A great mail day...

You just HAVE to love getting the mail when you get 12 pieces of mail in ONE day and not ONE of them is a bill but ALL of them are Christmas Cards!!!!! That was a good evening to sit and 'read' the mail!

Quite the week!

This week has been sort of boring for us...but I'm so tired, regardless. :) We (the boys and I) have spent most of the week working on cleaning and school. But that is typical. I'm just doing more cleaning than normal.

Brent has been sick this week...just a sinus/head infection. It's made his voice a bit croaky and he's been coughing a lot, but I think he's feeling better.

During this time of Brent being sick, Clayton has helped out more with the emptying of the dishwasher. The other day, he and I were working on it together and he asked me to do something for him that he couldn't reach. He said, "Thanks mom. You know, we're supposed to do nice things for each other, that's why I'm letting you do me this favor." LOL He was so serious, but it was so funny.

This morning, it was a typical Thursday morning for us: CRAZY! Thursdays are so busy that we have to literally hit the ground running. Well, I got the trash bundled, got Terry's lunch and breakfast done, got dressed and was sitting down to check email, when I heard 2 cars start outside. So I looked out the window....Terry had my van pulled up in front of (and facing) his car with the hoods up on both. He was having to jump his car.... :( So I went outside and asked what happened and he just turned and looked at me and said, "Thanks a lot!" See, I had borrowed his car last night for church (it was already warmed up) and apparently I didn't turn the lights off completely. The switch was almost to the off position. So, his battery was dead. :( So he got to scrape off his car AND my car (which I thanked him for!) before he could leave for work. Well, off he goes and I hear him drive away. Then I hear the lock on the front door...he's coming back in. He had stuck MY van keys in his pocket and drove off with them! Of course, he HAD to bring them back...we were leaving in less than 30 minutes. Argh! What a morning.

Well, it gets better. :) We had ice coming down tonight and so everything was covered over. I asked T when he got home how bad his car was covered tonight and how hard it was to get into. He just grinned. Apparently, he tried opening the door and nothing. He kinda pounded on the door to break the ice. Nothing. He used the edge of his key to cut into the ice on the edges...Nothing. He finally held the handle and put his fingers at the top and just pulled with all he had. Still nothing. Hmmm. He said he finally decided there had to be something wrong, but to be sure, he would check the locks. He had never unlocked it to begin with!! The poor thing has had such bad luck with cars today. :(

(And really, I'm NOT laughing at all!)

I better go get the kids to bed. I need to get my contacts out and hit the sack myself.

Christmas at Thanksgiving

Last weekend was a full one for us! It started on Thursday morning with Terry and I going to see his mom in Chesterfield. I had made her some fried chicken adn we filled a sandwich bag FULL of it...she ended up eating the entire thing while we were there. I had estimated that there was about 1 to 1 1/2 chicken breasts in there...so she had a substantial amount of protein! We were all thrilled that she was eating, and so was the staff at the facility. :)

We came home and had Birthday dinner for D and got the kids ready for bed...afterall it was 'Christmas Eve' for them. They got their new PJ's from Grandmas and went to bed...they were ALL asleep within 30 minutes, which is odd for them....they all like to lay in bed and talk and play and giggle. But that night, they went right to sleep.

The next morning was Christmas for them. Below are some pictures:


Mom helped us get our decorations out and she and the boys put the tree together.


Left: Clayton was so intent on getting the branches just right! Right: Clayton opened his stocking to find a gift-card attached to a cute frog! All the kids got gift-cards with different animals attached.


Above left: Brent got his first chapter books (Magic Tree House). Above right: He received a remote control truck from his cousins. VERY cool! Left: He is SO excited to receive his FIRST Bionicles. Obviously, he's a bit excited! LOL

Anyway, we had a blast and played many games. Terry still spent a good majority of the weekend in bed, since he couldn't sit in the chairs for too long a time. hehe But in the end, we were all ready to end the weekend. Between exhaustion and illness, it was time for us to all go our 'respective' ways...mine was straight to bed that night! LOL

I hope you all had a GREAT Thanksgiving!

Time to prepare

Well, it is Tuesday and we have worship tonight (instead of tomorrow night) so that only leaves me a few hours of today to work on the house. Hmm....what should I do first? Laundry? Clutter? School? LOL There are so many to choose from and NOT enough time!

Most of the family will be here on Wednesday night (mom and dad) but Sis and her family MIGHT be here in the middle of the night tonight. I will know more about that in a few hours.

I need to get a few things done before church tonight: organize food list, a few loads of laundry, and make supper. Then tomorrow I have 2 Dr's appointments (9 and 11) and need to wrap presents sometime before D & K get here. Then tomorrow night for dinner I'm making fried chicken so I can take some to Janice on Thursday. Plus in the middle of all that, I need to get back to the store to finish buying the perishable supplies that we'll need. I really am not sure when I will get it done. LOL

Oh, and then someone needs to clean up the basement for the kids so they have a place to play over the weekend. Hmm.....wonder who will end up with that job??

