I thought it was funny...

I sent Brian to the store. Not too long later the phone rang but I missed the call. It was Brian so I returned the call and here is the conversation (banter) that took place:

M: "What did you need, dear?"
B: "Well, I got to the store and I remembered the paper towels, but I forgot the other item on the list."
M: "Honey... it was a two item list!"
B: (chuckling) "I know...I did finally remember that it was cheese. But, meanwhile I found coffee on sale. While I have you on the phone, where do I find the paper towels anyway?"
M: (pause) "Um...in an isle...."
B: "Thanks, dear."
M: "What do I think I am - the store map?"
B: "Well, I thought you might know."
M: "You look at those little signs above. Look for paper products. (guessing) Gee, try isle 12."
B: "Actually... that is correct."
M: "Ha! I guess I'm more all-knowing than I thought I was." (laughing) "Now if you think you can navigate your way out of the store, I'll take my shower now."
B: (chuckling) "I'll do my best."

That was interesting...

I was trying to update my Garmin with my computer downstairs. I heard a squeaky "scritch, scritch" sound coming from near our rabbit. That was a sound I had never heard the rabbit make. I went back to my work. I heard the sound again, only in paying attention more closely it sounded like something scratching at the window (which is behind the rabbit cage). I went to investigate. There in the window well was a .... (say it with me mom...) It's a opossum!

The ugly critter was stuck in our window well. I went upstairs to tell Brian and see if we could figure out what to do about it. The girls heard me talking about it so we all rushed back downstairs to look at it. We shut off the lights in the basement and used a flashlight to look out and hope to see it better. It was a fairly smart critter - it began wedging itself between the wall of the window well and the metal rungs of the ladder and it worked itself up each rung one at a time until it got out!

Good. I hope it is far away by now. Especially since I didn't have my mom here to burn it... but that story will have to come some other time. :)

Home school Rant

Yeah, skip it if you don't want to hear about it... I just have to think "out loud" for a bit.

Ok, so those 3 precious children you see in my photos. I gave birth to them. I love them more than my own physical life. I decided to home school them because I believe I am the BEST teacher BECAUSE I love them. No other teacher in this world will ever love them as much as I do. Period. Am I a perfect teacher? No. Are they perfect students/children? No.

But, who is responsible for them? I am. If they fail- that means I have failed. That's a lot of pressure all on it's own.

So, there are days that I just really don't want or need to hear about how inadequate people feel my children are performing in certain areas in comparison to other kids their age. They have strengths and they have weaknesses and I KNOW what they are. How many public school teachers know each student that well?

You'll have to excuse me if I get a bit testy when my children are criticized. If a person wants to help - great. If all a person has is comparisons and complaints - that department is open every 5th Tuesday from 9:51 p.m. to 9:53 p.m.

Rant over/

93 Years Old

Here's my Grandpa. No one would ever guess that he's 93 years old today! We brought him one of his favorite desserts (Swirl) and went to visit him today. In the middle of our visit, he was called to go downstairs to be in a commercial for the senior living facility. He was a newspaper reader. :) I'm hoping I'll find out the schedule so that I can see the commercial.

Way to Go!

I went to a wind ensemble performance tonight. Little Lucy was performing with an ensemble which will be featured at a state music convention after the first of the year. The performance was fantastic! Little Lucy was cooking on those mallet parts - especially on the last piece!

Excellent work!

After

The post yesterday was the before. The puppies were definitely looking mop-like. I was just procrastinating trimming them because I didn't want to cut the hair around their face. It's so cute when it's put up in a rubber band. I thought about taking them to a professional groomer, but they cost at least $50 for the two dogs. Instead, I bought a really good clippers and did it myself. I think they turned out pretty cute. I did decide to trim their face because I wanted to see their eyes. And hair does grow back...

Lucy

Snuggles

Snuggles & Lucy

When Children Decide the Use of Shelves

The puppies were thankful that we didn't receive file cabinets....

Impromptu Leaf Fun

I got a phone call Tuesday requesting our presence in my friend's back yard for some fun in the leaves. It was 63 degrees out and the forecast for the next several days didn't look too pretty. We loaded up and went over so that my friend's youngest could try to scare the girls by hiding in the leaf pile. We told them that they were going to help rake back there. It was pretty cute. Panda completely got into jumping into the leaf pile. The other two had fun...but as usual were more cautious. I had so many fun pictures - it was so hard to choose which to post. I had to get a picture of the whole leaf fun group in there, but then I couldn't resist the last two pictures of the two youngests who were ready to pose for all pictures. They did the serious pose with the rakes and then at the SAME time turned on the smiles when we told them to smile! A fun time was had by all. :)

11/11/11

This has to be one our of family's favorite numbers. I still remember that we would catch the time 11:11 on the clock so many times. I love numbers!

So... Happy 11/11/11 at 11:11!

On the series side of things - I thank the Lord for all the Veteran's. It's mind boggling to me that so many people are willing to serve our country and they give up so much of their lives to protect ours. May they be blessed!

Snow

Yes, we had some - for about 30 minutes. All that cold and dreary weather for 30 minutes of snow. The good news was that it rained all day and we really needed that moisture.

