

My childhood frenemy had one from her mom's Avon lady and I was PEA GREEN over it. She wouldn't even let me touch it. To this very day, I harbor a little ill will. I can't help it; I think it says something about a person if she won't share such fabulously-packaged cosmetics.

Whoops, I just thought of a fourth category: antique books! Love 'em, love 'em, love 'em! Besides my collection of "little orange biographies" (aka the Childhood of Famous Americans series) pictured on my scrapbook page, I've recently found a couple of children's books that I spent years searching for.

Did I leave anything out? Strange, I have an urge to do a little antiquing now. :)

A Daybook for May 11, 2011

2011-05-11T14:56:00.000-04:00

For today, Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Outside my window... we are in such desperate need of rain! I thought we were going to get some yesterday, but it was only a few drops. We need buckets and buckets and buckets.

I am hearing... a UPS truck coming down our street, a sound that always makes me feel momentarily excited, until I remember that I'm not expecting anything.

I am thinking... of a couple of darling items on Etsy that could be winging their way to me if I would just click "buy." Should I do it?? Okay, if you insist!

I am thankful for... children who play nicely together (most of the time. Or even some of the time.) and a smart dog who knows when I'm in the mood to cuddle and when I'm not.
I am wearing...yoga pants and my Strawberry Reunion 2009 T-shirt. No socks, no shoes, no jewelry. And, yet, for some reason, eyeliner, which is normally only for going out. Now I'm wondering where I thought I might be going today; do I have an appointment or errand that I've completely forgotten??
From the learning rooms...school is winding down and it's kind of sad. This has been a wonderful year. Will has a couple of projects to wrap up (a paper on the culture of Australia, an Oceania art project) and Katie will be finishing up her study of the states.
I am creating.... a grocery list. Exciting, no? After that, I have a couple of thank you cards to make & send and then I need to upload and order some photos to scrapbook.
Pondering these words...
“Some stories don’t have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what’s going to happen next. Delicious ambiguity…” Gilda Radner (1946-1989)

From the kitchen... I have a crockpot-full of pinto beans going for dinner. There's only one egg in the house--will it be used for cornbread or apple cake?
Around the house... We used to have a couch in the living room; now we have Mount Laundry. Really must conquer that today.
Looking ahead this week: Tomorrow is pajama day at school. If I'm helping out during lunch, should I wear pajamas, too? The thought of horrifying my children is just too delicious to pass up. The question then becomes do I have anything ratty enough to embarrass them but not so ratty that it will embarrass me??

This is a picture from a recent field trip to the Pioneer Museum in Fredericksburg. (I linked specifically to the one-room schoolhouse, not the main site; feel free to explore!) I thought all of it was really neat; but of course, the one-room schoolhouse really resonated with me.

Something that makes me inexplicably happy

2011-04-11T18:16:00.000-04:00

I've always thought that making homemade jam sounded like just the most charming idea. It makes me think of aprons and clotheslines and breezes through open windows. Pretty wholesome, right? The only thing stopping me was that canning has a language all its own. Every recipe I found contained the phrase "process in water bath." It seemed pretty important, and I didn't know what it meant. That pretty much ended my jam-making aspirations. Until several years ago, that is, when my sister-in-law taught me how to make homemade jam. I will never be able to repay her, but occasionally I ship a jar or two of my jam to her oldest son. He's partial to the apple pie jam. ;)

Our school is having a silent auction and I raided my jam pantry to put together this little sampler. I don't know if it will raise much, but I do know my husband and my father will bid on it! (Especially since my husband heard that we're now down to only one jar of apple pie jam--which is his favorite!) The other three flavors are blackberry (my personal favorite!), strawberry-banana and apricot.

I made the little tote out of scrapbook cardstock over the weekend. (This is where 1950s jam-making Wendy collides with 2011's computer-loving Wendy.) I am so pleased with myself over this. I used clip art to make a label for the top of each jar. There's also a fruit-themed Bible verse on each side, with--get this!--the same clip art layered under the verse. Oh, I'm a big computer deal now, huh?? (I think it took me longer to make the packaging than it took me to make the jam!!)

I know you can't read the verses in these pictures, so let me put them here, too:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23

I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5

You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. Matthew 7:16,17

And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.

Colossians 1:10

I'm just curious--which of those four jams would be your favorite?

8 Things To Know About Will

2011-02-25T16:26:00.002-05:00

8 Things To Know About Will, originally uploaded by Wendy.A.

The challenge was to scrap a list, and this was a list of things I had written a couple of years ago when Will turned 8.

I'm not at all sure how I feel about this layout. Even blaming some of it on the horrible iPhone picture of it, I have to admit I'm not feeling great love for this one. I got the idea to use a bunch of tags from something I saw in Elsie Flannigan's book, 52 Scrapbooking Challenges. Her style is super-doodly (that was even fun to type. Now say it out loud: super-doodly!) and random. On the scrapbook style spectrum, I fall much closer to the Cathy Zielske (Clean and Simple Scrapbooking and Clean and Simple Scrapbooking The Sequel) end than the Elsie Flannigan end.

So, yeah, overall, having 8 different snippets of the list sneezed all over the layout kind of stresses me out. Lesson learned. But isn't the patterned paper adorable??

Katie at 5

2011-02-22T00:54:00.001-05:00

Katie at 5, originally uploaded by Wendy.A.

Another layout that's been on my "to scrap" list for a while. (Katie is now 8!!) Tomorrow I will probably go back and outline the cut-out letters; I'm feeling like they need to be punched up a little.

Doing a page where the subject matter is a few years old reminded me how important my record-keeping is. I have a sketch-book where I record important dates, details of events, page ideas, etc. If I hadn't made a list of some of the things that defined Katie at that moment in time, I am sure they would have been lost forever.

And for the record, chocolate ice cream is still her favorite breakfast.

Wild Thing

2011-02-17T17:31:00.001-05:00

Wild Thing, originally uploaded by Wendy.A.

LOAD day 17! I didn't follow the prompt today, although I may revisit it later. These are pictures of our school field trip to the zoo. It's not one of those earth-shattering, must-remember-this events; it's just a handful of pictures of a day I enjoyed with my kids. Because of that, putting this page together was completely stress-free. I literally doodled whatever crossed my mind...very relaxing!!

Riverwalk

2011-02-17T00:40:00.001-05:00

Riverwalk, originally uploaded by Wendy.A.

Today's LOAD challenge was to "scraplift" the posted layout. This is pretty much an exact replica of the original layout; the only difference is that mine is 12x12 instead of 8.5x11. I wanted to get really creative and scraplift some less-than-obvious aspect, like the color scheme or subject matter of the original. Unfortunately, it was 8:00 pm before I finished up the last of the kids' school, so I didn't really have the luxury of contemplating artistic subtleties. (Is that spelled wrong? I am way too tired to check.)

I really like this page. It captures some really good memories of Grandpa's visit, and the colors make me happy.

Sixteen days of LOAD down; only 12 to go!!

Wendy

2011-02-14T21:58:00.001-05:00

Wendy, originally uploaded by Wendy.A.

The latest of my LOAD layouts. :) I will probably go back and add more doodling around the edges of the page. I love the way great doodling looks, but I have never been able to pull it off. You wouldn't think it's possible to doodle wrong, but it is. Believe me, it is. It's very similar to the way good old '80s hair--specifically the bangs--was supposed to be "mussed" just so.

I am surprised--and so thrilled--to have completed the first two weeks of LOAD. It's about to get a lot harder for me to keep it up, as my kids' school break is now over and I will have to squeeze scrapbooking into a challenging school schedule. Wish me luck!!

First Pro Football Game

2011-02-10T22:27:00.002-05:00

First Pro Football Game, originally uploaded by Wendy.A.

Have I mentioned that I'm scrapbooking a lot this month?? :) Somehow I missed uploading this page from last weekend. Katie saw this one and said she thought I had a shot at winning this scrapbook contest! That's pretty amazing, considering that the page isn't about her.

Thanksgiving

2011-02-09T14:42:00.002-05:00

Thanksgiving, originally uploaded by Wendy.A. (click to see full image)

Last night I attempted some digital scrapbooking. This morning I went back to traditional paper and was much, much happier with both the process and the results. One thing I am doing, though, is resizing and masking my photos on the computer and then printing them out at home. The good thing about doing that is that I can crop the pictures *and* make them the size I want. When I order photos, I can't do that as easily. (Well, I could, but it would require me to know what I wanted to do with each picture before I uploaded it. I don't think I can maintain a Creative Vision long enough for the photos to ship here, etc.) The bad thing about resizing, masking and printing at home is that a) I am using an insane amount of ink and b) I don't think the quality is as good. It may be the photo paper I'm printing on; I don't know.

Anyway, about this particular layout: today's challenge was to follow a sketch she had posted. Having the layout predetermined really made the whole process super-easy, especially since I was able to use any photos I wanted with the aforementioned masking/resizing technique. If I had been trying to use photos from the stack on my desk, it would have been much harder to find pictures that I wanted that also worked size-wise.

Y'all have a wonderful day and I'll see you tomorrow. :)

Darth Vader spring line

2011-02-08T11:15:00.002-05:00

Darth Vader spring line, originally uploaded by Wendy.A.

Just wanted to share my layout from yesterday. This is a picture that has cracked me up every time I've come across it.

I have now officially completed a full week of LOAD. YAY!

Pumpkin Patch

2011-02-06T22:27:00.002-05:00

Pumpkin Patch, originally uploaded by Wendy.A.

I could have done 2--maybe even 4--pages with all the pictures I took at the pumpkin patch, but after I messed with it and messed with it, I finally decided these four pictures told the story best. I'm reserving the right to use pumpkin patch pictures on a "2010 in review" layout later on.

Dinomania

2011-02-04T23:03:00.002-05:00

Dinomania, originally uploaded by Wendy.A.

I've made it to day four in LOAD! This page has been in the back of my mind for several years, and it feels wonderful to have it out of my brain and ready to finally go in the scrapbook!

Stay tuned for tomorrow's layout! :)

A little bit of scrapping, a little bit of blogging

2011-02-02T20:55:00.002-05:00

ebay inspired, originally uploaded by Wendy.A.

Today's the second day of LOAD211, a scrapbook challenge I signed myself up for in a moment of insanity. The challenge is to complete one layout every day in February. (There is also a LOAD challenge in October and May, but February only has 28 days, which made it feel a little less overwhelming.)

The specific challenge for today was to go to Ebay, type my first name into the search box and find something on the first page of results that inspired a scrapbook page. I was surprised to get a bunch of doll auctions; apparently Madame Alexander has a Wendy doll. I scanned down to the bottom, hoping to see another option, but it was dolls, doll clothes and more dolls.

Then I remembered that I have a daughter! Maybe I could think of some doll connection there. Think, Wendy, think! Then I remembered an old blog entry from the days when everything that fell into Katie's hand became "her phone." A few mouse clicks + a printer + a little scrapbook magic (aka a paper punch) and I had a quickie layout complete.

Mood when finished: pretty pleased with it!

A New Daybook

2011-01-24T14:23:00.004-05:00

For January 24, 2011

Outside my Window...The sky is blue, the sun is shining and it's a delightful 60 degrees. It's easy to love south Texas in the winter!!

I am thinking...how well today is going. Having a clear plan makes a world of difference!

From the learning rooms... Will is finishing a report on the government of Kenya. Katie is graphing data in math. We'll probably finish Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator tonight. Last night, three of Charlie's grandparents took Wonka-vite. Each pill makes you 20 years younger. Those greedy grandparents took four pills each!! It was bad news for the grandfather who was 81 years old, and worse news for the grandmother who was 80 years and 3 months old, but it was catastrophic for the grandmother who was 78 years old. We are all very interested to see exactly how Mr. Wonka is going to fix this mess!

I am thankful for... my newly repaired kitchen cabinet.

From the kitchen... We're having tacos for dinner. Scratch that. We're having guacamole for dinner, with a side of tacos so we don't have to feel guilty.

I am wearing...sweats and a pink shirt.

I am reading...Decision Points, by George W. Bush and Choosing to See: A Journey of Struggle and Hope by Mary Beth Chapman. (WiFi + Kindle on the iPad = Poorhouse. It's just waaaaaay too easy.) Choosing to See is one of those books that's leaving me dehydrated with salt deposits on my contacts from crying. Seriously, I was crying before I even made it through the forward by Beth Moore. (Shh...did you hear that? All the Baptists just sighed and said, "Ahh, I love Beth Moore. She is Just So Good.)

I am hoping...for a strong finish for our school day. We've worked hard this morning and I don't want to fizzle out.

I am creating... workable structure based on my priorities. (And, by extension, the DVR is filling up. Oh well!)

I am hearing... Krypto the Superdog is snoring at my feet. She would be mortified that I told you that.

Around the house.... everybody's getting fresh sheets today. I can't wait for bedtime!

Some of my favorite things...Will's desire for excellence in everything , Katie's level of concern for Charlie Bucket's 78-year-old grandma, Scott's easy-going nature, having my feet rubbed, baking bread.

A few plans for the rest of the week... Thanks to my sweet sister's generosity, tomorrow I have an appointment at a super-luxe spa!! I get giddy when I think about it. No, really: giddy. Then on Thursday, I'm helping with a teacher birthday luncheon at school. I've been thinking about how wonderful all the teachers are and I'm excited about this opportunity to spoil them a little.

A picture to share with you...

Will and Mary in 2005

Will and Mary in 2010

Scrump-dilly-icious

2010-10-12T07:15:00.001-04:00

My dear, sweet husband was off work for Columbus Day on Monday and very kindly brought lunch in for me and the children, who didn't have the day off. Will specifically requested Rudy's BBQ, which surprised me and delighted Scott, who, throughout our marriage, has been a much bigger fan of Rudy's than I have been. I like the BBQ fine, but only, only, only if we get it as takeout. Something about eating it there just spoils the whole meal for me and puts me in a foul mood. (And it's more than the fact that they serve Pepsi instead of Coke, although that does put them at a serious disadvantage when we're deciding where we want to go for dinner.)

While he was at Rudy's, Scott picked up a couple of dill pickles on a whim. They were huge; I hope to heaven he didn't pay by the pound for them. When we all sat down to lunch together, I took a big bite of pickle. Lord. Have. Mercy. I thought my face was going to turn inside out. It was the sourest pickle in the history of pickles. My children--empathetic as always--were near hysterics as I tried to get this bite of pickle down without killing too many taste buds.

Finally--mercifully--it was gone. As I wiped away a couple of tears (I'm not even kidding. This pickle actually made my eyes water.) and tried to regain my composure, I glanced at my husband and saw that he was looking at me with a mixture of amusement and disapproval. I knew he thought I was being a drama queen and exaggerating the sourness. As if the sourness of something that falls on the Richter scale could be exaggerated.

Instead of saying anything, though, I just waited until he took his first bite of pickle. He immediately started with the facial contortions and table-pounding you would expect when part of your lunch essentially assaults you. When he caught his breath, he said thoughtfully, "You know, she did seem surprised when I ordered two."