Oh and have to thaw the turkeys...did I mention I have over 34 lbs of turkey this year??

Plus, there are still presents that haven't arrived. Grr....I do NOT like the idea of not having the gifts here when we open the rest of the presents.

Okay, I have to go get busy. The boys need lunch and I need to swap the load that just finished washing. Sometime this afternoon, I need to sit down with my lesson for Bible class....the ladies class on Wednesday nights has started studying Revelation and I'm SO excited! WE just started last week, but I really think this will be a good and fun study.

More later....hopefully some pictures to share! (Which reminds me I need to charge the digital camera batteries! LOL)

It's gonna be a FUN weekend!

I simply can't wait for this weekend! Mom and I are going to the Arts and Crafts Fair that is this weekend....at 3 different locations! I am so excited! There is so much to look at and some of it is really cool (while some of it I can't see how ANYONE would pay money for it....but that's me!). LOL We went last year and are ready to go again this year.

After that, we will most likely start the process of food shopping for next weekend. I need to get the turkeys and some of the food bought so I don't have so much to do next week. Then there are presents to wrap and food to make. So much fun!

While we're gone, Terry and the boys plan on getting the fixings for homemade pizzas....and then making them for us all for dinner! The boys are excited to get to do something like that with Daddy....they don't EVER get to cook with their dad. :)

Great video...

I have seen this video before and thought I had posted it here, but can't find it. So am posting it now. I get chills everytime I watch this. It is labeled as "The Mission" Lifehouse's Everything Skit.

Slow start to the week....

Well, it's Monday. And I'm already tired. LOL We had a VERY busy weekend of getting all the Christmas decorations put up. Mom and dad helped us and we got it all done in about 4 hours. :) The boys had a lot of fun helping (I think) and are very pleased with all the lights in the house. :) (Then again, the Budget Man isn't so happy about all the lights!)

We had a busy day on Sunday of church, naps, and church. LOL

Then today, we did some school and worked on laundry and getting some things organized. Tomorrow, we have several appointments and places to go, so we may not get as much done. But that is okay. LOL

We have Christmas/Thanksgiving next week with my family and I'm working on getting everything around so it will be an easy and fun filled weekend. I have several places to go and several phone calls to make...not to mention gift shopping. :) I LOVE that part! :)

Time to go cuddle my boys....

Lord, thanks for the reminder

This week has been a depressing week for me. :( I had a Tupperware party on Monday night that was a bust...1 person showed up! I was so very depressed. Then I found out that something was going to be happening tonight (Friday night) and I wouldn't be able to attend. Then I check my email and see a post in a chat group that is virtually identical to one that I had posted earlier in the week. But this person gets rave reviews about their post, while mine went completely unnoticed. So, let's just say that by Wednesday afternoon I was feeling pretty sorry for myself and having all sorts of pity-parties for myself. Ugh.

Terry came home for lunch ....which if you know our situation, you know that he NEVER comes home for lunch, especially on a Wednesday, cuz it just takes TOO much time from his day and makes it harder for him to get to church that night, but the Lord sent him to help me. I believe this. .....anyway, we got talking and I told him how I was feeling and he said: "You know, it seems that with everything we know of going on with this family (won't mention names) and then with this person's dad, and now with how you're feeling....it seems that Satan is really working hard to attack Christians right now. Maybe now that you know that, you'll feel better." I told him that I was almost afraid to go to church that night cuz I didn't want to ADD to my feelings of being an outsider and end up feeling worse. But, I knew I would go, cuz that was the right thing to do.

Well, let me tell you. The LORD showed me a thing or two that night. I learned of a family that afternoon (my next door neighbor) who is dealing with a cheating husband and facing divorce....and they have only been married about 6 months. They have a daughter who is only 10 months old (okay, so they put the cart before the horse, but NO ONE deserves this....) How weird! As I was typing this, she came over with the baby to 'vent' and chat. :) So glad she felt like she could come over...she said she would do it again. Well, anyway, he is not willing to reconcile and she is finding herself in a situation that she never dreamed she would be in. When she married him, she thought she was marrying for life.

Then at worship that night, we were going over prayer requests before beginning class and one lady brought up the family who is local that has recently had a multitude of problems come their way...

1) they are young (22 and 25) and have 7 kids already, 2 of which (the most recent) are twins. One of those twins had issues in-utero and they knew she would have problems on the outside. She ended up in St Louis in the hospital, on a ventilator and the Dr's told her she had to make a decision about continuing life support....so the mom calls the dad who ends up leaving the other 6 kids with her dad so he can help in the hospital.

2) Something happened with their heating and he was using a wood stove (the young dad) and apparently it wouldn't light, so he threw on some gasoline.... Yeah, you know what happened. He is now in St Louis hospital with 70% burns on his body.

3) Shortly after that, the mom is home with the kids and she hears
something from one of them about a lighter...then a neighbor pounding on the door about flames coming from the second story windows... Well, there are oxygen tanks in the house (for the sick baby) and she starts throwing them out the window while trying to get 7 kids out of the house. The house is old and apparently is GONE before they can barely call for help.