To stay warm I baked two more of those monster potatoes (which fed all five of us), fried up some hamburger that I got on manager's special, made apple crisp, and then washed all the dishes. After that I crawled in my bed and hibernated under my electric blanket. I did get some Christmas presents ordered from the comfort of my bed. :) I wish I could say I was more productive than that this evening, but I was just too cold.

Amazon

Amazon is my favorite company. I do nearly all my Christmas shopping there and get so much throughout the year too. I became a prime member a while back and wondered if it was really worth it and then they pulled out the stops in this past year. First they added the ability stream movies for free with my membership. That's kind of neat deal!

But they didn't stop there. We can borrow books for the Kindle with our prime membership.

That's pretty impressive customer service. There has been no price increase and yet they are providing more for their customers.

Where's the "like" button?

Earthquake

While we were working on our undergraduate work, Brian and I actually felt an earthquake for the first time. It was strange. It felt like a bubble went under our house. Neither of us even mentioned it at first because we both thought we were crazy.

Well, Saturday night I felt my 2nd earthquake. This one lasted longer. I could actually see the clothes in my closet sway. What a strange feeling! I'm thinking that if we are going to have earthquakes that there should at least be some sunshine and a beach to go with it! But, I'm definitely not enticed to move near a coast anytime soon after that. That would shake me right out of California very quickly.

Fall Back

I really dislike setting the clock back in the fall. You would think that I would enjoy the extra hour of sleep. I do like that part... sort of. Somehow it still makes me tired! What I really dislike is the shorter days. I really enjoy sunshine. The early darkness makes me want to be lazy and crawl in my bed under my electric blanket.

So, I have started counting the days already until the days become longer. 48 days is the count for today. In the meantime, I have plenty to do to keep me busy. Brian's brother's 50th birthday is next weekend. Thanksgiving is coming up. (which means I have shopping to do) I take my friend, Dee, to Mayo after Thanksgiving. The concert season begins after that. My registration work should pick up shortly as well. Christmas sneaks up quickly after all that busy work!

Family Time

Tonight we were able to enjoy time with my cousin and her son. We baked a few of those giant potatoes with hamburger and cheese and other toppings for supper. After supper we enjoyed a variety of games on Wii and then we popped popcorn and watched Kung Fu Panda together. It was a very nice evening.

Potatoes anyone?

Now THIS is what I call a baked potato! We got potatoes from the same place where we got the apples and pears and these things are HUGE! I think one could almost feed all of us.

What now?

I don't have a title any more - hahahaha!

Well, today was the typical day of school work. Following that, I started rearranging things to fit the bookshelves my dear friend gave me. It was quite the afternoon/evening of musical bookshelves, but I think I've got everything going where I want it. (going... it's not there yet.)

This evening it snowed for about 5 minutes. I don't want snow, so it can come and go that quickly and I'll be happy. But I vote that we bring back the warm weather. :) Meanwhile, I guess I will snuggle up under my electric blanket.

31 Days - Day 31

And so, to end the 31 days, I bring you this photo for your entertainment:

The teachers at one of Brian's schools every year dress up in some sort of theme. This year, the teachers at Brian's school all decided to dress up as "tacky tourists". I think Brian did a pretty good job. That's pretty tacky!

31 Days - Day 30

One more post to go after this one. Who knew?! I MIGHT just make it after all.

We delivered 242 more phone books today in 4 hours. We did pretty well. We have one apartment complex left and about 40 businesses and we will be done. I was very proud of how hard the girls works. We had an hour and a half of help from a very kind volunteer. :)

Two of the girls fell asleep quickly tonight. They were TIRED. Brian and I are too.

With that, I will go to bed! I need sleep.

31 Days - Day 29

Happy Birthday "Anonymous" Dad! I hope you had a good day today! We got 465 phone books delivered today while you were growing another year older. :) We enjoyed visiting with you on the phone this evening.

31 Days - Day 28

This is what 546 phone books look like stacked in my music room. Ladybug will deliver them (with our help, of course) as a fundraiser to help her raise money to go on a choir trip next year. By that time, Butterfly will be able to go as well. So, if you have ever wondered how those yellowbooks get to your house, now you know. :)

Here is Ladybug and Butterfly posing with all the phone books.

We loaded/unloaded and bagged all of these in 2 1/2 hours. I thought we did pretty good! We'll see how delivery goes. We still have around 300 more books to load/unload/bag and deliver after these are gone. (546 books were one pallet)

31 Days - Day 27

I resemble this:

"Sometimes I pretend to be normal, but it gets boring so I go back to being me."

That post on facebook made me smile. I have always said I'm not sure who really IS normal anyway. Go ahead... if you think you are normal, make your argument in the comments. :)

(this ought to be entertaining...)

31 Days - Day 26

Another fairly "normal" day. (whatever that is) We got school work done. And I'm enjoying being able to have my afternoons to actually finish school stuff and to be able to make things for supper! I've never been able to have a block of time where I can make (from scratch) muffins and soup and many other things. My girls were helping too and were so excited about it. Butterfly thanked me for making all the yummy things this year. This has been such a good change for us.

And the good news is - this month we made it without having to transfer money from savings. It was not possible last month. So, hopefully we are settling into our very tight budget and getting it to work.

31 Days - Day 25

It always amazes me what a different 24 hours can make in either direction.