Personally, I think he should have had to sign a waiver.

Daybook, August 25

2010-08-25T15:54:00.003-04:00

For today, Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Outside my window... it is absolutely beautiful today. We had a micro-rainstorm yesterday afternoon and today is noticeably cooler, with non-existent humidity.

I am hearing... Katie is coloring and telling me how excited she is about taking an art class this year.

I am thinking... how much I hope that the art class comes through!

I am thankful for... our newly installed wi-fi. I've had several times throughout the past month that I've wanted to sit down and blog, but alas! Though the iPhone can do many things, I have not found a way to blog from it. Here's hoping that I will be able to start blogging consistently soon.

I am wearing... workout shorts and a t-shirt. I started the day with plans to do school with the kids, work on unpacking and organizing the house and hit the gym. Now, at 3:03 pm, I am halfway through my son's schoolwork and almost halfway through my daughter's. My brain is so exhausted that a physical workout is the very last thing on earth I want do. Which probably means it's exactly what I need most.

From the learning rooms... we are in our second week of school. In a radical change from how we've done things in previous years, the children are in a private school two days a week and homeschooled by me three days a week. We are thrilled with this new development, but the mechanics are taking a little getting used to.

I am creating.... a new home for us!! Such an exciting, exhausting time. We're probably 60% unpacked, but I've only found a home for 30% of our stuff...and can only remember about 10% of where I stashed anything! It's pretty comical to open three or four drawers in the kitchen before finally locating your favorite knife. (And why is it right next to the knife that we only keep for carving pumpkins? Surely one of these knives is in the wrong spot!)

Pondering these words... "Nothing is easy to the unwilling." (Nikki Giovanni) I have several opportunities coming up that are going to stretch me. In all likelihood, it won't be easy; but being open and willing to pursue each opportunity will make it easier. So, this is me, about to tackle some hard things, willingly. I'll keep you posted on whether Nikki Giovanni is a genius or a blithering idiot. LOL!!

From the kitchen...Beef and Broccoli if I end up going to the gym. If I stay home, probably grilled burgers. I am looking forward to getting into a routine of cooking dinner again!

Around the house... Since I've already mentioned that we have a good bit of unpacking still to do, I'll throw out that for the first time in my married life, I am about to choose a color scheme for the house. Can you imagine?? Painted walls! And I'm not talking "Builder's Beige" either! I'm looking at RED for one. (I hope I don't lose my nerve!)

Looking ahead this week: I'm going to be seeking out spa experiences for myself and the dog. I saw a strip center just north of us that has a "Beautiful Nail" and a dog grooming shop. I'm all about the one-stop shopping! :-)

Rounding up June

2010-07-01T13:09:00.002-04:00

Ah, my poor neglected blog. The more that's going on--i.e., the more I have to write about--the less time I have to write. And June was a cr-a-a-a-a-a-zy month, even by Button Factory standards. Several years ago, I started doing a monthly roundup after seeing it on Katie the Scrapbook Lady's blog. It has been an invaluable tool for scrapbooking, as it helps me keep a record of what's going on in our lives and when. Another thing I love about it is the opportunity it gives me to reflect on the past month and see that yes, there were some disappointments, but there were also achievements, celebrations and memories.

What books and/or magazines did I read this month?

I finally read Eclipse, one of the Twilight books. Eclipse is number 3 in the series and I haven't read one or two, but some friends were super-excited to see the movie so they convinced me to read the book first.

I also read the Wednesday Letters, by Jason F. Wright. LOVED this one! I cried in chapter one of this book. Chapter one!! I don't think that's ever happened before. I also cried in chapter 4 and 15. Oh, and did I mention I was in the middle seat on an airplane the whole time? Seated between two complete strangers as I boo-hooed and tried to keep my nose from running?

Finally, I started the must-read, In Defense of Food by Michael Pollen. I'm either in a very fiction kind of place right now or I just don't care, but after a few minutes I put this one back in my bag and haven't thought of it again until just now. If you'd like me to send you my copy, let me know and I will.

What movies and/or tv shows did I watch this month?
I went to see Eclipse last night with a group of girlfriends. I think I enjoyed being with them just as much as I enjoyed seeing the movie.

What special days did I celebrate and how?
William turned 10 on the 26th. He got a Razor scooter and is already about to drive me insane riding it across the hardwood floors. Bump, bump, bump over each plank. Or if he goes faster, it's more like bumpbumpbump, bumpbumpbump with each push of his foot.

Katie's dance recital was also on the 26th. She was in two dances this year, so we saw her ballet dance at the 1:00 show and her hiphop dance in the 6:00 show. I was amazed at the growth she showed from last year's recital to this year's. She was graceful, confident and obviously having a great time!

What illnesses or health concerns did we have in June?

The children and I went in for our semi-annual dental appointment, where we found out that Will's spacer was coming loose and needed to be re-cemented. No big deal; we set up another appointment. At that appointment, they decided the tooth would be coming in within six months, so they just took it out. Yay! Except during that process, they somehow washed out part of a filling on another tooth, so we have to go back a third time to have that repaired! Thank goodness Will really likes everyone in the office, because it could be really difficult to get him on board with 3 appointments in as many weeks.

Speaking of teeth, Katie lost her top front teeth this month. One came out at church in a chocolate nutty bar (Hershey with almonds). The church staff was terribly amused by the level of drama we were able to generate over a little blood. (Remember, her first two teeth were removed by God without any bloodshed.) The one that was left was just as wiggly, and we were all placing bets on whether it would last until her dance recital. It didn't.

What fun things did I do with my friends and/or family?

attended the homeschool convention and came away feeling really excited about all the opportunities homeschooling gives us.
my parents came to visit for two weeks
celebrated Will's birthday
Will & Katie got to attend VBS at our church and loved it.
made a quick trip down to San Antonio, where I had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory with my sister and my friend.
we attended the last homeschool skate of the school year on the 19th. Will & Katie really enjoyed going every. single. Friday for the past few months.

What special or unusual purchases did I make?

Special or unusual...hmmmm, nothing comes to mind. Oh, wait! We bought a house. We're going to be moving next month and since it should be our last Air Force assignment, we bought a house instead of renting one or living on base. We haven't bought a house since we were first married, so this is both scary and thrilling. We're going to put down roots!

What were my accomplishments this month?

I did not run screaming into the street one single time, despite recital pictures, birthday plans, dress rehearsals, house guests, and all the unanswered (unanswerable?) questions surrounding this move.

A glimpse into our homeschooling day

2010-05-11T13:12:00.003-04:00

We were 90% finished with school for today when we took a break for lunch. Once our tummies were full, Will wanted to finish his last subject and then play; Katie wanted to play for 20 minutes and then finish. Then, in a twist that no one--especially the dog--saw coming, Katie decided that nothing else was going to happen until she brought Krypto up to speed academically.

She had a few questions first:

"Mommy, what grade is Krypto in?"

"Mommy, what grade did you say Krypto is in?"

"Mommy, can I teach Krypto Kindergarten?"

"Mommy, can you tell William that he has to hold Krypto while I teach Kindergarten?"

"Mommy, can you tell Krypto to pay attention?"

"Mommy, is Krypto allowed to stand on the desk?"

At this point, there was really nothing to do but start recording the insanity.

A New Blogging Gig

2010-05-10T08:40:00.003-04:00

Today I'm blogging at Women By Design. Women By Design is the blog of the women's ministry at First Baptist Church of Woodbridge, Virginia.

A quick daybook

2010-04-19T10:51:00.002-04:00

For today, Monday, April 19th

Outside my window... the house is hot this morning, so we have the door to the deck open to let the cool air in. Apparently the neighbors opted to run the air conditioning, because I hear it humming like white noise.

I am hearing... Two sirens are wailing somewhere south of here. Will is working on division facts for the four family; Katie is counting by fives. (And, yes, having both done at the same time is making my eye twitch.)

I am thinking... there are only "three more sleeps" until I see my best girlfriends!!!

I am thankful for... the opportunity to sit down and write this, right now.

I am wearing... workout shorts and a t-shirt. Unfortunately, you can't read anything into that.

I am reading... A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenburg, which makes me want to forsake all other activities and just cook.

From the learning rooms... We are learning about Kenya and grasslands, about Noah and rainbows, about /oo/ spelled "ew" and--in different ways--skip counting.

I am creating.... packaging. Photos to come later this week.

Pondering these words... "If you're always ready, you ain't ever got to get ready." Will Smith

From the kitchen... tonight's dinner is teriyaki chicken with rice and broccoli. Wouldn't Jamie Oliver be proud. ;)

Around the house... Something important to me has gone missing so this afternoon will likely be dedicated to finding it. Cross your fingers, because I'm not feeling real hopeful.

Looking ahead this week: So much to do!! I'm so excited about my trip that it's going to be hard to concentrate on the regular daily grind between now and then. Maybe I should write a couple of things down to make sure they don't slip through the cracks!!

Further back in the Time Machine

2010-04-13T07:15:00.000-04:00

Journaling reads:

Katie picked out her very prettiest dress to wear on her first day of Creation Corner. When something got on her dress and I foolishly insisted that she change, nothing measured up to her pink dress. We tried on a yellow dress, but she ripped it off before I could get her downstairs. I got her outside in Dress #3, but she ran away from the camera, screaming, "Do not take my picture! This dress not look pretty on mine!" She was so upset that I decided to keep her home. We tried again when her pretty pink dress was clean and Happy Katie returned. August 2006

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

I have to say that this journaling really does not touch the rage she expressed that day. When I see the picture of her running away from the camera, I can't help but laugh to see her at a dead run, but with her arms straight. That's some angry body language, right there.

When I initially wrote the journaling for this page, it was three pages long! I ultimately edited out the fact that I drove her halfway to the preschool with her screaming like a banshee in the backseat. I turned around and headed back home because I decided both of us deserved a better First Day of School than this was shaping up to be. The whole year that she was three, people kept telling me I would "look back and miss these days." She is now 7 1/2, and I can honestly say that I can look back and laugh, but I don't miss those days AT ALL. Maybe it takes more than four years to get nostalgic for volatile meltdowns. *grin*

The Freak Show Goes To Target

2010-04-10T01:20:00.000-04:00

Posting this on my blog for my friends who didn't see it on Facebook. :)

How To Make Cascarones

2010-04-09T07:25:00.001-04:00

My friend Maria introduced us to cascarones about four years ago and they immediately became on of our favorite Easter traditions. "Cascarones" is the Spanish word for eggshells. They are eggshells that have been hollowed out, dyed (or painted) and filled with confetti. On Easter, you break them over your friends' heads in celebration or to bring luck. (Or, to hear Maria tell it, just out of mischief; sometimes they can be filled with flour or sugar which would make even more of a mess!)

If you live in Texas, you can buy cascarones at HEB for $1/dozen, but where's the fun in that?? If you live elsewhere, as far as I can tell, you either have to find someone who will ship cascarones to you or make your own.

I start saving eggshells in January. This is NOT Scott's favorite part of the process. If he's making an omelet, he just wants to make an omelet. If I could get him on board with saving the shells, I could probably push eggshell collecting to six weeks before Easter. Luckily, assuming the cook is willing, saving the shells is easy. Any time a recipe calls for an egg, I just crack the top off the eggshell and empty the egg into a small bowl so I can be sure no rogue bits of shell sneak in. Then I rinse out the shell and add it to the Cascarones-To-Be egg carton.

The week before Easter, we sit down and dye all the eggshells we've collected. I don't even bother with hard-boiled eggs anymore. (I don't think I have ever in life eaten a hard-boiled Easter egg.) We are 100%, all about the cascarones.

After all the eggs are dyed, we fill them with confetti. I always get the paper confetti because it will break down in the rain or just blow away. I think that if I got the glitter confetti, I would feel obligated to clean up after breaking the cascarones, and that would be pretty much impossible.

Once you've filled all the eggs, you are ready to move on to the next step. Take some regular ol' Elmer's School Glue and squeeze a line around the opening of the egg.

Lay tissue paper over the glue to cover the opening tightly. The glue will soften the tissue paper pretty much immediately, so the excess tears off easily. You can remove the excess as you glue each egg or you can set it aside and do it all at once.

All done! Isn't it pretty? Don't you just want to smash one--just one!!--right now? I always have to hold Will & Katie off with a whip and a chair because they are so excited to get on with the smashing.

Don't be scared! It's really fun!

Crunch!

Easter 2010

2010-04-08T07:25:00.002-04:00

A few pictures from our annual cascarones smashing! If you're interested in learning how to make these fun confetti-filled eggs, come back tomorrow for a tutorial of how this white girl does it. ;)

First Day of School--2009

2010-04-07T13:21:00.002-04:00

Don't panic, there hasn't been a glitch in the time-space continuum. It is still 2010.

I recently had a chance to finish a couple of scrapbook pages that have been languishing half-completed for far too long. These pages are from our first day of this school year. I have been doing handprints and signatures on the first day of school for a couple of years, but I may have to discontinue the handprint because Will's is about to take over the whole page!

I tend to follow a formula for this type of page--questionnaire, photo, handprint & signature--and because of that I didn't put a whole lot of effort into design elements or embellishing. Hopefully the cute kiddos can carry the page on their own. ;)

Menu Plan Monday, March 22

2010-03-22T06:00:00.003-04:00

Monday - a nice roast beast to start off the week. I like to make it Pioneer Woman-style

Tuesday - Parmesan Chicken. Except this is how sneaky I am. I cut the chicken breasts into squares and call them chicken nuggets. And Katie eats them like they're going out of style.

Wednesday - Spaghetti & Meatballs

Thursday - out to dinner

Friday - Crab Cakes from Wegman's. One more reason to look forward to Friday!!

Saturday - Scott's choice

Be sure to check out all the other menu plans at OrgJunkie.com

Menu Plan Monday, March 15

2010-03-15T06:00:00.004-04:00

Monday - Crockpot Cubed Steak with mashed potatoes and carrots. I cannot tell you how much I am looking forward to this meal. This stuff is goooood.

Tuesday - Tacos, pinto beans, homemade salsa and guacamole. Always a crowd-pleaser!

Wednesday - It's St. Patrick's Day and I've searched far and wide for a festive Irish dish that would be a hit with my family. Alas, nothing. So we'll be having Lucky Charms for breakfast and getting Shamrock Shakes from McDonald's at some point during the day and having regular old Lemon Cream Pasta with Chicken for dinner

Thursday - out to dinner

Friday - Fish of some sort. I'm thinking Sole Meuniere would be extremely elegant, and Katie is usually game to try a new dish if it is endorsed by Julia Child. (I mean, really; what 7 year old isn't?)

Saturday - Scott's choice, because he's cooking it.

Be sure to check out all the other menu plans at OrgJunkie.com

Happy birthday

2010-03-11T23:54:00.005-05:00

My maternal grandmother was born on March 11, 1909, which makes today her 101st birthday. Oh, my grandmother was something! Some people just emanate love; she was one of them. She was good-natured and funny and could cook like nobody's business.

She understood simple pleasures, decades before it was trendy. I can remember one summer evening, all of us sitting on the front porch while she and my mom sat in rocking chairs, shelling peas and talking as the sun set. Just remembering it now brings me a slow, deep breath of contentment.

She loved barbecue. Or maybe she loved us, and we loved barbecue. Either way, anytime we were with her, we ate barbecue. Sometimes it came from Sadler's, but just as often it came from a dodgy-looking trailer alongside the highway. To this day, I think barbecue tastes just a little better if you feel like you risked life and limb to procure it.

With today being her birthday, I wanted to take my children for some scary barbecue in her honor. I knew just the place, but I also knew that Scott would skin me alive if I took them there alone after dark. (big grin) Nice, safe chain barbecue was absolutely out of the question, so I thought a moment and came up with another simple pleasure she enjoyed.

Ice cream. I would have preferred--as she would have preferred-- her own spectacular (and, sadly, unduplicatable) homemade variety, but more than once we indulged at "The Polar Bear" or "The Churn" so I decided "going out for ice cream" was also a fitting tribute. She was definitely not impressed with "that soft stuff" that McDonald's served, though. In fact, I think the closest she ever came to telling me "no" was when I asked for a cone of that. She wrinkled her nose and said, "Goodness, why would you want that soft stuff? Let's go to The Churn."

We have a little ice cream stand not to far from us called JoJo's, which has been closed for the winter, but opened for the season just in time for her birthday. While we sat at one of their picnic tables with our treats, Katie asked me, "Does your birthday die when you die?" I thought for a second before deciding, no, I think your birthday carries on as long as there are people who want to celebrate your life. She seemed to like my answer, and jumped up from her seat, looked heavenward and called out, "Happy birthday to my great-grandma!" That moment was the high point of my day.

What would a boy get, if not a worm sundae?

And nothing says celebration like a chocolate cone with rainbow sprinkles. Lots of rainbow sprinkles.

A little long-overdue craftiness

2010-03-10T09:55:00.000-05:00

I wanted to share the Valentine's I made last month but never got around to posting. (OK, if you want the whole truth, some of my Valentines finally made it into the mail just last week and I wanted the recipients to see them first. Things have been really chaotic here lately!)

This one was for Will. On the inside it said, "Have I toad you lately that I love you?" He liked that it wasn't all girly, so I was happy that he was happy.

Katie's had to be pink and purple. I embossed all the hearts and she was impressed with that. I was pretty much ecstatic that she liked her card.

I cheated a little with this card. It came out just how I envisioned it, which happens so seldom that I decided to make one for both my mom and my husband.

My father is a Valentine baby, so he got a birthday card. He's a retired CPA and I have saved this little piece of ledger paper for months to make a card for him. Wouldn't you know the ink on the sentiment would smear?? Pfffft. I just told myself it added to the handmade charm. (But I'll be more careful next time!)

Menu Plan Monday, March 8

2010-03-08T06:00:00.002-05:00

Monday - Crockpot Chicken In Creamy Creole Sauce This will be the first time I've tried this recipe, but the What a Crock! blog has never steered me wrong.

Tuesday - Fiery Fettucine I started making this dish just after we got married, and Scott loves it. I love it because it's fast and yummy.

Wednesday - Sticky Chicken I don't use chicken wings for this, because Miss Thing doesn't like bones in her meat. I'm just going to cut up chicken breasts into nugget-sized approximations.

Thursday - out to dinner

Friday - Something with shrimp. I was thinking Shrimp Etouffee but I just noticed how much Cajun/Creole food I have down for this week. Maybe I'll switch to Shrimp and Feta Cheese Pasta or Lime & Garlic Grilled Shrimp

Saturday - Scott's choice. (It's Scott's choice because HE'S COOKING IT. I just love a man in an apron.)

Be sure to check out all the other menu plans at OrgJunkie.com

Paging Nurse Ratched

2010-03-06T16:45:00.007-05:00

So if you're wondering why I haven't been blogging, I've been nursing my husband back to health for the last couple of weeks. He had surgery on his knee to repair a torn miniscus. (Side note: I find it fascinating that the way they REPAIR a torn miniscus is to CUT OFF the torn part. I just can't wrap my brain around that idea. Doesn't that mean it is, in effect, still torn? I mean, it's not reconnected--right? Guess it's a good thing I'm not a knee doctor.)

Anyway, Scott enjoyed some excellent general anesthesia and came into the recovery room with this on his brain.

He sang it over and over and over. What made it really funny is that Scott's body is a temple. He rarely eats fast food of any kind, and never eats at McDonald's if there is any other option. Paying for food at McDonald's makes him mad. But even he is not immune to their advertising.

The next day, the children were at church for Wednesday night activities. Katie wanted her class to pray for Scott's recovery. Her teacher asked what kind of surgery he'd had (Brave teacher--no telling what kind of answer she might have gotten!) and then asked what was wrong with his knee. Katie shrugged and said, "He's old."

Her teacher was still laughing when she tracked me down on Sunday to repeat it.

Menu Plan Monday

2010-02-15T07:34:00.002-05:00

I haven't posted our weekly menus in a long time, but since this is a big week for holidays, I thought it would be fun to jump back into it.

Sunday (Valentine's Day, Chinese New Year AND my father's birthday)--about a jillion options for celebratory food, but alas, I was under the weather and we had uber-romantic Subway sandwiches. It's probably just as well, though, because I would not have been able to decide between whether to go romantic or ethnic or Terry-style. (Note: that last link takes you to Paula Deen's recipe. That is not how my mama does it. I have never tried Paula's recipe; it's probably good, as she is Paula Deen, but my mama's is the best in the world. I am so sorry I can't share her recipe with you, dear internet.)

Monday (President's Day)--Chicago style pizza (Get it? I crack myself up!)

Tuesday (Mardi Gras)--red beans & rice with cornbread and sauteed spinach...Laissez les bon temps rouler!

Wednesday--spaghetti & meatballs with homemade Italian bread. (We're starting to study Europe and will be doing a Top Secret kit on Italy.)

Thursday--eating out after Tae Kwon Do

Friday--Chicken Cordon Bleu (We'll be studying French Impressionists this week. And also probably watching Julie and Julia. Again.)

If you want more menu ideas than your brain can grasp, check out orgjunkie.com

Really random glimpses

2010-02-12T09:37:00.005-05:00

Just a few things to share from the Button Factory lately:

Last night I overheard Katie asking Will, "So which are bigger, snapping turtles or ninja turtles?"
I am currently trapped inside my house because there is a nice layer of ice behind the garage and down the alley. Since I tend to back into things in the alley on a good day, I would have to be crazy to think I could navigate the ice successfully. It's making me mad, though, because I have Valentine shopping to do and packages to mail!!
We have been using these to enrich our geography studies this year. We're starting to study Europe, and I have kits on hand for Italy and England. I'm also planning to study the French Impressionists using a FANTASTIC free lapbook I found here and a calendar from 2008 that never got used. LOL
I purged 3 big trash bags of STUFF from my scraproom over the last week. Another big snowstorm or two and that room is going to be a great place to get creative!
I saw this video this morning and it made me laugh.

Colour 2010 GUEST SPEAKER Priscilla Shirer from Hillsong Church on Vimeo.

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you have a great weekend. :)

Don't miss this!

2010-02-10T08:19:00.001-05:00

This may be the most beautiful birth story I've ever read. It's long, but so, so, so worth it. Grab a tissue and enjoy.

Nella Cordelia

(I came across this story by way of Real Learning, one of my favorite blogs.)

Eating my words

2010-02-08T07:31:00.000-05:00

We got 2 feet of snow back in December. Two feet! A week later, more snow was in the forecast and Will & Katie assumed that we would get another couple of feet--"or maybe even more!!" I explained to them that they would probably never see snow like that again in their lifetime. Sure enough, our next two snowstorms yielded only a couple of inches of accumulation. But on Friday, it started to snow like I have never seen. The word "blizzard" was being tossed around and it didn't feel like an exaggeration! It was like being inside a snow globe!

It snowed from 10:00 am on Friday until late afternoon on Saturday and we ended up with (at least!) another 2 feet, just weeks after I told Will & Katie that they'd never, ever, ever see snow that deep again.
I didn't venture out to play in the snow this time, but Scott and Will have been sledding maniacs. When I heard what they were doing--sledding on their tummies on somebody's inner tube, down a hill and then into the air over the snowplow-made mountain--I decided it was better for me to just have cocoa ready for them when they came back in. Maybe tomorrow I will get some pictures of the action, along with the flushed pink cheeks and sweat-plastered hair Will sports when he comes bursting back inside to report on the excitement I'm missing. Yes, definitely--this needs to go in the scrapbook. Because how often do you get two feet of snow?

Don't answer that.

Daybook for January 26, 2010

2010-01-26T10:51:00.002-05:00

For January 26, 2010

Outside my Window...The sun is shining and the temperature is brisk--my kind of weather!

I am thinking...about how much there is to do this week, and trying to find a few things that can be left undone.

From the learning rooms... I am very pleased with how consistent we've been with school in the midst of our current chaos. Some days we do just the bare minimum--Bible, reading and math. Today, however, we did everything, including some work on a fun ongoing geography project.

I am thankful for... a warm, comfortable bed and a hot shower in the morning.

From the kitchen... I'm cooking chicken for dinner tonight, and that's about the extent of my plan.

I am wearing...my new jeans and Strawberry Reunion t-shirt. I'm barefoot but wishing I had socks on!

I am reading...Walking on Alligators, a book of meditations for writers that came yesterday from PaperbackSwap.

I am hoping...for a really fun weekend with extended family this weekend.

I am creating... opportunities for future scrapbook pages!

I am hearing... my mom helping Katie finish up her math.

Around the house.... with my mother's help, I've been cleaning, cleaning, cleaning for company this weekend.

Some of my favorite things...Will's belly laughs, Katie's smile, which is currently missing 2 teeth, Scott's smile when he gets home at night, getting something fun in the mail.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week... Friday is a big day! Scott will be pinning on his new rank. I'm so excited that my parents, his parents and one of his brothers will be here to see it.

Please visit Peggy's blog, The Simple Woman , to read more Daybook entries.

Wrapping up 2009

2010-01-04T03:48:00.000-05:00

2009 Survey for the New Year

1. What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before?

I spoke as part of a panel of homeschool moms at a day retreat.

2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
No, and no.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth or get pregnant?
Yes!! My beloved Strawberry Angie gave birth to her beautiful twin daughters in December. We have been praying for their arrival for years--and surprise! They were doubly blessed.

4. Did anyone close to you get married?
I don't think so.

5. Did anyone close to you die?
My childhood friend, Katie, lost her newborn daughter in August.

6. Travel?
We had the First Annual Strawberry Reunion in May. To this day I can't think about that weekend without getting a big ol' smile on my face.

7. Did you move anywhere?
No, same state, same city, same home, same church.

8. What was the best month?
July. The kids and I went to the pool just about every afternoon. It was carefree and relaxing--just like summer vacation should be.

9. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
Dare I say this for all the world wide web to read?? Discipline. Order. Blonde highlights.

10. What date(s) from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
mid-March. Katie came up to me and whispered, "Mommy, I prayed that prayer you've been talking about."

May 21-24. the previously mentioned Strawberry Reunion.

October 30-31. Will's overnight hospital stay with pneumonia

11. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
I lost 10 pounds.

12. What was your biggest failure?

I gained 12 pounds.

13. Did you suffer illness or injury?
I had a lovely little brush with kidney stones. Well, not so much a little brush as a bone-jarring collision.

14. What was the best thing you bought?
our homeschool curriculum, from My Father's World.

15. Whose behavior merited celebration?
well, my children were pretty well behaved...I guess... ;)

16. Whose behavior made you appalled and/or depressed?
Tiger Woods, various politicians

17. Where did most of your money go?
The bulk of my well-spent money went to books. My frittered-away money went to drive-through lunches en route to various activities.

18. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
A scrapbooking weekend in the mountains with a group of girls from church.

19. What song will always remind you of 2009?
Beyonce's "All The Single Ladies"

20. Compared to this time last year, are you: i. happier or sadder? ii. richer or poorer?
i. I am happier. My circumstances are essentially the same as they were a year ago, and to be honest, I find some of those circumstances challenging. I feel better equipped to face those circumstances in the coming year, though, so it's a net positive.

ii. If this is in reference to one's mindset, I am definitely richer going into 2010. I am excited about the second half of our school year, excited about our family's plans. I feel optimistic, healthy and blessed in general. It's probably more likely in reference to one's finances, but--as I am not the type of person to have a spreadsheet handy with this information--I like my first answer better.

21. What do you wish you'd done more of?
I wish I had written more. I wish I had laughed more. I wish I had baked more. I wish I had prayed more. I wish I had read more. I wish I had worked out more.

22. What do you wish you'd done less of?

I wish I had procrastinated less. I wish I had argued less. I wish I had spent less. I wish I had worried less. I wish I had cried less. I wish I had driven across town (repeatedly) less.

23. What was an unexpected surprise?
Scott gave me a pair of earrings for my birthday that completely surprised and thrilled me.

24. Did you fall in love in 2009?
No, but I stayed in love--and sometimes I think that's just as noteworthy!

25. What was the best concert you've been to this year?
The only concert we went to was Miley Cyrus, so technically it was the best, by virtue of having no competition. If, however, we had seen, say, the Reunion Tour of the cast from HeeHaw, that probably would have topped Miley.

26. What was your favorite TV program?
OK, if I tell you this, you have to promise not to tell anyone. We watched "Wipeout" religiously. Scott and Will had that whole male-bonding reaction to this show and it was a riot to watch it with them.

27. Do you dislike anyone now that you didn't dislike this time last year?
No, I don't think I've added anyone new--just the same old people I disliked in 2009. (Some of these questions are making me laugh.)

28. What was the best book you read?
Unfortunately, I didn't spend a lot of time reading this past year. The only books I actually finished were beach-reads which definitely don't deserve a spot on a "Best Book of 2009" list. I currently have a stockpile of promising books, just not the energy or brain-power to devote to them.

29. What was your greatest musical discovery?
I don't think I branched out much, unless buying every Chipmunk song on iTunes counts.

30. What did you want and get?
A new computer--a Mac--which I am still figuring out.

31. What did you want and not get?
This is not something I actually wanted, but it's a funny story, so I'm sharing it here. A week or so before Christmas, I told Will, "I think Daddy is getting me a kitten for Christmas." "No," he assured me, "He's getting you one of those computers with an apple on it."

32. What was your favorite film of this year?
It's a tie between Julie and Julia and The Blind Side.

33. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 39 this year. My sweet family took me out for dinner, "Anywhere you want to go." My first and second choices got vetoed, but Katie told our server that it was my birthday and she wanted them to sing to me. Hard not to love that!

34. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
More time with friends.

35. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
What's clean? What's comfortable? Tim Gunn would have a stroke in my closet.