I was thinking about my friend, Dee. Sunday night all was, for the most part, normal in her life. (as normal as it has been this past year) Monday morning rolls around and her husband ends up in a terrible motorcycle/deer accident. The world seems to have turned upside down. Another day passes and things look more clear. Her husband was up and around and has been moved to a regular hospital room and they have begun talking about rehab. Things have already started taking on a new "normal" in the way of deciding the best avenue for getting him well.

We never know what the next day is going to hold. But, I am certainly thankful that I have the Grace of God through His Son, Jesus. I have the reassurance that I am forgiven and washed clean no matter how bad my day might seem.

31 Days - Day 24

It was 80 degrees out today. It's just not right to stay inside on a day like today when it is going to get cold again on Wednesday. But, we have been making such good progress on school - we just decided to take it outside. Ah... was it nice.


Panda posing for the picture:Butterfly couldn't resist smiling for this one:
Even the cat wanted to join Ladybug in the school work. :)

31 Days - Day 23

After church we stopped at Braum's to get our milk. While Brian went in to get the milk...

Panda: "Mom, I'm thirsty."
Mom: "You'll live until we get home."
Panda: "You mean I won't live after we get home?" (said with a mischievous glint in her eye)

31 Days - Day 22

Panda lost her 2nd tooth yesterday. She would have been excited, but she doesn't know where it went. We are pretty sure she swallowed it. She said it was there before breakfast, but after breakfast it was gone. Her only concern was the tooth fairy. She asked if I could write a note to the tooth fairy explaining that the tooth was missing and see whether the tooth fairy would still leave a prize. I reassured her that the tooth fairy has seen this sort of thing before and I'm sure would understand that these things happen. She seemed ok with that. Now she just needs to go to bed on time, so the tooth fairy can visit...

31 Days - Day 21

Whoa - almost forgot to blog again! Isn't that a shocker!

Well, let's see... this morning we rushed around so that this afternoon we could have "Socialization Class". Some people call it "Friend or Group Therapy". We did this in combination with "Dessert Therapy". (more apple crisp, of course - with ice cream)

All is well now. :)

31 Days - Day 20

I'm over halfway there on this 31 day thing. Whew!

Yesterday, we had a fun afternoon. We spent time with another friend and learned how to lapbook. I had heard of it many times, but didn't really know what lapbooking was or how it could be used for our benefit in homeschooling. But, it was truly fun. I think the girls could really get into it and there are so many similarities to scrapbooking that I think I can get into it as well.

So, we tried our first one today. It was very basic. We did a simple addition lapbook for my younger two to practice their 1 to 9 addition facts. We cut, we placed stickers, we listened to music, we talked, and we had a lovely afternoon. But, when I went to put the book together, I found out I have no glue! Oops. I can't believe I have kids and do school here at home and have no glue. It has to be hiding somewhere, but I guess I'll go to the store and get some! I need colored paper too.

31 Days - Day 19

Grandpa's birthday was today. Since Angela was writing memories on my comments section from yesterday, I will run with it. :)

We are so very blessed to have what I would consider the best grandparents in the world. And we were also blessed to have been able to visit with them for so much of our lives. We still have two grandparents living.

Grandpa was a Lutheran pastor. I loved his dedication to serving God's people. I love the fact that my Grandpa baptized me, but when it came to my wedding, he kindly declined any part in the ceremony because he wanted to be there as "Grandpa". I loved hearing his stories about his trips to the Holy Land. I loved the time I was visiting them as a child and got pink eye and he was my "doctor". He made sure he did every set of eye drops faithfully. I, too, loved being called "Little One" even after I was an adult and married. I remember his smile because it seems like he was always smiling. I loved posing for pictures in front of the Nativity Scene that they set up each Christmas. Yes, the camper was fun to run around the circle of the house. At least, they always knew where we were by when the camper would rumble across the kitchen floor! I loved looking at all the woodworking he did. I loved that he wrote a book so that I have his words with me.

Those are just a few of my memories. I thank the Lord for the blessing my Grandpa was in my life. I look forward to the happy reunion we will all have in heaven someday.

31 Days - Day 18

Day 18 - well, that's pretty good. I didn't expect to make it 5 days, quite frankly.

It was another busy day. But then again, I don't think I know how to have a day that is not busy. The rest of the week is looking pretty crazy as well. I'm hoping I don't forget anything.

It's getting cold outside and I'm not looking forward to that, but thankfully it will warm back up for the weekend. I haven't turned on the heat yet and was hoping to keep it off a little longer. It's so nice to have lower electric bills. But, I am a wimp in the cold, so as soon as I can't stand it any longer the heat will be on.

Well, I have nothing exciting to write about tonight, so that's it.

31 Days - Day 17

I'm not sure where my day went! It started with Bible study and memory work with the girls all snuggled in blankets in my bed. It just seemed like a nice thing to do on a chilly morning. I would have grabbed more books and stayed there but the girls started getting goofy and wild, so I sent them to play for a few minutes which worked out because no sooner had I sent them off and I had about 3 phones calls for technical computer support. :)

We did more school work, lunch and chores and I had a few more phone calls.

Ladybug had choir tonight and we had a meeting right beforehand on a fundraiser that we can do to help raise money for the trip that we will now take in 2013. We are going to help deliver phone books to each residence on a route. That's a fundraiser I can get into - no door to door sales. Just dig in and do some work and get some money in return. We can work together on this one as a family.

While Ladybug was in choir, I went to the store. Manager's Specials for the win! I scored a bunch of ground beef on sale. It's so hard to find ground beef on special, so I was pretty excited.

After choir, I skype called a friend and then skype chatted with two more friends.

Brian told me a little later that Panda had another cute observation. I bought him some coffee while I was at the store. I found a new flavor that he has enjoyed - Starbuck's cinnamon - he said it's tastes kind of like a holiday blend. I set it on the counter as I went to pick up Ladybug. He found it as Panda walked into the kitchen. She saw his reaction and said, "Well, it looks like someone is spoiling you."

31 Day - Day 16

Oh, good grief. This is why I normally do NOT blog every day. I can't think of enough to write about every day. I guess my blog could be a cure for insomnia. I'm getting sleepy just trying to think of something to write.

So... if you are bored, blame my sister, Angela. Angela, if you are bored - too bad! You asked for it!

I did read a funny uncyclopedia entry for bassoons today. I thought about sharing the link, but parts of it were not very nice, so I won't. Here's an excerpt, though, for your entertainment (or at least for my entertainment):

"The bassoon is known for its lovingly soothing sounds (for fans of flatulence) and its incidental use as a lethal weapon. It is approximately 3/10 of a league long and weighs about 2 stones. If thrown correctly (this is known as the "perfect pitch"), it can drop large game animals."

31 Days - Day 15

Do you want to know the real reason I'm a night owl?

I do enjoy staying up later, it's true. It's supposed to be my time to unwind. I don't do mornings well. I wish I did. But, here's an example of how most nights go in my house and it has been particularly bad tonight (as you can see by the time of this post):

The kids are finally in bed after bouncing out of bed no less that 17 times.... (on a good night, actually tonight may have been a really good night - I think it was only 6 times) Lights were left on throughout the house. I get up to shut them off and go back to bed. Someone gets up to go to the bathroom. I get up again to shut off the lights they left on. Now the puppies bark because they woke up when someone went to the bathroom. Hubby decides to let them out. (that was nice of him) Hubby forgets about dogs and falls asleep in the chair downstairs. I get up to let the puppies in, because they are now barking at all the neighbor dogs and anything else that might move, and I have to turn off the lights AGAIN. May as well make the rounds to check on the sleeping children. (wow, they were really asleep this time...) Go back to bed, start to unwind... again... Hear a loud noise that sounds like someone has just tried to enter the house through a window and has tripped over the 43 things that the kids most likely left lying around the house. Get up and hope that whoever entered will kill me before they try to kill my children. Hope that they are wounded bad enough in tripping that I can call 911 in time. Discover that it is only my clumsy husband tripping over the 43 things left around the house. Because... he just remember that he didn't let the puppies back in... which I already got to. He goes back to bed. I go back to bed. I get back up to turn off the lights he left on so he wouldn't trip over the 43 things left on the floor. I go back to bed. Unfortunately my heart is still racing after the thought of someone breaking in. And, I'm a bit ticked that I had to shut off lights again. Oops. Now I have to go to the bathroom. Well, you would too, if you'd just had the dickens scared out of you. Back to bed again. Now I have to try to unwind... again.... Bummer, I forgot to brush my teeth...

31 Days - Day 14

Well, this won't be too exciting...

I put in an 11 hour day at the hospital today. We have a weekend class this weekend and I went in early to help a co-worker with a power point presentation. Yay - one of my favorite jobs - computer help! :) I really enjoy that.

So, if you need me, I will be catching up on my email and going to bed so that I can help finish the class tomorrow.

31 Days - Day 13

I had some requests for the "perfected" apple crisp. I'll do my best to post it because it is my modified version of a recipe. So, your mileage may vary. :)

Apple Crisp

3 large gala apples (that's the kind I used)
1/4 C. water
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 C. sugar
1/4 C almond flour
1/4 C butter (melted)

Put apples in a baking dish, sprinkle with spices, water and vanilla. Work sugar, flour and butter as for pie and sprinkle over apples. Bake until apples are done, about 30 minutes in 350 degree oven.

Now, here's my little trick. I made this once and there was quite a bit of liquid left from the water, vanilla and natural apples juices. I saved the liquid and used it to pour over the apples the next time I made this. I only added the sugar, flour and butter mixture on the top. Oh my - it was sooo good!

31 Days - Day 12

Yup, I'm here. I didn't miss my post for this evening. But I don't have a clue what to blog about again. I'm too lazy to go get my photo card and reader or I could just do a wordless Wednesday.

I have perfected (or at least what I consider perfected) an apple crisp with almond flour. Oh. Yum.
Have you ever been so hungry for something that you can smell it (when it's not there)? That's what my problem is right now. I think I'll be making another batch of apple crisp tomorrow. I have plenty of apples. :)

Well, that's a rap/wrap/whatever. I posted something, so that counts. Hee hee! Good night!

31 Days - Day 11

Thoughts from the 5 year old

Panda: "Mom, I read a word in my writing book last night"
Mom: "Oh, really? What word was that?"
Panda: "Let me show you. (opens writing book) Is this word 'octagon'?"
Mom: "Yes it is! Very good!"
Panda: "I don't even know what that word is, so that's pretty impressive."