36. What kept you sane?
Oh my, the jury is still out on that one, isn't it?? The inherent insanity/absurdity of my daily life is what keeps me sane. My children have an uncanny ability to more than make up for any annoying qualities with cute and/or hilarious antics so I laugh much more than I grit my teeth.

37. What political issue stirred you the most?
The stimulus plan, but health care is a very close second.

38. Who did you miss?
I missed my sister, Charlynn, Angie, Kara, Maria, Melinda, Wendy, Ann, Michelle--all my peeps!

39. Random Memories from 2009?

Katie talking in her sleep as she was dreaming that she was in the sitcom Reba.
Taking out a sailboat from Quantico and the wind completely dying just as we got out of the marina. (And the kids not even caring, as they had just as much fun rowing the sailboat and eating the food we brought aboard.)
The blizzard of 2009 that gave us a white Christmas.
Scott mistakenly thinking my delicious chicken tortilla soup was chicken noodle soup.
Will's over-the-top enthusiasm for football.
Katie wandering through the kitchen as Scott slaved over Beef Bourgoinion and asking, "Mmmm! Do I smell corndogs?"
reading bedtime stories and realizing just how fleeting this time is.
Katie telling Scott that "the po-po" had visited the neighbors' house.
Will using big words appropriately--"so, we've established the fact that...." and then getting a little embarrassed when I laugh and saying, "What? I'm trying to be precise!"

I borrowed this survey from from A Ten O'Clock Scholar by Kerry

Recipes that make me feel merry

2009-12-20T18:23:00.005-05:00

You may have heard that there's a snowstorm out East. Let me tell you, I have not seen this much snow since we lived in Big Sky Country. Our church cancelled Sunday services, and Baptists churches just don't cancel. So, since we were literally unable to get the car out of the garage, we went sledding this morning. The snow was up past my knees! It sounds like the roads are going to be iffy for at least one more day, and then it's going to start getting tense around here. I need to get to Wegman's so I can start cooking Christmas dinner! Here are the recipes for a couple of dishes that make it an official holiday meal in the Button Factory.

Susan's Texas Squash Casserole
10 yellow squash, sliced
1 large white onion, coarsely chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped (I'm not a fan of green bell pepper, so I chop it really small. Or just leave it out entirely. Don't tell Susan.)
1 package jalapeno cornbread mix
8 oz. Cheese Whiz or Velveeta (or Mexican Velveeta if jalapeno cornbread mix is unavailable and you had to settle for plain cornbread mix.)
stick of butter, melted
1 egg

Boil the squash, onion and bell pepper until soft and drain it very, very well. (The squash won't hold its shape, but don't get upset.) Set aside. Melt the Velveeta and butter together and mix in the egg and cornbread mix, then combine all that with the squash mixture. Pour it into a greased 9x13" casserole dish and bake for 30 to 40 minutes at 350 degrees until browned and bubbly around the edges.

Will's Favorite "Orange Mashed Potatoes" (Sweet Potatoes, to the rest of the world)
5 or 6 yams or sweet potatoes (the ones with the orange flesh, whatever they're called where you live.)
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 stick of butter
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
dash of salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten

For the topping:
1 cup of brown sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup flour
1 cup of shredded coconut
1 cup of pecan pieces.

Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into uniform chunks. Boil potatoes in plenty of water until a fork easily pierces them. Drain potatoes and place in a large bowl with sugar, milk, butter, vanilla and salt. Mash with a potato masher--NOT an electric mixer. Taste and if they're sweet enough for you, add the eggs. Pour into greased casserole dishes. Mix together the topping ingredients and spread over the top of the potatoes. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes.

*This recipe comes from The Sweet Potato Queen's Book of Love, and I promise it will make a sweet potato lover out of you. It also freezes beautifully, which makes me love it all the more. If I'm going to freeze it, I either plan to thaw it completely before baking or bake it for an hour, frozen, and add the topping for the last 30 minutes.

And finally, the carb that steals the show, the dinner roll. I don't have a go-to holiday roll recipe, but we had these for Thanksgiving and they were delicious. They reminded me of the rolls you get at the Dixie Cafe in Little Rock. I highly recommend a squirt of honey on them, in addition to the requisite butter. Mmmm!

Dinner Rolls
1 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
2 1/4 to 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1/3 cup rolled oats (My friend Tobie told me the oats give them sweetness.)
1/3 cup sugar (This could also give them sweetness.)
1 package active dry yeast
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt

Combine the butter and milk in a saucepan and heat to melt the butter, stirring occasionally. Let it cool to 120-130 degrees. Combine 1 cup all-purpose flour, oats, sugar and yeast in a large bowl. Add milk mixture and one egg, stirring well. Add 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, the whole wheat flour and salt, stirring until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

Dump dough onto a well-floured surface and knead five minutes, adding another 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, if necessary, to keep dough from being sticky. Place dough in an oiled bowl and turn to oil the top. Allow to rise, covered loosely, warm place free from drafts, blah, blah, blah, 1 hour or until doubled in bulk. After dough has risen, punch it down (doesn't seem fair, I know.) and turn onto a lightly floured surface. Knead lightly 3 or 4 times. Divide dough into 16 equal pieces and shape each piece into a ball. Arrange rolls in a greased 9-inch square pan, leaving 1 inch of space between rolls. Cover loosely and let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, 45 minutes or until doubled in bulk.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until rolls are lightly browned.

(modified from Sister Schubert's Herb Rolls.)

Cranberry Waldorf Salad (by special request)

2009-12-14T11:27:00.005-05:00

This recipe comes from my mother-in-law, Sharon. It started out as a must-have holiday dish in Scott's family and once my family tasted it, it became a must-have for us, too. So, without further adieu, I present....

Cranberry Waldorf Salad

2 cups fresh cranberries
3 cups miniature marshmallows
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups diced, peeled apples
1/2 cup seedless purple grapes*
1/2 cup broken walnuts
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup whipping cream

Chop cranberries and combine with marshmallows and sugar. Cover and refrigerate overnight. (This is absolutely critical. I cannot overstate the importance of letting the cranberries "pickle" in the sugar. If you skip this step, abandon your plan to have Cranberry Waldorf Salad.) The next morning, add the apples, grapes, walnuts and salt. Whip the cream (The recipe doesn't call for the cream to be whipped with sugar and a splash of vanilla, but that's how I do it.) Fold the cream into the salad and chill.

* Normally I am a staunch supporter of green grapes. Cranberry Waldorf Salad is the only reason I ever buy purple grapes.

Cranberry Waldorf Salad, front and center

Actually, now that I look at this plate of indescribable yumminess, I should probably share all these recipes. Stay tuned!

Katie loses a tooth

2009-12-10T11:44:00.007-05:00

My mom and I have talked several times over the last few months that we just can't imagine Katie losing her baby teeth. She's such a diva and likes to be totally (emphasis on "totally") in control of her look. The idea of her walking around with her top two front teeth missing is something I just can't wrap my brain around. It would not surprise me in the least to find out she already has a deal in place with our dentist for an emergency partial, should the need ever arise.

And, honestly, so strong is Katie's need to control her look, my mother and I had pretty much resigned ourselves to the belief that Katie would just not be losing her baby teeth. But then, much to everyone's surprise, one of her teeth began to wobble.

Wiggly teeth ~~make my stomach churn~~ make me a little uncomfortable, so I've never pulled a tooth. None of mine, none of Will's. True story: his second and third loose teeth, he had to pull himself. Since the last thing Katie wanted was me messing with her tooth, we were both happy to just let it get looser and looser. Will told her that pulling teeth didn't hurt, but that it would bleed some. You can imagine how that went over. Katie decided then and there that she didn't want anybody "yanking a tooth out of my head and making my mouth bleed." Well, yeah, when you put it that way, who would??

Katie began to pray that God would take her tooth out Himself. I tried to explain, nicely, that God had a lot on His plate right now, what with Afghanistan and the economy and all, and that sometimes He uses people in our lives--people with hands--to pull our teeth. Figuratively speaking.

She didn't buy that argument at all. "God has hands," she assured me. "He made the whole world with His hands and He will pull my tooth."

Now what was I supposed to say to that?

Meanwhile, the tooth was getting looser and looser and flapping like a saloon door when she spoke or even inhaled. I was worrying that she'd inhale it, be traumatized and have to have the rest of her teeth pulled by a dentist.

Every time I pushed aside my queasiness and tried to get permission to wiggle it, she would say, "No, thank you, God is going to pull my tooth, and it's not going to bleed at all." And I heard her several times praying for exactly that.

Tuesday night we were sitting in the living room and suddenly the tooth fell--literally fell!--into her hand. "Oh!" she said, startled, but not surprised, "It's out! My tooth is out! I better go show Daddy." She ran up the stairs, leaving me slackjawed on the couch. I heard her upstairs showing the tooth to Scott and TESTIFYING that "God pulled my tooth, and look, it's not bleeding at all. God made the thunder and the lightening and God pulled my tooth, too."

One of these days I am going to learn not to argue with Katie.

Twenty Questions, Thanksgiving Edition

2009-11-26T18:44:00.003-05:00

Twenty Questions, Thanksgiving Edition

Do you cook all or part of the meal?

On the years we stay home, I do everything. My mom is here this year and made the pie crusts for me (and ultimately the pie filling as well!) and some other prep work. We planned a bigger-that-usual menu this year and were cooking like crazy.

How much do you spend buying groceries for the meal?

I don't even want to think about it! We'll be eating leftovers for days, though, so it may average out.

Do you eat at home or go to someone else's?

Usually we're at home. Last year we were out of town visiting my sister & her family, but I can only remember three other Thanksgivings in the last 12 years that we were away from home. I guess we're Christmas travelers.

Describe your perfect bite?

A bite of cool, sweet cranberry Waldorf salad right after a bite of spicy squash casserole

White meat or dark?

OK, true confession time. We don't eat turkey except the years my brother-in-law has fried one. We're not opposed to turkey, but our tradition has been chicken and/or ham.

Stuffing with giblets or without?

We make a casserole dish of dressing, and I can assure you it is giblet-free.

Anything you won't eat at the Thanksgiving meal?

Well, since I plan the menu, I have the luxury of vetoing anything that wouldn't find its way onto my personal plate.

Carve Mr. Gobble at the table of serve on a platter?

When Beau fried Mr. Gobble, he served it on a platter.

Favorite pie?

My mom's coconut pie, followed by my mom's chocolate pie.

Formal table or Chinet?

I'm in the middle on this. Since it's usually just 4-10 of us, we use our everyday dishes. I would like to set a formal table in a few years when the kids are a bit more predictable (LOL) but then I'd feel like I needed to also dress myself up. Seems like a lot of work, since immediately after dinner I stagger to the nearest horizontal surface and pass out.

Your menu?

Salads: red jello (strawberry jello with strawberries, bananas and pineapple) & cranberry Waldorf salad

Vegetables: squash casserole, sweet potato casserole, green beans (not the casserole) and creamed corn. The green beans and creamed corn were new this year by Katie's special request.

Chicken & cornbread dressing. I've been adding green chiles to one end of the dressing for a few years, which is similar to how my grandmother made it. (The notorious "hot end!")

Ham

Homemade rolls

Variety of pies: This year we had coconut and chocolate, but pecan usually makes an appearance.

Favorite leftover?

Oooh, I couldn't pick. I'm about to go into the kitchen and fix a big ol' plate of everything all over again!

Extended family, friends, both or just immediate family for dinner?

Usually just immediate family, unless we traveled or someone traveled to us.

After dinner, do you go to the latest movie or football on TV?

I always want to watch football, but I've accepted that I'm going to fall asleep, so now I find a bed where I can be comfortable. ;)

Do you watch the Macy's parade?

Usually I watch it for a half-hour or so, then it's time to get busy with the cooking.

Christmas decorations up before or after?

After. Christmas decorations go up the first weekend in December.

Black Friday shopping or sleep in?

Well, let's see. I really dislike shopping and I like sleeping. No contest on that one!

Any special Thanksgiving tradition?

Watching the Texas A&M football game is the first thing that pops into my head.

Favorite thing about Thanksgiving?

Sharing a meal with the people I love best.

Favorite Thanksgiving memory?

I remember being at my grandmother's house one year (I was very young, probably about 5 or 6) and being fascinated that everybody just grazed on leftovers all afternoon. At home, there was no eating between meals. When I saw my aunt with two kinds of pie on her plate--in the living room, no less!--I thought, "It's like there are no rules at all here!"

A couple of scrapbook pages

2009-11-02T15:20:00.002-05:00

This was the second year I got to go on a scrapbooking weekend with some ladies from church. I was as slow as ever--finishing only 20 pages over 4 days--but I had a great time, and I made great strides in organizing pictures so they'll be ready to go, should any scrapbooking opportunities crop up in the future. ;)

When you scrapbook away from home, it is crucial to spend a good bit of time formulating a plan before you go. I had a long list of events and page ideas, and photos, papers and embellishments to go along with them. Ironically, my two favorite pages were completely unplanned; I didn't even remember taking these pictures until I happened upon them the last night of our weekend.

I can't quite remember when I captured Ninja Daddy in action. Scott is dressed for fall, and Katie's in a swimsuit, so there's really just no telling.

In case you can't read Katie's "bubbles," the first one says, "This zoo is crowded. And hot. And stinky. And I am not happy." The second one--taken a split second later-- says, "Oh, I didn't realize you had a camera!"

Bedtime Stories

2009-10-13T11:42:00.002-04:00

I've recently started going to a monthly scrapbook crop with some ladies from our church. I look forward to it all month, and by the time it finally arrives, I am so excited that I can hardly concentrate on anything else all day. When Will heard I was going out that night, his immediate reaction was, "Will you be home in time to read to us?" Knowing that the scrapbooking deal ran until 10:30, I hedged with an evasive, "Possibly."

Bedtime stories are solely my responsibility, partly because Scott goes to bed earlier than the rest of us and partly because Will and Katie just prefer it that way. For the most part, reading bedtime stories is my favorite thing to do and bedtime my favorite time of day. We're relaxed and winding down; everybody is usually feeling snuggly and loving. Will likes funny books or adventure books, and we usually read a couple of chapters together. Then I head into Katie's room and we read a girly book. The girlier, the better. It's nice.

To be completely honest, though, some days I just want everybody to go to bed with a simple tuck-in. Some days I wish I could lay in my own bed and read a couple of chapters of a mom book, but by the time I've read to both children, Scott is completely zonked out, and only a crazy person would turn on a light and start reading at that point!

Anyway, I was having a good ol' time up at the church, and when 8:00 rolled around, I told myself that Will was really getting too old for bedtime stories. Surely he could tolerate Scott reading for one night, or even skipping the story all together. I could read to him the next night, if he still wanted a story. If he still wanted a story?? Where did that come from? When I realized that this could actually be the last night--or the last week, or even the last month--he wanted a story, suddenly I couldn't get home fast enough.

We read a little Melonhead.

Because, apparently, I don't have quite enough going on...