31 Days - Day 10

Whew - cutting it close tonight again. I had my technical support hat on and then was enjoying the company of friends when my friend's daughter asked if I had posted on my blog for today. They got rid of me that way... (hee hee) (It WAS 11:30 p.m. ...)

Here's a picture for your enjoyment:

31 Days - Day 9

Love, hugs and prayers for Elizabeth's family.

The following was posted on her Caringbridge site tonight by her dad, who is a pastor:

+ Elizabeth Hope +
May 31-Oct 8, 2011

And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord." Luke 1

31 Days - Day 8

It was a busy day.

Ladybug's children's choir sang for the Fall Festival up at the college. They did a lovely job!

Following the performance, we had lunch at home. I put on some 80's music and cleaned the kitchen and then messed it up again by baking. I baked some bread and some chocolate chip cookies so that we could have food to take on the road tomorrow instead of eating out before going to Ladybug's clarinet lesson.

It has been chilly and RAINY all day today (woo hoo - we NEEDED this rain), therefore, my plans for sausage potato soup fit perfectly.

After that I checked my email messages and found out that my dear Looper friend's baby daughter's health is declining. She posted that dear little Elizabeth will be with the Lord soon. I really wish I could be there to hug her.

I posted this verse of a hymn on her Caringbridge site:

Who so happy as I am, Even now the Shepherd's lamb?
And when my short life is ended, By His angel host attended,
He shall fold me to His breast, There within His arms to rest.

(I Am Jesus' Little Lamb, vs. 3, LW 517)

31 Days - Day 7

Whew! Almost missed day 7, so I'm going with a photo. Who can resist a photo of this cutie-patootie? This was right after Panda lost her first tooth.

31 Days - Day 6

I found a joke today that I thought would be great on my blog:

There are three ways a man wears his hair - parted- unparted or departed.

Good thing my dad has one hair left...

31 Days - Day 5

Whew - almost missed today.

I have to work tonight. Well, I work every day and night, but I get PAID for this job. It's not an extraordinary wage, but it is something and it is a fun job.

I was waiting for a new round of facebook re-posts because the new timeline was supposed to be coming out. I figured that would send people in a frenzy really quickly. But, apparently, there is some company with that name and facebook is now on hold for that one.

So... I really have nothing to blog about. I should have title this month "31 Days of Nothing."

I would post a picture, but it's getting close to time to leave - so no time for that!

31 Days - Day 4

Uh oh... it's day 4. What should I blog about? I made it 3 days already.

I guess this could be the "Seinfeld" blog post. The blog post about nothing. I'll just randomly type .... NOTHING important.

Well, gee... a phone call just gave me a subject.

It amazes me how much work some people will go to in order to NOT do any work. If they would just buckle down and do the job, it would get done. But, instead, they chase their tails and everything else trying to find ways to get out of what they should be doing.

Maybe that wasn't really a subject. I think it was more of a rant. Well, back to your regularly scheduled lives.

31 Days - Day 3

The 4th Commandment

The other day my friend's daughter was here visiting and Panda was wound up and running circles through the house. I told her to stop running in the house as she continued her lap around the house. The next time she came by, I said, "Panda, what is the 4th commandment?" (ha ha ha - this was the memory work for this week) She paused, looked at us and said, "Um... I think I'll walk."

31 Days - Day 2

Alrighty then. Sister, Angela thinks that I should blog 31 days in a row. We'll see about that. But, hey, since I blogged about blogging - that was day 1. :)

I think for day two I'll cover one of those lovely Facebook status reposts. This one was about to make me shut down my account due to the number of people who reposted it! (NOT because I believed it!) I decided to consume chocolate instead.:

FACEBOOK JUST RELEASED THEIR PRICE GRID FOR MEMBERSHIP, $9.99 PER MONTH FOR GOLD MEMBER SERVICES, $6.99 PER MONTH FOR SILVER MEMBER SERVICES, $3.99 PER MONTH FOR BRONZE MEMBER SERVICES, FREE IF YOU COPY AND PASTE THIS MESSAGE BEFORE MIDNIGHT TONIGHT. wHEN YOU SIGN ON TOMORROW MORNING YOU WILL BE...PROMPTED FOR PAYMENT INFO...IT IS OFFICIAL IT WAS EVEN ON THE NEWS, FACEBOOK WILL START CHARGING DUE TO THE NEW PROFILE CHANGES, IF YOU COPY THIS ON YOUR WALL YOUR ICON WILL TURN BLUE AND FACEBOOK WILL BE FREE FOR YOU. PLEASE PASS THIS MESSAGE ON IF NOT YOUR ACCOUNT WILL BE DELETED IF YOU DO NOT PAY

1. It amazes me to think that some people would believe that you have to repost this stuff instead of receiving an official notification on your Facebook account. Other times that they have added or changed things that needed our action, there was a note at the top of the page after we log in. Oh, maybe they forgot how to do those notes while they were reprogramming, that's it...

2. It is interesting to think that Facebook wouldn't charge any of it's members who reposted this statement. Really? Why not? For how long?

3. Someone pointed out that all the icons on Facebook are blue... so... how could you tell you are "safe"? Nice one.

4. What on earth is the Gold, Silver and Bronze membership grid? That's kind of funny. Do you only get one status update a week for a Bronze membership? Or maybe they limit the number of friends you can have.

5. "Copy and paste before midnight tonight..." When is tonight? Maybe it was last night. What time zone? Bummer.

6. "When you sign in tomorrow morning, you will be prompted for payment info". I've got that one covered... DON'T SIGN OUT. Problem solved.

7. "It was even in the news" Really? Did you know that there's a link button and you can link that little story right there in your status update? Funny... I never saw even ONE link to a news story.

I have to wonder if there's someone in "Facebookland" making this stuff up and then monitoring how many people will actually repost. I've always wanted to make up a ridiculous one of my own and see how far it would go.

Is there any interesting thoughts that I missed on this one?

31 Days

I read on a blog linked to another blog, which I believe was also linked to another blog that there is some sort of 31 day blogging thing. I pondered the idea (for about 30 seconds) and then laughed to think I could possibly keep up every day. I'm not sure I've blogged 31 days THIS YEAR. So one post a day... INCONCEIVABLE!

Furthermore, it would disrupt the commentary in my comment sections. I'd hate for my family to get lost going from post to post trying to find each other.

So, I think I'll continue being lazy here and go back to facebook and try to figure out how to follow the new news feed and ticker.

Oh wait... there's an idea... 31 days of stupid reposts on facebook. I could post my "favorite" dumb status reposts. Hmmmm....

But, of course

Panda has a wiggly tooth. I can't believe she's old enough to start loosing teeth, but she is 5 years old. I asked her how she got so big.

Her reply: "Well... I just keep having birthdays."

I found it!

I finally found the card reader! The timing was kind of funny - Dad just called today and said he had an extra one if I needed one and I had just found it this morning before my hair appointment. These are the delayed first day of school pictures. That's the day I officially promoted them to kindergarten, 3rd grade and 6th grade. Where has the time gone?!

Panda - Kindergarten

Butterfly - 3rd Grade

Ladybug - 6th Grade

What?!

5 year old: "I love it when the dorks on Snow White....."

Mom: "The what?!"

First Day of School Pictures

Well, use your imagination as to what the pictures would look like. I can't find my card reader...

We started the day after Labor Day. School was actually going better until I announced that it was the first day. Next year, we won't talk about it - we'll just keep going.

I might have posted this post about no pictures sooner, but I was busy reading all the emails from the comment box.

(We just won't tell the main people commenting - they think I don't visit my blog.)

Labor Day Weekend Projects/Activities

Hey, it's September. Guess I should do another post. When in doubt (or boredom), Dad, refer to YOUR post. :)

Most people rest on Labor Day or at least do something fun over the weekend. Most often we tend to take the holiday's name literally and put in some work. Brian is usually a few weeks into school by this time and we end up finding all the things that we didn't get done over the summer (which is far more than usual this year).

The big project this weekend was the bathtub. We've hated the caulking since we moved in. It was some sort of no-caulk caulk (although oddly enough, it had caulk behind it... not sure what the point was). It did not seal well and looked like it had mold or mildew collecting behind it. Furthermore, if you tried to take a shower in there, the water would go behind the caulking and then tunnel out the side of the tub, which would end up on the floor and ultimately in the basement. (yeah, ask how we know THAT one...)

We finally dug in and pulled that junk off. After that Brian and I spent a considerable amount of the day cleaning up the leftover caulk and other "junk" which had collect behind there. Wow. That was a huge difference already! Brian re-caulked the tub and I cleaned up the edges. I think it looks great! No, it's not "professional", but it's clean and it does NOT leak anymore. We have another functional shower.

In addition, we cleaned out more corners of accumulated "paperwork". I collected another entire box of paper recycling. Brian reorganized all the girls' games (since they like to sneak up into the closet late at night and pull the games down instead of going to sleep...)

Meanwhile, the girls and the puppies enjoyed the 20 degree cooler weather by playing outside. Ladybug discovered that Snuggles loves the soccer ball. She kicks it, Snuggles chases it. There you have it - easy entertainment. Lucy just gets in the way of the ball or chases Snuggles as Snuggles chases the ball.

The Squeaky Wheel Gets the Grease

HI DAD! I LOVE YOU!

There. Now if I don't post for another month you have something nice to look at everyday. :)

Car Trip Funnies

The girls were watching "Horton Hears a Who" as we were driving to a friend's house. As we arrived it got to the scene where they chant: "We are here, we are here, we are here!"

As we were driving into Oregon, we heard from the back seat: "Daaaadd! She's....." right as I looked up and saw that we were passing Tattletale Road.

On the Road - Day 1 and 2

We left on Sunday and made it as far as Jenn's house in Colorado. She was so kind to house us and also fixed a fantastic supper and breakfast. We had a wonderful visit. I love these visits with friends more than I love the vacation itself!

From there we went to Wyoming (Monday). We stopped at the fairgrounds in Douglas to see my friend Wendi. Her daughters were competing with their horses and doing very well. She was so sweet and fed us sandwiches for lunch and then treated my girls to a little bit of horse back riding. The girls were on cloud 9!

We continued on to Angie's. Angie fixed a wonderful supper for us and we enjoyed more visiting. The girls are enjoying a slumber party. I hope they sleep sometime... And I hope they don't keep Angie and her husband up all night!