2009-10-02T23:04:00.003-04:00

I joined an online challenge to scrapbook one page every day in the month of October. My intention was to get "page kits" ready for a scrapbooking weekend coming up later this month, but somehow I started actually scrapbooking. These are the quickie pages I did yesterday and today:
I took the first picture downstairs and second in the living room and I can't get over how different the light is. All the red paper is exactly the same, but you sure can't tell it from the pictures!

It's kind of bugging me that the second page has no photos, but I had already finished pages for most of our Christmas activities, so these pages are just supposed to introduce the Christmas section. It's okay, right? Right?? And I added some doodling on the patterned paper on the first page after I took the picture, so it's less stark than it looks here.

I just crack up every time I see that picture of Will & Katie. That is the shot that went into our Christmas cards. I told them to go get dressed for the Christmas picture and this is what they came back with--a ballet costume and antlers!! Maybe this year I'll get one of those shots with coordinating Christmas jammies for a change...but I doubt it.

Culinary FAIL

2009-09-22T09:19:00.004-04:00

I really enjoy cooking. And, if I do say so myself, I am quite good at it. But something happened yesterday that is so funny to me that I just have to share it with you. Scott had bought a whole chicken, planning to do something creative with it. Then a series of football games came on television and he never got around to whatever his masterpiece was going to be. The bird needed to be cooked, and my very favorite thing to do with a whole bird is to make soup. Chicken tortilla soup, specifically. I find it disproportionately thrilling to take a pot of water and a chicken, add some magic and end up with soup.

So Sunday afternoon I did just that. After an hour I had both cooked chicken and a pot of steaming chicken broth that smelled absolutely intoxicating. I carmelized an onion and a couple of jalapenos, then pureed three cans of Rotel and a can of stewed tomatoes. I added all this to the broth and the (now-chopped) chicken meat and let it simmer for an hour. If it hadn't been bedtime at that point, I would have gotten a bowl and had myself a little fiesta. It turned out that good.

Scott had a bowl for dinner last night while the rest of us were at Katie's ballet class. When I got home, he said, "Wow, that was some spicy chicken soup." (To be fair, it did turn out a bit hotter than I expected, so I didn't think it was a particularly strange thing to say.) A few hours later, just before bed, he brought up the soup again, saying, "You know, that soup you made was really good. It almost reminded me of a chicken tortilla soup."

"Honey?" I said, trying to figure out if he was kidding. "It was chicken tortilla soup."

He wasn't kidding. Shocked, he said, "It was? I thought it was just really spicy chicken noodle soup."

Spicy chicken noodle soup?? Really? The complete lack of noodles didn't give you pause? The fact that I have never once, in the entire time you have known me, made chicken noodle soup? We laughed and laughed, but now I'm wondering if he might be harboring questions about other dishes I've been congratulating myself over.

Privatization

2009-09-08T13:14:00.002-04:00

Hi friends,

I've decided to take this blog private. (Nothing creepy has happened, no worries.) If you've been reading, you're more than welcome to continue reading; please leave a comment or email me so I can add your email address to the list of approved readers.

Harvest time

2009-08-26T10:47:00.004-04:00

Will and Katie have been watching our tomatoes closely for a while now, waiting for them to be ripe. Scott finally told them it was time to harvest our beautiful, yummy, homegrown beefsteak tomatoes. Mmmm, my mouth is watering!

Here is what they got.

Yep. Two. Two beautiful, yummy, homegrown beefsteak tomatoes. But aren't they gorgeous?? Think of the BLT's, the vegetable plates, complete with a gorgeous red slab of salted tomato, the burgers with a thick-cut slice of tomato....oh, the possibilities!!

Except.

My beautiful, yummy, homegrown beefsteak tomatoes are having an identity crisis and think they are cherry tomatoes. I can cut them in half and one of us can have tomatoes on her taco.

Snapshots of our First Day

2009-08-17T14:41:00.006-04:00

Like many families, one of our back-to-school traditions is to take pictures. Here are a few of my favorites from this morning:

"Take one like I'm going into school, Mommy."

Will spent a lot of time striking poses to look cool. Last year it was silly poses. I would be sad over that, except that I have a strong feeling that silly will be back in vogue with him soon.

Miss Thing, though, needs to stop looking so grown up. Right. Now.

I love these kids.

Another tradition we have is to try to capture a snapshot of who they are as they begin a new school year. To that end, I have them tell me some of their favorite everyday things. They call it The Interview, and they take it very seriously.

Katie's Interview, as she begins first grade:
Favorite book: The Gingerbread Girl
Favorite movie: Hotel for Dogs (which the rest of us hated with the fiery passion of a thousand white hot suns.)
Favorite TV show: Hannah Montana and Sunny With A Chance.
Favorite color: pink & purple
Favorite breakfast: scones
Favorite lunch: a salad, with no dressing (which, to my knowledge, she has never had.)
Favorite dinner: lobster (which, to my knowledge, she has never had.)
Favorite snack: celery (which, to my knowledge...well, you know the rest.)
Favorite thing to do with our family: play Fancy Nancy
Favorite thing to do alone: play dolls
Favorite song: The Dream of Diamonds (an original song by Katie)
Favorite toy: Sunshine, a stuffed dog
Favorite restaurant: a French restaurant (Undoubtedly one that serves lobster and celery.)
Favorite drink: waterwithice. She says it as one word and orders it in restaurants like that. As if they would bring her warm water without ice.

William's Interview, as he begins third grade:
Favorite book: Copperheads (a non-fiction gem he picked up at the library last week.)
Favorite movie: Transformers 2
Favorite TV show: Suite Life on Deck (Interestingly, last year's answer was The Suite Life of Zach & Cody, which spun off itself to become the Suite Life on Deck. I'm embarrassed that I just told you that.)
Favorite color: orange
Favorite breakfast: muffins
Favorite lunch: Famous Dave's
Favorite dinner: chicken fricassee (He admits that he likes saying the name of the dish as much as eating it.)
Favorite snack: Fruit Gushers
Favorite thing to do with our family: swimming
Favorite thing to do alone: watch TV
Favorite song: Bad (Are you kidding me?)
Favorite toy: Transformers (any of the thousand he has, I assume; he didn't specify one.)
Favorite restaurant: Playtime Pizza (which is located, rather inconveniently, in Little Rock, Arkansas. He also struggled briefly with whether it could properly be defined as a restaurant.)
Favorite drink: Orange Capri-Sun

It's almost time!

2009-08-16T19:45:00.003-04:00

I've cleared all of last year's stuff out of our schoolroom. This was no small feat. (I also cleared out some stuff from the year before, and even some preschool stuff from when we lived in another state. But let's not focus on that, shall we?)

I've purchased school supplies. For the first time in four years of homeschooling, neither child insisted on a new lunchbox or backpack.

I've sketched out what an ideal day would include and what I need to do to make that happen.

I've planned First Day activities and the first three weeks of lesson plans.

I've penciled in art, music, writer's club, extra-curriculars and field trips.

I've read up on teaching cursive to left-handed writers.

I've set goals for each child and set goals for myself.

I've chosen a verse for the year. Psalm 25:4-5 Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.

So I think we're just about ready to kick off a brand new year of homeschooling. I'm pretty excited! I hope I can sleep tonight.

Oh, wait.

The only thing that remains to do is the chopping and dicing for my personal favorite muffins. That's a sacred tradition in my family: first day of school muffins. My mom made "Everlasting Apple Muffins" every year, and eventually we began calling them "First Day of School Muffins." They are delicious, but I'm partial to the Morning Glory muffins with a smear of pineapple cream cheese.

Hope you all have a wonderful Monday!

He said/She said, part 87

2009-08-06T11:29:00.003-04:00

A couple things Will & Katie have said lately that left me laughing:

Will told Scott, "I'm not getting married for a loooong time, because I like making my OWN decisions."

The backstory. Scott wanted to wear shorts to church one Sunday.

I said no.

He countered that he had worn shorts to church last summer.

I said, yes, that was because we were doing a Hawaiian-themed VBS in the children's department through the summer and this year we were up in an adult class.

He countered that I was wearing what he called "3/4 length pants."

I told him that if he had any 3/4 length pants, he could wear them.

He changed tacks and tried the old "Will gets to" argument.

"Will's legs are not as hairy as yours." I reminded him.

"So you're saying if I shave my legs, I can wear shorts!" he said triumphantly.

"Yes, dear, that's what I'm saying. If you shave your legs, you can wear shorts to church."

(I loved watching the conflicting looks on his face as he realized that to do what he wanted to do, he would have to do what he didn't want to do!)

Katie told me, "Daddy just can't say no to me."

The backstory. Scott tends to be on the cold-natured side. (I attribute this to his low body-fat and regularly advise him to eat a cheeseburger and put on a sweater.) In Scott's ideal world, everybody would wear flannel pajamas year-round. However, Katie is hot natured as well as opinionated about her clothes, even if she's just going to be sleeping in them. This particular night, she had chosen a sleeveless, princess-y nightgown. Scott had chosen long-sleeved princess-y pajamas with long pants.

"No," she told him cheerfully, "I'm in the mood for this gown."

"I'm afraid you'll be cold," he told her. "Let's wear these warm jammies."

"No, I don't think so. I'm in the mood for this gown."

"Sweetheart, I don't want you to be cold. Let's wear these jammies."

(I'm sitting on the bed, just being amused by the discussion. This same back-and-forth was repeated a couple more times.)

Finally, Katie said in her this-is-my-final-offer voice, "I will wear the jammy top over my gown but that's it."

I couldn't help grinning, and Katie didn't miss it, as she gave her Daddy a big hug and said, "Daddy just can't say no to me."

What's been keeping us busy this summer

2009-08-01T11:46:00.006-04:00

This is the second summer that Will & Katie have done swim camp with an outfit called Swim Kids. I am not much of a swimmer (and even less of a swim teacher!) so I love handing them off to a trained professional to learn good, solid swimming basics.

Katie had grown enough over the past year that she is finally able to touch the bottom of the pool. Her confidence was way up over last year, too. She had a good time with the lessons and enjoyed her coach, but--in true Katie style--Miss Thing wasn't going to do anything she didn't feel comfortable with, no matter what trinket they promised her out of the treasure box. Her personality leads me to suspect she'll always prefer laying in a lounge chair poolside over swimming laps, but at least she's now able to enjoy an afternoon of splashing around the pool with her brother.

Will, on the other hand, absolutely loves swimming and spent our afternoons at the pool practicing his strokes, his breathing, everything he could think of to move ahead in his class. He enjoyed it so much I even toyed with the idea of enrolling him in the homeschool swim classes this fall. Then I remembered how much I despised the six weeks of that we did last fall and the holy oath I swore that I would never do that to myself again. Sorry, dude.

We still have a month before the outdoor pool closes for the season, so we'll be spending our afternoons there if you need to reach us!

Marking one year

2009-07-17T12:07:00.003-04:00

It's been one year. So many times I say, "Wow, I can't believe it's already been a year since you had your baby/she moved away/I've been home to visit/Michael Phelps won all those medals, etc." This has not been one of those short years. Vivi's passing has weighed on me every day of the last year. I honestly don't think I've gone a day without thinking of it. I doubt her family has gone even an hour without thinking of it.

I've all but stopped blogging during the past year. I used to enjoy it--it came easily--but since last July 17, writing has been hard. I've had a few plates spinning for a while now, and if something is hard, it gets dropped pretty fast. I hope that I will eventually enjoy writing again, that whatever shut down inside me when Vivi died isn't gone permanently.

For now, though, I am just one of many who are praying for Kate, Josh, Lucy and Kara as they remember their sweet Vivi today.

Okay, so, funny story...

2009-06-11T11:25:00.002-04:00

I was in Home Depot with my children. That's funny on its own, if you know me. I'm not a "go to Home Depot with my children" kind of girl, but we had so many burned-out light bulbs that it really couldn't wait until the weekend for Scott to go. Fortunately, he has taken them so many times that they already knew where the light bulb section was.

On our way to the light bulb section, aka Aisle One, Will noticed that there was a bird in the building. Expecting to see a little wren, I looked up just in time to see a much bigger bird dive bomb down toward the big bags of potting soil just a couple of feet in front of us. I'm a little embarrassed to tell you that all three of us clutched each other and squealed like little girls. Will recovered his dignity first, and snuck around the pile of soil to get a better look at the bird.

The second the bird saw Will, it flapped its enormous wings and soared back up to the rafters of Home Depot. Will ran back to us, his eyes as big as plates. "Did you see how big that bird was?!" he demanded. "Was that an eagle or a hawk?"

I'll admit it. I wanted to lie to him. But I just couldn't.

"Honey, that was a pigeon."

Daybook for April 27, 2009

2009-04-27T13:30:00.006-04:00

For April 27, 2009

Outside my Window...it's hot. I don't care for hot, personally.

I am thinking...about how much I've gotten done so far today. I stayed up too late last night and would really like to sneak in a nap.

From the learning rooms... We're learning about the Louisiana Purchase and I'm planning to make red beans and rice for dinner, although I would much prefer shrimp etouffee. Will is starting to learn division, which is probably a signal that I've just about reached my limit on teaching math. Katie is still plugging along on her reading and math. We picked up a couple of Biscuit books over the weekend that I am hoping she will enjoy.

I am thankful for... quiet moments, especially when they involve children who are not by nature quiet.

From the kitchen... I'm really trying to get on board with this red beans and rice idea, but deep down it's just not what I'm in the mood for. Maybe some cornbread to spruce it up will motivate me.

I am wearing...a black skirt and a pink top. I'm in the mood to be comfortable.

I am reading...Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. Dave Ramsey said during his Town Hall for Hope that you will be the same person five years from now, except for the books you read and the people you meet. It's time for me to start feeding my brain better!

I am hoping...for an energy boost so I can go to Wegman's for a couple of items. We're completely out of coffee filters, and if Scott comes home to a new stash, I'll be the big hero.

I am creating... some really good habits lately. A little discipline goes a long way; who knew? The household "stuff" isn't as overwhelming as it has been, plus we're getting more school done, more consistently, and enjoying the whole process more.

I am hearing... just the tapping of the keyboard. (Note to self: go see why that's all you hear-- sooner rather than later!)

Around the house.... I made a big dent in the chaos that was my scrap room yesterday. Big enough that I can actually entertain the idea of scrapping something. Some moms in our homeschool group are getting together next week to work on our various craft projects, so I'm looking forward to figuring out what to take.

Some of my favorite things...Will's eyelashes, Katie's spontaneous dance moves , Scott's apple pie scones, a great haircut, having something to look forward to, Serendipity bath bombs from iBalm

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week... I would like to take a few bags of outgrown clothes and toys to Goodwill and pick up a couple of photo albums to continue organizing my scrap room.

Here's a picture I'm sharing with you:
Katie wanted their chocolate Easter bunnies to perform a play before being eaten. Will was happy enough to go along with the idea, but I found it uncomfortable, in a Gladiator kind of way. "We who are about to die salute you!"