I have pictures, but I might save them for later and post them to facebook... still pondering that one. I'm too lazy to post them tonight anyway.

Tomorrow we will drive around in Yellowstone. I can't wait to see the beautiful scenery!

Baptism Birthday

My husband and I share a baptismal birthday on May 16th. We thought it was so neat when we discovered that since his birthday is in December and mine is in April. His church had a vacancy when he was born, so there was a delay in getting him baptized.

Another interesting note for May 16th is that our oldest daughter was due that day! She decided to surprise us by coming 10 days early, but I always thought it would have been neat for her to share our day as well.

Many thanks to our parents who 40 years ago carried us to the font to drown us poor miserable sinners!

Driving Miss Lucy

The girls are having fun. The puppies.... well... they are well loved. :)

Puppies!

That was supposed to read "Puppy" but....

We went to see our new little puppy with the hope of bringing her home in the next couple of weeks. When I called my mom's friend to set up our meeting time she told me that they had their shots and the vet ok'd them to go home with people. So, she said we could take our puppy home if we wanted which would save us a trip there later.

We met her and got to see all six Shih Tzu puppies. What a crate of cuteness! Panda immediately latched on to one of the little girls. Ladybug fell in love with another. My mom's friend told us that we really should get two since she was giving us a discount. I wasn't sure I wanted a boy and she had told me earlier that the other girl was spoken for. So, I told the girls that IF we were to get two they would have to choose one of the other puppies. That's when she told me that both girls were available. I asked her if she was sure - she could easily sell a second puppy, especially a girl, to someone else at a better price for her. But, she said she would love to see them go home with us if we wanted both. That is how we ended up with two. It is actually a wonderful thing. They are keeping each other company and have not whined except when hungry. They are so funny when they play too!

We couldn't decide what to name them. A friend suggested Laverne and Shirley. That got me thinking about the names Lucy and Ether (I love "I Love Lucy"). Ladybug wanted Lucy and Susan from Chronicles of Narnia, but Panda was stuck on "her" puppy being called Snuggles. We have Lucy and Snuggles. Who can argue with a 5 year old. :) Lucy is on the left above.

A Treasure for My Heart

A church member was asking about my Grandma last week after church and then was sharing memories of her trip to the Holy Land with my Grandparents. Grandpa was a Pastor and went to the Holy Lands several times. It was fun to hear about the trip again from this church member.

Today she brought a treasure. She brought a picture of my Grandpa next to a sea. He was standing there with his pant legs rolled up to his knees and was all smiles. I loved being able to see that picture. I wish I had a copy of it. Maybe I'll have to ask her if I can borrow it so that I can scan a copy.

It's such a neat treasure to share memories of someone you love.

Spring cleaning

That's what we've been up to this week. It all started with a new vacuum cleaner. I love my new vacuum! I started vacuuming everything. That led to decluttering so that I could vacuum more.

A very sweet friend of mine kindly gave us her keyboard. (the timing was amazing - I had just found out that our keyboard can not be repaired when she contacted me) I picked that up on Monday. That led to rearranging my music room/living room. It also led to more vacuuming.

Ladybug gets confirmed on Mother's Day, so I'm hoping to keep up this progress. I love having a clean, decluttered house. Unfortunately, most of the time, I fight an uphill battle. Both ways. In the snow. Barefoot. (that is the kind of humor you get when I decide to blog at 1:50 a.m. ...)

Puppy

Well, in a little over six weeks, we will be the owners of a new puppy! Yes, I have lost my mind - but, you already knew that anyway.

I fell in love with shih tzus after dog sitting for my friends two shih tzu dogs. They are so sweet. My mom has a friend who was raising them, so I asked her to tell her friend that we would love to have one if they had another litter sometime. A week ago Monday, mom's friend called her to tell her that they had another litter.

This friend is so sweet that she is willing to sell us a female at a discounted price! I am so thankful! I have never actually purchased a dog. We have always found one at a humane shelter. But, we really wanted an indoor dog and the only way to make sure we get one that is small is to make sure we actually have the right breed. The other issue is that we don't want to cause problems with any students who have allergies. Shih tzus are supposed to be ok in that area.

I cannot wait to see these puppies. We still don't know exactly what they look like, so I still haven't thought of a name yet!

My Grandpa

Well, for the 2nd Wednesday in a row, my grandpa fell/passed out/fainted at church. Thankfully, he was at church where he was among people who could help and people who love him. So, now the question is what to do from here? He is 92 and has been living alone since Grandma passed away in July 2009. The concern is that no one is around to help him if he is alone and has one of these issues. But, the tricky part is that he likes him home and he loves his church. He does volunteer work at the church and it keeps him going. I hate to see him lose that.

I have offered to take him into our home. We live only 30 minutes from his church and could get him to his church and to his Braille volunteer work. Ladybug has been fascinated with Braille - so, we could all volunteer together and really learn something!