Please visit Peggy's blog, The Simple Woman , to read more Daybook entries.

2009-04-27T09:15:00.001-04:00

I've mentioned before that we are doing an overview of the fifty states in our homeschool. We recently covered Ohio, and the teacher's manual had a little script to introduce a famous Ohioan, Neil Armstrong.

"In 1969," the text read, "Neil Armstrong did something very important. How old was your grandmother in 1969?" Just for fun, I pointed out that Scott was 6 years old--Katie's age--in 1969. We then figured up that Nana and Terry were 23 and 22 in 1969. I made sure to point out that I was born the next year--1970--making me quite the youngster of the group by comparison.

We returned to the teacher's manual and read, "Do you know what Neil Armstrong did in 1969 that was so important?" Will, after thinking through some possibilities, guessed, "Fought in the Civil War?"

Fought in the Civil War?? Dude! You think I was born during the Civil War?? I laughed until I was crying. This is just the latest in innocent remarks on my ancientness. When Will was 3, he asked if I saw live dinosaurs when I was little. Um, yeah, we had a pet stegosaurus.

Last month, he asked, "How can you have that much silver in you hair and I'm not even in my teen years yet?" If I'm not completely ~~grey~~ silver by the time he's ready to learn to drive, I am quite sure I will be shortly thereafter.

How do they rate restaurants, anyway?

2009-04-25T17:58:00.003-04:00

Katie has one of those little voices that carries. It seems to carry better at the most inopportune times. Recently we were dining in the fine establishment of Jerry's Subs & Pizza. It was on the early side of the dinner hour, so the place was empty except for us, the workers and the owner.

It was Katie's first time to eat at Jerry's, and she liked it immediately. All the walls are mirrored and part of the dining area is raised, which reminds her of a stage. In fact, Katie liked the decor so much, I had to tell her about every thirty seconds to quit watching herself in the mirror and eat her pizza. (Then she would pick up her pizza and watch herself eat it. This child truly amuses me.) Anyway, at one point in our dinner, Katie asked me in her world-famous voice, "Mommy, is this a four star restaurant?"

"No, sweetie, I don't think so." I whispered, watching the owner watching us.

"Well," she persisted, "is it a three star restaurant?"

"No, sweetie; can we talk about this later?"

"Well, I need to know how many stars this restaurant has."

Really? Need to know? For what possible reason? I could tell I wasn't going to get out of this conversation without offering some kind of explanation, but as is usually the case in these situations, I had nothing.

"Katie, I'll be honest, I don't know how the star rating system works. If I were guessing, though, they probably take away stars if you order at a counter and have to get your drink yourself, so I'm going to guess that this place is probably has two stars at the most."

Jerry, if you're out there and you happen across this, please email me with details on how many stars you have. Thank you.

Introducing the IKEA "Fjelldal " Loft Bed

2009-04-23T17:07:00.004-04:00

I wish I had pictures to share of the Eight-Hour Adventure of assembling this bed, but alas, whipping out the camera just never seemed prudent. The whole thing went surprisingly smoothly, but any time you have 1500 pieces of wood, 12, 000 screws, directions in Swedish and two children helping...you can just expect a few tense moments. Will was beyond excited and--as he normally does when he is ~~awake~~ beyond excited-- chattered almost incessantly. "I've never had a bed with a ladder before. Can I put the ladder together? Well, when it's time, can I put the ladder together? This is going to be so cool, it's going to change the whole look of my room. Is it time for the ladder yet? Oh, okay, just let me know." All. Day. Long. Fortunately, Scott finds that level of ~~noise~~ excitement endearing rather than annoying.

One thing he thought was perhaps less than endearing was that I bought the bed without actually measuring anything. In my world, a full-sized bed has the same measurements whether it's on the floor or elevated on a loft dealie. My only concern was that the bed took up 85% of the floor space in the room and elevating the bed would solve that problem. I was technically correct on both points, but I failed to consider the height of the ceiling or the proximity of the ceiling fan. Or the challenge of getting the mattress onto the loft without taking out said ceiling fan.

But it will all work out, and one little man is so happy that he still hasn't stopped talking about the many, many positive aspects of his new loft bed, not the least of which is that the available playspace in his room just doubled.

Daybook entry April 20, 2009

2009-04-20T10:46:00.005-04:00

My Daybook for April 20, 2009

***

Outside My Window ...
It's raining hard, which is wonderful for sleeping, but not so great for getting things done. I'm glad I didn't have errands planned for today!

***

I am listening to...
Will and Katie are scrambling to finish their "Four Stars." That's our family shorthand for getting ready for the day: breakfast, make your bed, brush your teeth and get dressed. When they were little, they each had a chart with those four tasks pictured, and to show that they had completed that task, they put a big star magnet over the picture.

***

I am thinking...
Why is it that I have more like "27 Stars" to earn before I'm ready to face the day?

***

To be fit and happy...
You know when you go to the doctor and they ask if you've had any unexplained weight loss? I always snort at that question, but I've lost seven pounds in the last week and I have no clue how or why. I've even been drinking a little Coke! (Don't tell Scott! Since my whole kidney stone adventure, he's been even more hyper about "Drink Your Water!" I called him Captain Hydration in my superhero voice. He wasn't amused.) My next door neighbor asked if I wanted to start going up to the clubhouse to workout with her, and we start today. I am really excited about that!

***

I am thankful for ...
A husband who will burn a whole Saturday putting together a loft bed for his son.
A son who will spend the same Saturday chattering excitedly about the same bed.
A daughter who now considers the area under the loft bed her personal stage.

***

From the kitchen ...
I have two avocados that are perfectly ripe and ready to make guacamole. I don't have any ground beef to make tacos to go with the guacamole...but I think I'll make chicken tacos and surprise everybody!

***

I am wearing ...
slouchy, disreputable workout clothes. Like, so disreputable that I'm going to have to change before I go to the clubhouse with Kim.

***

I am creating ...
Once I get my scraproom set back up, I have a couple of pages niggling around in my brain. I still haven't found one envelope of Christmas pictures that I am positive I ordered.

***

Towards a real education ...
We are plugging along in everyone's curriculum. We will be finishing just a skosh behind the area public schools, but I am hopeful that will help me keep doing a little school through the summer without anybody (read: Will) really noticing. I am really starting to look forward to ordering Exploring Countries and Cultures. It is so fun to have new curriculum to peruse!

***

Bringing beauty to my home ...
There's a LOT changing around here! We recently got some new furniture and I'm super-motivated to streamline the rest of the house. I am a packrat, and an unorganized one at that, so decluttering is a foreign concept to me. Wish me luck.

***

I am reading ...
nothing at the moment. Any recommendations for me?

***

I am hoping ...
that Will and I can get the Tumor (our 75-pound LoveSac) up two flights of stairs before Scott gets home.

***

Around the house ...
Just a lot of furniture-moving and clutter-tossing.

***

One of my favorite things ...
When Will or Katie *gets* something I'm trying to teach and their face lights up. Or--even better--when they're excited enough about what they're learning to talk about it with Scott over dinner.

***

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week:
I would really like to get rid of some of the excess that's taking over the schoolroom. If I can get that done by the end of the week, I'll feel like it was a very productive week.

***

A Picture I am sharing:

Will on some crazy bungee jump thing at our church's Easter Egg hunt. He waited in line for close to an hour, but it was completely worth it to him, and he's still talking about it.

Be sure to visit Peggy for links to more daybooks.

(And, if you're so inclined, come back here tomorrow to see Will's new bed.)

Daybook for March 30, 2009

2009-03-30T12:02:00.003-04:00

For March 30, 2009

Outside my Window...the famous DC cherry blossoms are supposed to peak this week. It's gorgeous.

I am thinking...about how ridiculous it is to update a blog just twice in a month. A month. I really have to do better.

From the learning rooms... We're still working our way through the states. I think Will was getting a little bored with it, but we've spent a few days on Kentucky and Daniel Boone so maybe the little break will do him good.

I am thankful for...having so much time to spend with Will and Katie.

From the kitchen...I have been craving pie for the last few days and this morning I woke up craving apples, so that seems reason enough to make apple pie! I'm also throwing together some french bread to round out the pasta that's becoming our standard Monday-night dinner. (The irony there is that we have pasta because it's easy and last-minute. What is it in my personality that needs to complicate "easy and last-minute"?!)

I am wearing...blue jeans and a red top.

I am reading...various homeschooling and time-management books. I would probably be more satisfied if I sat down and read ONE time-management book cover-to-cover. I'm also reading two books on Emergent Christianity, a topic that makes my brain cramp.

I am hoping...for wisdom.

I am creating...Easter eggs for the church egg hunt. Well, not creating them; but none of the prompts start off, "I am stuffing candy into..."

I am hearing...Katie stepping deliberately heel-toe, heel-toe on the hardwood floor. I can tell by the way she's walking that she's wearing her patent-leather Sunday shoes, which she calls her "high heels."

Around the house....beds are made, dishes are done, rugs and carpets are vacuumed and bathrooms are sparkling. There's a little pile of junk on top of the fireplace but that's next on my list. Will and Katie are not quite sure what to think about all the cleaning.

Some of my favorite things...Will's crazy sense of humor, Katie's cuddles, Scott's shoulders, strawberry anything, a letter in the mail, sandwiches from Delicious Temptations, especially those with avocado, a brand-new tube of mascara

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...The things I know about so far: homeschool, TaeKwonDo, ballet, church, writing co-op, doctor's appointment. I have a feeling a few more somethings will pop up. I think I have a scrapbooking opportunity coming up in the next couple of weeks, so I need to download/upload/order some pictures.

Here's a picture I'm sharing with you:
I think cherry blossoms are just so beautiful!

Please visit Peggy's blog, The Simple Woman , to read more Daybook entries.

Daybook for March 2, 2009

2009-03-02T11:14:00.003-05:00

For March 2, 2009

Outside my Window...we got a good, thick blanket of snow last night, so thick that Scott stayed home from work and Will can barely concentrate on school for wanting to go sledding.

I am thinking...about the wonderful homeschool moms' retreat I attended on Saturday. It was nice to spend the day with old and new friends, but even nicer to get a shot in the arm to finish the year strong.

From the learning rooms... Will and I are enjoying the overview of the 50 states, and he seems to be retaining some interesting little fun facts. I love the way his brain works: he thought it was ironic that Georgia is known for producing both my favorite and least favorite things: Coca-cola and peaches.

I am thankful for...a husband who is a family man.

From the kitchen...we had sandwiches for lunch made on baguettes that Scott made yesterday. I'm not usually a big sandwich fan, but they were really good! One of the little tasks niggling around in my head is the need for me to plan out the weeks' menus, so dinner will be whatever is on hand and quick. Sounds like pasta to me.

I am wearing...black sweats and a grey T-shirt.

I am reading... I am flipping through several books, but I am looking forward to sitting down and really reading Charlotte Mason's Putting Down Rails.

I am hoping...for a productive afternoon while Scott & Will sled and Katie recuperates. (She had some flu-like bug yesterday, but seems much better today.
)
I am creating...the life I've dreamed of. Today I'm making steps toward all of my goals.

I am hearing...Katie is watching a Strawberry Shortcake movie and Will is working quite diligently on some copywork. It would be a massive understatement to say that copywork is not his favorite, so I'm really proud that he's powering his way through it.

Around the house....My goal today is to get the clutter out of the kitchen. That will actually be a huge accomplishment, because some of it has been sitting there so long that now the assumption is that's where it belongs.

One of my favorite things....a night of really restful sleep. (I mention it mostly because it didn't happen last night. Poor Katie was so sick.)

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...with all this snow, I really don't know what the week holds! Will we be able to get out tomorrow for ballet and Tae Kwon Do? Surely by Wednesday we'll be able to go to church. I think I would really benefit from a day or two completely at home, but after that cabin fever starts to get me.

Here's a picture I'm sharing with you:
This is Krypto, our sweet, patient schnoodle, dressed in Katie's Fancy Nancy getup.

Please visit Peggy's blog, The Simple Woman , to read more Daybook entries.

Daybook for February 16, 2009

2009-02-16T15:53:00.003-05:00

For February 16, 2009

Outside my Window...it's been a rather gloomy day here. The sun seems to want to shine, but just never quite got going.

I am thinking...about a bunch of little tasks I want to wrap up before dinner.

From the learning rooms... Katie finished her Kindergarten curriculum last week and has moved on to a Summer Bridge book to keep her skills fresh until we're ready to start first grade. Will is studying birds in Bible and science and getting an overview of different states. That's really pretty interesting to both of us.

I am thankful for...charming children, homemade bread, two working cars, federal holidays.

From the kitchen...we had sandwiches for lunch made on baguettes that Scott made yesterday. I'm not usually a big sandwich fan, but they were really good! One of the little tasks niggling around in my head is the need for me to plan out the weeks' menus, so dinner will be whatever is on hand and quick. Sounds like pasta to me.

I am wearing...a red shirt and black shorts. Not because it's warm here, but because I'm planning to run up to the clubhouse and work out in a minute.

I am reading... Rachael Ray's magazine. And don't think it doesn't kill me to admit that.

I am hoping...for a pleasant evening of family togetherness.

I am creating...scrapbook pages, of course! Last night I finished Katie's ballet recital, except for the journaling. Tonight I'm going to order photos for a crop Friday night.

I am hearing...Katie working on copywork. This is harder than I thought it would be, but if Charlotte Mason and Ruth Beechick know their stuff, I'll be glad we did it.

Around the house....I hear a load of laundry spinning in the washer, which must be Scott washing his uniforms. Other than that, all the laundry is washed and folded! The kitchen, however...well, that's next on my list.

One of my favorite things....Katie's smile.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...I am going to take these children to the library tomorrow or die trying! Then we'll hit ballet and Tae Kwon Do and call it a day. Wednesday is church and Thursday is Writer's Workshop. We're all excited about Friday: I am going to a scrapbook crop at a friend's house and the kids will have a babysitter for a few hours until Scott gets home. Joy, joy, joy all around.

Here's a picture I'm sharing with you:
Katie giving her acceptance speech for her Kindergarten diploma. :-)

Please visit Peggy's blog, The Simple Woman , to read more Daybook entries.

Wendy's Daybook for 1/26/09

2009-01-26T12:04:00.004-05:00

For January 26, 2009

Outside my Window...we're seeing the first snow flurries we've had all winter. Will and Katie are so insanely excited about this.

I am thinking...if there is snow falling outside, it would probably be smarter not to be barefoot in the house. Next time I'm upstairs, I'm grabbing some nice fuzzy warm socks.

From the learning rooms... Will hates spelling, or so he's been telling me constantly since last week. This morning his spelling lesson went smooth as silk. What's up with that? (Not that I'm complaining!!)

I am thankful for...clean laundry, hot breakfasts, good memories of wonderful friends and a good nights' sleep.

From the kitchen...today is Chinese New Year (Welcome, Year of the Ox!) so we're having Orange Chicken and homemade egg rolls.

I am wearing...a red shirt and yoga pants.

I am reading... Sarah Witcher's Story aloud to Will (and Katie, when she feels like it). It's part of our school curriculum. I am between books for myself, at the moment, but a trip to the library will solve that!

I am hoping...our trip to Target in a few minutes won't be cause for a Mommy meltdown.

I am creating...paper lanterns to decorate for Chinese New Year. I would like to be creating Chinese dragons, but I'm just not sure I have it in me today.

I am hearing...Will and Katie building a movie theater in the living room. (and wondering how much building is really involved in such a project? I'm scared to look.)

Around the house....I have a couple of loads of laundry leftover from the weekend that need folding. I'm noticing that when there's no football on tv, Scott doesn't seem to get around to folding. Ah, well...I'll find something on Tivo and take care of it real quick.

One of my favorite things....warm brownies.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...my mom and dad are arriving on Thursday, so we'll be busy-busy-busy getting ready for their visit. Katie is having her birthday party (two full months late. ooops!) on Saturday, with a matinee showing of "Hotel for Dogs." I really need her to finalize the guest list; it seems to be growing each time she runs through the names.

Please visit Peggy's blog, The Simple Woman , to read more Daybook entries.

Martha Stewart Doesn't Live Here. Adjust.

2009-01-07T10:45:00.002-05:00

Katie, my sweet Kindergartener, was working on a worksheet for the letter V. The page had several pictures of things that began with the letter v that she was to identify, color and cut into flashcards. She easily recognized a vase, vegetables and a vest. But one picture had her stumped. "It's... a... Don't tell me...it's... I don't know, Mommy, what IS that?" I sighed. "It's a vacuum cleaner, honey." Just further proof I haven't quite found the right balance between homeschooling and homemaking!

The Official Family Christmas Letter

2008-12-18T15:46:00.009-05:00

Thanks for stopping by my blog to read about our year. If this is your first time here, welcome! Feel free to come back anytime to see more glimpses into the Button Factory. And now, to our review of 2008...

We have settled into life in Virginia and finding more and more to love about the area. Our wonderful, wonderful church really makes this feel like home. I am teaching a first grade Sunday school class again this year, with Scott as my extra-extra help. The kids love him. Will and Katie really enjoy participating in everything the children's ministry offers, but the annual Trunk or Treat at Halloween and Sports Camp at the end of the school year are particular favorites.

Will is in second grade this year, and Katie is in Kindergarten. This is our third year of homeschooling and I love it as much as ever! The homeschooling community here has been a great support system and we've enjoyed many field trips, park days, co-ops and a creative writing club with our new friends.
(Will learned that feeding alpacas really tickles because they don't have bottom teeth. I learned that alpaca wool makes beautiful, supersoft, superspendy sweaters and wraps.)

Will is still taking Tae Kwon Do and is currently a brown belt (Brown is 3 belts below black.) His class recently began sparring and using weapons, which has rejuvenated his interest in the sport. Doesn't he look ferocious?

Katie is in her second year of ballet and really enjoys it. She has made several friends in her class and always looks forward to seeing them. I get the biggest kick out of seeing her in her little pink getup with her hair in a ballerina bun. So demure! As soon as class is over, though, she rips that bun out and shakes her hair back into her preferred wild style.

Scott changed jobs in early 2008 and is now wrapping up (in another 3 or 4 months, that is) a stint as an executive officer. I think the hours that they work border on criminal, but at least he works with cool people and is within walking distance of a Starbucks. That's all he really needs, right?

Scott's newest passion is sailing and it is infecting us all. Will and Katie know more boating terminology than any Air Force children I know. Katie can draw and label all the parts of a sailboat. (Do you know what a boom is? A vang?) Will is the knot-tying expert and is a huge help to Scott when we actually sail. The two of them participated in a day of sailboat racing this fall and came home so high that I thought for sure they had bought a boat. (We haven't--yet!--but they constantly discuss possible boat names and troll the internet in search of a deal.)

And here's a random picture from our summer vacation to Oregon. We spent a couple of hours at the coast with a couple of Scott's brothers and assorted nieces and nephews. The water along the Oregon coast is substantially colder than the water at any other beach I've ever been to. It was funny (but not surprising) to see people drinking coffee on the beach. That's the "world-famous" Haystack Rock in the background.

MERRY CHRISTMAS and a very HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all!

Poetry in Motion...Lots of Motion

2008-12-15T16:39:00.007-05:00

I think Children's Museums, Wonder Places and the like are just about the most fun ever. When I grow up, I want to either own one, run one or maybe just hang out in one. I took this video at the Gilbert Children's Museum in Salem, Oregon, which we had never had the chance to visit before. (And never would have, if Amy had not arranged the outing.) It has been stuck in my camera since our summer vacation and today was the day that I decided to get it uploaded or die trying.

Gilbert House more than lived up to my expectations. There were creative play opportunities, cultural learning opportunities, and science opportunities galore. Will's favorite exhibit was "A Child's Trip to China." Besides practicing writing Chinese characters and cuddling giant stuffed pandas, he, Katie and John dressed up in traditional costume and made up a tea ceremony.

Katie thought that was pretty great until she saw the next room. Every single thing about this room was custom-made for my expressive little free spirit. (The video starts off a little slow; please give her 10 or 15 seconds to find her groove.)

This is video I shot of her playing in the exhibit called Recollections. I know we must have spent more than an hour in there. She absolutely loved it and went back for more after lunch. (We had a picnic lunch at their ginormous outdoor playground--where I first started to obsess about making raspberry jam after eating The Best PB&J of my LIFE, courtesy of Amy.) You can read more about the Recollections exhibit at the Gilbert House website. Or, here, I'll copy & paste it:

Recollections is a colorful, dazzling projection that allows visitors to create vivid, full-size, time-delayed images of themselves. Combining computer technology, a color camera, a large screen projector, and a special retro-reflective screen, artist/software designer Ed Tannenbaum has created an environment that allows the user to explore time and motion in beautiful colors. Over 256 colors can be displayed on the screen at one time as visitors move and become part of a work of art.

So here's my new plan. Until further notice, I want to go to the Gilbert House every time we're in Oregon. I may never make it to The Enchanted Forest, but I'm okay with that.

2-4-6-8

2008-12-04T10:13:00.003-05:00

Two children, a boy and a girl. Now that they're eight and six, life seems to be settling down to a manageable level of chaos. Still, I often think that one or even two more little lambs would be quite nice. We've just returned from a glorious vacation at my sister's and being with her brand new baby boy has sent me into full-fledged baby lust.

Having been raised in a family of six children, Scott assures me that I have a romanticized notion of what mothering four children would be like. Deep down I know he's right. An Aebi gathering with all the siblings, spouses and kids is utter madness, but I love it anyway. I love it because it's a rarity for us to be with family, and in the midst of an Aebi gathering, there is absolutely no question that we're surrounded by family.

Maybe it's just the way it's supposed to be. Will and Katie have both--an abundance of cousins and the intimacy of our immediate family. Yes, let's go with that. Two children, a boy and a girl. Just what I needed.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

2008-12-01T06:00:00.002-05:00

1. Egg nog or hot chocolate? Or? What is this "or" business? Egg Nog AND hot chocolate.

2. Do you wrap presents or just put them under the tree on Christmas morning? We wrap, although I get worse and worse at it the more gifts I wrap. I read that the secret to beautiful wrapping is using lots of tape, so we'll see if this year's gifts look better than usual.

3. Colored lights on tree or white? My preference is for white lights, but last year Scott and the kids brought home a bunch of colored lights and the world didn't come to an end.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? no; there's plenty of kissing going on around here as it is. ;)

5. When do you put your decorations up? The first weekend of December. Never, never, never in November. I am militant on this. There shall be NO Christmas merriment prior to 1 December. I am even post-dating this entry, even though my poor, neglected blog is in desperate need of a post.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? Sweet potatoes with coconut-pecan topping. "Red Jello" (that's family shorthand for strawberry jello with crushed pineapple, crushed bananas and crushed strawberries. Don't ask me why we don't call it crushed jello.) . Cornbread dressing with green chiles. What, you really thought I was going to pick ONE favorite?

(Even the best jello on the planet is not particularly photogenic.)

7. Favorite Christmas memory as a child? My dad would go downstairs and make a fire while we waited "patiently" at the top of the stairs. Then we would rush down the stairs, see what Santa had brought and open gifts.

8. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? My mom was usually the one losing her mind to open a gift on Christmas Eve, so we did growing up. Will and Katie don't, because--in case you missed the memo--I am the meanest mommy on the planet.

9. Do your Christmas tree decorations follow a theme? Yes. The theme is the same every year. I call it "A Very Aebi Christmas." Our tree has picture ornaments of the kids (with new ones added each year), ornaments from the places we've lived and ornaments that represent special events in our lives. When an ornament gets broken or goes missing, it's a big tragedy. (Michelle, if you're reading this, do you remember the time Katie told you that "Mommy's Cwistmas ownaments are vewy special to her and if I touch 'em, she'll kick my tail." She was, what, three?)

10. Do you remember your favorite gift? A favorite gift I received was an antique copy of a biography of Walt Disney, part of a series of books that I absolutely loved as a child. A favorite gift that I gave was a year long subscription to the Homemade Cookie of the Month Club. I put together a brochure listing each month's cookie with an oh-so-clever little description. Lemonade cookies to cool off in July, chocolate-covered cherry cookies in February...it was campy, but I was so proud of it.

(William at 2. My sous-chef and vice-president of quality-control)

11. What is your favorite holiday tradition? We make a gingerbread house together, although so far it has always been from a kit. A Good Mother would bake the gingerbread herself, but what can you do. We also decorate Christmas cookies, typically with as much icing and candy as you can load on. After Santa eats one, he pretty much goes into sugar shock.

12. What tops your tree? Will picked out a star from Target. He loves it. That's all I'm going to say about that.

13. What is your favorite Christmas song? I like just about all Christmas music. I got really sick of it last year though, because the Christian station we listen to was playing it 24/7, starting the day after Thanksgiving. (See #5 above.) Char had to talk me down and will probably have to do so again this year.

14.Favorite Christmas movie? A Christmas Story. I can't even think of it without starting to laugh. "Fragile! It must be Italian!"

Blessed be the name of the Lord

2008-11-21T10:32:00.004-05:00

I've had this song stuck in my head for, oh, about 5 years. It's one of Will's favorites and he often (often) starts singing it out of the blue.

A couple of days ago I was telling Scott that I'd recently learned that a guy at our church used to be a hair model. This tidbit was especially juicy because as the years have gone by, his center part has gotten wider and wider, if you know what I mean. Will wandered through the kitchen as Scott was speculating whether losing one's hair would be more painful if one had been a hair model. Ever the philosopher, Will volunteered, "Well, the Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Just like my song says. " Then he hit the chorus hard with some rockin' air guitar.

And now a word from Katie...

2008-11-14T23:56:00.003-05:00

We had a babysitter come tonight and Katie spent the day in quite a state of anticipation. She wanted everything to be just right, even her hair. She wanted to put the cow stuff on her hair to make it pretty. I was completely mystified. I thought of a cute dress she has that has a cute purple cow print on it, but that didn't fit with the context of having pretty hair. I just could not imagine what "cow stuff" she could be speaking of. Finally after several minutes of my trying to get clarification from her, Will spoke up and asked her, "Do you mean mousse?"

"Yes. Mousse." she said immediately. "Can I put the mousse stuff on my hair to make it pretty?"

Ah, of course. Mousse. It seems so obvious now.

Simple Woman's Daybook

2008-11-10T10:53:00.003-05:00

For November 10, 2008...

Outside my Window... the only thing still growing in our little patio garden is the rosemary, and I can smell it today when the door is open. It smells absolutely wonderful.

I am thinking...about how much fun I had scrapbooking this weekend.

From the learning rooms... I'm embarrassed to say that I haven't even looked at what we'll be doing this week. Thank God for the people at My Father's World...they have it set up so that I can just pick it up and get started if I need to. (And sometimes we all need to!) We have just this week and next until we go to a "lite" school schedule in December.

I am thankful for... happy memories.

From the kitchen...spaghetti and meatballs, probably. I may have Will & Katie help me make some French bread to dress it up a bit. I don't even remember what we have on hand for dinners, so I'm glad I wrote it down...somewhere. It's going to take me a day or two to get back from my mini-vacation mentally!

I am wearing...pajamas, unapologetically, at 11:00 am.

I am reading...emails. Over a hundred of 'em. Not checking in for a couple of days caused quite a backlog, especially with all the mail order/internet companies in the universe reminding me that I can do all my Christmas shopping with them.

I am hoping...a burst of energy will miraculously strike me.

I am creating... a very special, intentional Christmas season for my family.

I am hearing...William explaining to me how he can attach yarn to Katie's (heavy) booster seat and, through a complicated system of levels and pulleys, cause the living room curtains to open and close. (Please note that at this moment on November 10, 2008, Katie is not currently talking to herself.)

Around the house...I don't even want to think about all that needs attention here today. We're going to pick up the family room together and then I'm going to do one--ONE--load of laundry and spend 15 minutes putting my craft room back in order. That is all I'm doing today. I'll do a little more tomorrow.

One of my favorite things....is conversations with Will and Katie.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...I'm planning to spend the week getting back in the swing of things.

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

This is one side of the fall garland we made. I got the idea from the wonderful blog of maya*made and the tutorial is here.

Please visit Peggy's blog, The Simple Woman , to read more Daybook entries.

Simple Woman's Daybook

2008-11-03T06:20:00.000-05:00

For November 3, 2008...

Outside my Window... it's quiet and dark, but hopefully it will be a nice clear day because we're going sailing this afternoon.

I am thinking...about the internet and wondering if the positive/negative scales are tipping too far to the negative side.

From the learning rooms... Katie has a little more work to do on her "Xx Fox" unit. Will is going to be doing some science experiments with yeast that I think he will find interesting. (Would make perfect sense to make bread this week, but I'll have to see when we could squeeze it in.)

I am thankful for... frequent flyer miles.

From the kitchen...I'm thinking a nice cozy breakfast of oatmeal and toast. For dinner I am making Red Beans & Rice with cornbread and blackberry cobbler for dessert. (My father-in-law's favorite, according to Scott. It's usually not my nature to be suspicious, but I happen to know that blackberry cobbler also rates pretty high on Scott's list of favorites. Coincidence??)

I am wearing...jeans and a red long-sleeved T-shirt.

I am reading...I'm not reading anything at the moment, but I did sneak a book for myself onto my last Amazon order. It's called When Children Love to Learn: A Practical Application of Charlotte Mason's Philosophy Today.

I am hoping...that everything comes together and I'll be ready to go on the scrapping weekend. (Well, I'm ready now; it's my "stuff" I'm a little worried about!)

I am creating...a plan for the holidays. Then I'll just work the plan and everything will be smooth and stress-free. Or so I keep telling myself.

I am hearing...Katie is talking to herself ("She said yes; she said yes; she said yes," over and over and over again.) and Will is doing something loud upstairs.