So here's the positives:
*He could have our room and bathroom - all on the main level. We could clean all our stuff out of the room and bathroom so it could be all his own stuff and his own space. We could easily move to the downstairs bedroom/bathroom.
*We are around all day. He would not be alone.
*I could get him to his church and Braille work and we could volunteer with him.
*He loves to walk. We have a beautiful bike path close and we could go with him so that he wouldn't have to walk alone. I know I could use more exercise!
*He used to play Yahtzee with my Grandma every afternoon. I have children who would eat that up! They love games.
*When my dh and I were discussing all of these possibilities - my kids got so excited at the idea. They asked when he could move in!

Amazed

Butterfly amazes me with her musical ears. She sat down at the piano this morning and figured out the melody of a song that one of my piano students was learning 4 months ago! She remembered it after all that time.

In the News

Check out this link to see Brian and the girls in the news. Their clip is about halfway into this news story. Panda is the one sledding down on her own. Naomi is climbing up the hill. And Rachel and Naomi sled down together. We borrowed the sleds from our friends and their son was able to join the girls as well. They had a blast!

Here's the link: Sledding

Locks of Love

Monkey donated two years ago and had grown her hair out again. It was finally long enough to donate again. Here's her new haircut:

Imagination and odd dreams

Panda came in this morning and snuggled up in bed with me. (I love that) Then out of the blue, she looks over to the side of the bed and said, "Great. My unicorn wants a snack." After that, she crinkled up her nose, looked to the side of the bed and said, "No, I told you no more snacks". I told her to put the unicorn outside. So, she got up out of bed and went to the door. She came back rolling her eyes and said, "Now I suppose the unicorn will bang on the door all morning."

Yesterday, I was almost late getting ready for church. I was dreaming that I was at work and when my alarm clock went off it went into my dream and I was told by my boss that every time I hit that buzzer I would get 20 points. I don't remember how many times I snoozed my alarm before I figured out that I was dreaming!

I Forgot

Another reason this poor blog is so neglected is that I think of things to write and then forget about them by the time I get a chance to find my blog again! I had two things on my mind to blog about earlier today and they are gone now! Oops.

Getting Dressed

Panda was getting dressed this morning and came to my room and said with a dismayed voice, "Mom, I'm trying to get dressed and the buttons go in front on my pants, but the tag is in front!"
I replied, "Oh, honey, sometimes they put the tag in front, so it's ok. What were they thinking putting tags in the front?! Those silly people"
She said, "Well, I'm pretty sure they messed up."

About that snowday...

It was certainly a nice gift. I had a list beyond what I thought could be accomplished, but with Brian's help, I got so much done today.

Here's what puzzles me, though. I don't understand why this school system doesn't utilize a late start instead of canceling all day. This school rarely takes a snow day because the superintendent knows that there are children out there who really need a warm place and need the food they receive at school.

After several hours this morning, the ice wasn't too bad. Most of it was melted. A one or two hour delay would have been sufficient to clear things off and get to school safely.

Oh well, I won't complain. It was a blessing to have my husband home today!

Surprise!

My hubby got a snow day! (It's really due to ice) This so rarely happens that it deserves a blog post. :)

Family Game Night

I know a lot of families that have started a family game night. I've always been envious - it sounds like so much fun! So, we decided to start one here. I'm sure it won't be without it's interruptions, but it should be fun.

We started last night using the Wii. Over Christmas the girls received several games, but this time of year it's hard to find the time to play the games.

We started with Mario Cart. Butterfly whipped us all! Brian and I lost miserably! Lots of giggling was heard. We moved on to Just Dance and Just Dance 2. Ha ha ha - a game where I can excel (not that I can dance - I've just used it as a workout, so I know the dances better. :) ). Lots more giggling. I took a break when they decided to play Wii Ski and Snowboard (we are one nunchuck short), but they enjoyed racing down the mountains together.

We'll see what next week has in store for the game night. Should be fun!

For my Dad

Hi Dad!!!

He was asking why I haven't updated my blog. By now, he may be the only one reading anyway...

Need a cello?

A friend of mine found this post on Craig's List. I had to copy and paste it just so I have something to come back to for a giggle after a rough day.

So my sister gave me this cello a couple years ago. It's a nice cello. Actually, it's a great cello. It's probably the best cello, but I don't really know much about cellos. Also the neck snapped off. Of the cello. So it's really more like 3/4's of a cello, but the other 1/4's still there, it's just not attached. It's kind of like you're getting two cellos, only one of them doesn't have a body and the other doesn't have a neck. But if you stand them up next to each other it's like old times. You could probably fix it with like some music glue or something like that.

She also gave me a cello bag that I can give to you too, now that I won't have a cello. It's a really nice cello bag. You can fit everything in it. Actually, there might even be a bow in the bag, I'm not sure. I don't want you to think that there's 100% a bow in the bag. It's way over there, I can't check right now. But if it's in there it's yours.

If you're like me and you don't know how to play the cello then you could use it as a coin bank. It's hollow and there are two S's on the front that you could drop the coins through. Then when it's filled up you could drop it off of your roof or carry it around like a change purse. Ooh, in the cello bag. It'd be like a cello purse. I'd do it but I'm moving across the country and it won't fit in my car. What else could you do with it. You could saw the front off and use it as a sled. Or give the neck to a baby as like a wizard stick for Christmas. Totally give this cello to someone for Christmas. Or Hanukkah.

Please come get it. I'd actually go somewhere to meet you if wherever we're going is a cool place. Like the desert or something.

I'm 90% certain the bow's in there.