Around the house...my father-in-law is in town visiting us, so I've been doing the minimum (even by my standards!) around the house. I think I have two loads of laundry downstairs that need to be folded. (It could be a lot worse, though!)

One of my favorite things....being in a bookstore with time to browse.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...Swimming is over--YAY!! Tuesdays are going to be so much less draining, no pun intended. And I'm leaving Thursday for a long weekend of scrapbooking so it's going to be a quick week!

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

This is a tea-towel embroidered by Scott's 92-year-old grandmother. She had done a half-dozen or so with different clusters of fruit, but I got the strawberry one because she knows about my affinity for strawberries.

Please visit Peggy's blog, The Simple Woman, to read more Daybook entries.

The Worst Part of Censorship

2008-10-30T22:40:00.003-04:00

This completely cracked me up. Thought it might make you smile, too. My father-in-law just arrived for a visit, so I might be scarce for the next couple of days. (ha! This is my first post in, what, almost two weeks?) But I do have things floating around in my brain that I want to share.

Simple Woman's Daybook

2008-10-20T11:29:00.003-04:00

For October 20, 2008...

Outside my Window...it's crisp and sunny...just gorgeous. I think it's warmed up substantially since William took the dog out this morning and came in squealing, "Break out the cocoa and crank up the fire--I can see my breath!!"

I am thinking...about birthday and Christmas gifts. I know it's time to break out the holiday planner when my brain starts whirring like this. It's just too much for me to keep straight between now and the end of the year.

From the learning rooms...We're already on Week 6 of Adventures?! Will will be covering New Netherland/New York in colonial times for history and Jesus the Bread of Life in Bible. I need to find a glass Coke bottle for the yeast experiment in science. (Yay--a trip to Wegman's!) Katie's letter of the week is X (with a minor in "K" at her insistence) so we'll be looking at foxes and reading the pertinent Aesop fables.

I am thankful for... Ray Bearden.

From the kitchen...I'm in the mood for chicken and rice for dinner. I don't feel like anything fussy.

I am wearing...black sweats and a blue shirt. And honestly, it just feels wrong. I need to unpack my warmer red shirts.

I am reading... Stand Up For Your Life by Cheryl Richardson. I've been allowing far too many little irritations to drain my energy over the last year. This book is great inspiration for clearing out what you don't want in your life to make room for more of what you do want.

I am hoping...to really connect with some key people this week.

I am creating..."page kits" for the many, many scrapbook pages I hope to complete in Massanutten.

I am hearing...Katie is talking to herself ("Oh my goodness, what happened here? The twins should always sit together! I think we should call the FBI." I couldn't make this stuff up if I wanted to.) Will is asking me if I've seen his arrows. Now Katie is singing a song about the "F! B! Eye-eye-eye-eye!"

Around the house...laundry is already humming along. I want to run the vacuum through the living room and school room after lunch. If I have enough apples, I would like to make apple pie jam this afternoon.

One of my favorite things...when Scott laughs.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...No activities scheduled (beyond the typical swimming, TaeKwonDo, ballet, writers' workshop and church) but I'm in the mood to check out a museum or something in D.C. Will still wants to revisit the pumpkin patch. (Big maybe on that.)

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

Scott (my third child) rough-housing with Will on the giant beanbag (nicknamed the Tumor). When Scott lands, it launches Will about three feet in the air. A good mother would not let them do this.

Please visit Peggy's blog, The Simple Woman, to read more Daybook entries.

How to Achieve Bliss...Cheaply

2008-10-09T08:10:00.001-04:00

I was perusing the message board at Two Peas in a Bucket, a scrapbooking website, recently and came across a NSBR topic that interested me. NSBR stands for Not Scrapbook Related, and at Two Peas, that can mean just about anything from politics to the evils of Uncrustables. I'm not even kidding; the NSBR board is notorious for its ability to create drama over any subject. But I get enough good information there to make it worth wading through the drama, and this particular day I struck gold.

A woman posted that she had gotten herself addicted to Schwan's microwavable brownies. Since the Schwan guy stops by our house every other Saturday, I made a mental note. The next time he stopped by, I tried to buy some, but he was sold out. You know me, that made me want them all the more.

Two weeks later, he was back, and this time he had a box of the elusive, bliss-inducing brownies. Yippee! But when I opened the box, I realized for the first time what I got for my $5.79 (plus delivery charge, plus fuel surcharge). I got four stinkin' brownies. Exactly enough for everyone in my house to have one. One!!

Well, at that point, the brownies were what Scott calls a sunk cost, so I figured we might as well enjoy them. And enjoy them we did!! You pop each little tray of frozen brownie batter in the microwave and nuke it for 50 seconds, top with a little ice cream and kiss your troubles goodbye.

But the cost still really bugged me. So I got to thinking. What would happen if I made my OWN microwavable brownies? Hmmm.

So I got out my mom's easy, quick, best-on-the-planet brownie recipe. (I bet you could even use a boxed brownie mix.) Will and Katie helped me mix it up, and then we put about 1/4 cup of batter in my Pampered Chef prep bowls. (Give 'em a little squirt of Pam.) Since the batter wasn't frozen, I nuked it for 30 seconds. It was perfect. A little ice cream, a little squirty whipped cream, and my kids are dancing around proclaiming me a kitchen genius. (Well, okay, what Will actually said was, "This is just as good as a mix!" Little bugger.) My mom's recipe made enough for 10 1/4 cup brownies--which is a PMS brownie, not the 1.5 x 1.5 inch sized brownie that Weight Watchers, the Biggest Loser or any other weight loss entity would allow. But the prep bowls I used come with a good little lid, so I popped the extras in the freezer and it must makes me happy to know they're in there waiting for me whenever I need them.

Because my generosity today knows no bounds, I am sharing my mom's brownie recipe with you. It only takes about 2 minutes longer than using a mix and, in my opinion, is soooo worth it.

Melt 2 sticks of margarine and set aside. (I use butter.)
Measure into mixing bowl:
1 1/2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
6 heaping tablespoons cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups nuts, optional (I didn't use them in the microwavable version.)
Stir in:
4 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla
the melted margarine.

How easy is that?? Now, if you want to bake these in the oven, use the wrappers from the butter to grease a 9x13" pan and bake it at 350 for 30 minutes. If you're microwaving them, it's 1/4-cup portions, one at a time, for 30-35 seconds now or 45-50 seconds after they're frozen. Let it stand for a minute--even a little longer if you can--so it can set. And also because it will burn your mouth.

Oh no he didn't!

2008-10-08T09:52:00.002-04:00

You can imagine, I'm sure, how this Lights. Me. Up.

hat tip to newsbusters via Elizabeth at Real Learning.

*Edited to add that I keep trying to calm down enough to say more about this but so far I haven't been able to. Let's just say that I think Mark Warner may be confused about "what it means to be an American." Apparently as a Christian homeschooling mom, I am just a step or two away from his worst nightmare.

I am so freaking tired of politicians.

Simple Woman's Daybook

2008-10-06T09:18:00.005-04:00

For October 6, 2008...

Outside my Window...it's so beautiful that I opened all the windows to let the air in. I don't think I've done that since we lived in Hawaii. The kids, of course, think they're freezing. (Put some clothes on, wienies.) *Update: I had to put a sweater on, too. But it's still a glorious day!

I am thinking...about our church's Trunk-or-Treat. We are still trying to come up with a super-cute idea to decorate the minivan.

From the learning rooms...Katie is going to be studying frogs this week. (Ew. The tadpole-to-frog transformation--while miraculous--completely grossed me out as a kindergartner. The tadpoles were so beautiful; the half-tadpole/half-frogs, not so much. Again: ew.) Will is wrapping up Jamestown and moving into Native Americans in history. He's also going to be learning about stars in science.

I am thankful for...Monday being a stay-at-home day.

From the kitchen...I think we'll have the last of the General Tao's Chicken out of the freezer. Quick, easy and really delicious.

I am wearing...blue jeans and...(wait for it) a red shirt. And, for the first time this season, I have on my black clogs that I live in during the fall and winter.

I am reading... blogs, blogs, blogs, blogs and more blogs. I have 117 blogs in my Google reader right now. That's just craziness.

I am hoping...and planning for a productive day.

I am creating...Christmas cards. It's never too early. (In fact, I am hoping it's not already be too late.)

I am hearing...Katie is talking to herself ("The winner is....Katie!! Oh, thank you! thank you!") and Will is playing his StarWars Lego Wii game. Some geese are flying over the house honking and I can also hear the construction crew working on a new house a block over.

Around the house...the living room needs a quick pickup, as does the playroom and my craft room. And while I'm down there, I think I'll just make a card or two.

One of my favorite things...Odwalla Strawberry C juice. Mmmm!

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...We have our typical swimming lessons, ballet lessons, Tae Kwon Do, creative writing workshop and church activities. I am going to call and schedule a haircut as soon as I call Crystal and admit I lost the card she gave me. And I am going to take all this stuff to the Post Office!!! (Am I the only one who will do almost anything to avoid going to the post office?? The post office nearest our house is always crowded and the employees suffer from chronic grumpiness. There is another post office where they are so nice I don't even mind how long the line usually is, but it's 30 minutes from here.)

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

Will throwing the football back and forth with Scott while we were on vacation. I love this kid.

Please visit Peggy's blog, The Simple Woman, to read more Daybook entries.

More He Said, She Said

2008-10-01T17:08:00.003-04:00

I should probably make this a regular feature since I talk so much about the crazy things my kids say.

Katie is a free spirit. Anyone who knows her will back me up on this. Her creativity and her ability to live in the current moment are beautiful things. They will carry her far in life. They will. (This is a mantra that a friend taught me when Miss Thing was in the midst of the "~~Terrible~~ Nuclear Meltdown Threes." The traits your child has that make you most crazy will be assets to them as adults. I repeat this to myself daily.)

So, anyway, like every other free spirit I know, Katie doesn't like to wear shoes. Nor does she like to put things away. She comes by that honestly, because I'm not big on putting things away either. Why go all the way upstairs to put shoes in the closet, when you won't need them again until you're on your way back out this door that they're currently right beside? See, I get that.

What I don't get is taking one shoe off in the playroom on the first floor and the other shoe off in the kitchen on the second floor. How does that happen? And then how does it completely leave your mind, so that when you're told the next day to "get your shoes on; we need to leave" you have absolutely no idea where on God's green earth they could be? How does that happen??

Just recently that exact scenario played out for the 1,342nd time, and as I swore holy oaths to myself that from now on, we were going to lay out clothes the night before including shoes, I took the opportunity to explain to Katie why this was such a frustrating experience for me. In great detail. Just so she would be crystal clear on it.

"....so I need you to take better care of your things and know where things are so that when I tell you to put your shoes on, you will be able to find them. Do you understand what I'm saying, Katie?"

"Yes, mommy."

"OK, then tell me what I'm saying."

My sweet child looked me in the face and without a trace of irony said, "Blah, blah, blah, Ginger."

Simple Woman's Daybook

2008-09-29T12:03:00.004-04:00

For September 29, 2008...

Outside my Window...it is a cloudy day, but some sun is starting to break through.

I am thinking...how very happy it makes me that Will and Katie get excited over a pile of library books.

From the learning rooms...we're really kicking into high gear. I feel like I finally have my feet under me on what needs to happen and when.

I am thankful for...a husband who folds laundry while he watches football.

From the kitchen...we're having flank steak for dinner with salad and baked potatoes. I desperately need to go through the freezer and put together a thorough grocery list before we go to the commissary on Wednesday.

I am wearing...black shorts and a red and white t-shirt.

I am reading... I am still trying to get into The Shack which is supposed to be mind-blowingly wonderful. I'm just not feeling it yet.

I am hoping...Katie will continue to sleep well this week.

I am creating...holiday cards for Operation Quiet Comfort.

I am hearing...Will and Katie turning the pages of books. That's bliss for me.

Around the house...I'll call it a very productive day if when I finish a post-weekend pickup, a load of laundry and an inventory of what's still in the freezer.

One of my favorite things...is getting a letter from a friend in the mail.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...It's actually a quiet week in the Button Factory. We only have our typical swimming lessons, ballet lessons, Tae Kwon Do, creative writing workshop and church activities. I had toyed with the idea of going to a pumpkin patch, but I think I'll put that off a week or two.

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

This is me and my sister-in-law Mama Nirvana on our way to lunch at Gerry Frank's Konditorei.
Picture it: two moms, alone (except for 4-month-old Sam, who is the most easy-going baby I've ever seen. Ever.), eating quiche and cake, and talking and laughing. Heaven, heaven, heaven.

Please remember to go to The Simple Woman to see more Daybook entries.

Life in the Button Factory

Some Unwelcome Excitement and an Epiphany

Daybook September 2, 2011

my latest scrapbook page

Daybook for July 14, 2011

How to spend a summer day

It's like a dream come true!

A scrapbook page & thoughts on antiques

A Daybook for May 11, 2011

Something that makes me inexplicably happy

8 Things To Know About Will

Katie at 5

Wild Thing

Riverwalk

Wendy

First Pro Football Game

Thanksgiving

Darth Vader spring line

Pumpkin Patch

Dinomania

A little bit of scrapping, a little bit of blogging

A New Daybook

Scrump-dilly-icious

Daybook, August 25

Rounding up June

A glimpse into our homeschooling day

A New Blogging Gig

A quick daybook

Further back in the Time Machine

The Freak Show Goes To Target

How To Make Cascarones

Easter 2010

First Day of School--2009

Menu Plan Monday, March 22

Menu Plan Monday, March 15

Happy birthday

A little long-overdue craftiness

Menu Plan Monday, March 8

Paging Nurse Ratched

Menu Plan Monday

Really random glimpses

Don't miss this!

Eating my words

Daybook for January 26, 2010

Wrapping up 2009

Recipes that make me feel merry

Cranberry Waldorf Salad (by special request)

Katie loses a tooth

Twenty Questions, Thanksgiving Edition

Twenty Questions, Thanksgiving Edition

A couple of scrapbook pages

Bedtime Stories

Because, apparently, I don't have *quite* enough going on...

Culinary FAIL

Privatization

Harvest time

Snapshots of our First Day

It's almost time!

He said/She said, part 87

What's been keeping us busy this summer

Marking one year

Okay, so, funny story...

Daybook for April 27, 2009

How do they rate restaurants, anyway?

Introducing the IKEA "Fjelldal " Loft Bed

Daybook entry April 20, 2009

Daybook for March 30, 2009

Daybook for March 2, 2009

Daybook for February 16, 2009

Wendy's Daybook for 1/26/09

Martha Stewart Doesn't Live Here. Adjust.

The Official Family Christmas Letter

Poetry in Motion...Lots of Motion

2-4-6-8

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

Blessed be the name of the Lord

And now a word from Katie...

Simple Woman's Daybook

Simple Woman's Daybook

The Worst Part of Censorship

Because, apparently, I don't have quite enough going on...