Then 4) while she is cleaning up the kids from the soot and such from the fire, she starts finding bruises and marks on the children....after an examination, she is told they have been physically (and most likely sexually) abused by her father...the one who was caring for them while mom and dad were in the hospital in St Louis with the little baby.

SO! Needless to say, this story completely put my 'woes' into perspective and I thank GOD for my problems....knowing they could be much worse. I am humbled and blessed and I'm sorry it took me all of this to realize it all yet again. God helped me push Satan away once again, and I'm thankful to Him.

Terry is doing much better...he's been working this week and only comign home when he needs to....well, when he needs to have the bandage changed. I have to do that, obviously. He is still having to have me put his socks and shoes on in the mornings, but I can deal with that. He just can't bend over or lift things yet. But he got all the 'packing' removed on Wednesday and he says it feels much much better not having all that gauze in there. !!!! We will both be so thankful when this is all completely over and we hope and pray it won't happen again.

We are decorating for Christmas this weekend.... I KNOW, it's not even Thanksgiving yet. But this year, we are having Christmas on Thanksgiving weekend...at my house, so it HAS to be decorated. Not that I'm complaining. Hehe. An extra couple weeks to have my house decorated and I'm thrilled! :) Mom and dad will be here this weekend to help me, so I don't have to do it alone this year. That's a blessing. :)

I better go finish cleaning the kitchen and get some supper started.....

Beggs Family Farm

A couple weeks ago, we went to Beggs Family Farm with our homeschooling group and got to go on a hayride, pick a pumpkin, play, and go through a corn maze. It was so much fun! This is truly the NEATEST pumpkin patch I've been to! Here are pictures from the day:

Homeschooling thought for the day...

It simply amazes me sometimes how ignorant some people/parents are about homeschooling. And believe me, I used to be one of them! LOL That is one thing that I LOVE about HSLDA....their goal is to educate the public about homeschooling and let them know (prove to them) that homeschoolers are getting a GREAT education and are VERY well-accepted (and coveted) in the colleges and society in general.

I was talking last night with a lady who seemed to look down at homeschoolers and worry about them being able to 'defend themselves and their beliefs' to the outside world (she was talking religiously and morally)...and I assured her that even at the ages of 6 and 5, my boys have had plenty of opportunity to defend their faith and their beliefs simply in the circles of friends we have. They have NO troubles being able to do this and are actually MORE firm in their beliefs because they haven't been so confused in the last few (formative) years by so many outside influences.

It makes me so thankful for the support I do receive in my homeschooling journey....from family and the few friends I have that don't look down on me for doing so. God is good!

Laughing Preemie

I was looking for a picture on Google Images when I came across this picture below. I am just intrigued by the whole thing and had to post it....

Oh, and the link for it is: Neonatology

Update on illnesses

WOW, I just realized I haven't updated in a few days. Sorry bout that! I ended up sick as well and Terry and I have basically spent the last 4 days in bed moaning and groaning! LOL

Okay, read on at your own risk....some will have turned stomachs from this next description, so don't say I didn't warn you! :)

Terry's surgery went really well. The abscess was HUGE and the surgeon and nurses were completely amazed at his pain tolerance with this. Apparently, it was over 3 inches in depth....the surgeon cleaned out all the bad tissue and then just for kicks to see how big it was, decided to stick his finger in the hole. He said he couldn't' even touch the bottom of the abscess with his finger!! They said that with this sort of thing, the average person would be in the hospital begging for medication from the pain, while Terry's pain scale was at about a 5 on a 1-10 scale.

Anyway, I got him home and he went straight to bed. By then, I was feeling really weak and tired and needed a nap, but I called and contacted all those who needed to know about it all and then I went to bed. On Thursday afternoon, we went to see the surgeon so they could repack the wound....they gave Terry a prescription to use at the hospital until Monday to have the hospital people repack the wound each day...they don't want me having to do that as deep as it is. (And believe me, I am thankful!!) I have to replace the outer bandage periodically through the days when they get saturated, since the wound is still draining. But even that (if I look at the hole) is enough to make me nauseous. I simply can't look at it....his poor skin is pretty bruised up from it all. And it just looks gross.

We see the surgeon again on Monday afternoon and he will determine at that point how much longer we will be packing the wound.

Mom and Dad came down on Wednesday night and Mom took the boys Trick or Treating....I am SO THANKFUL for that! They got to go out and I didn't get sicker in the process! :) When they got back, they helped hand out candy to the kids that were still coming to our house. We got pretty tickled at Clayton with the last ToT'er to come to the door. C gave him the last 2 pieces of candy and said, "Sorry, that's all we have for you. If you want more candy you'll just have to go somewhere else!" LOL My innocent and honest child! :) I did manage to make my yearly Halloween Chili for dinner that night....I haven't missed a year since the boys were born. It's tradition around here to have chili on Halloween and I just couldn't break that tradition, even for illness and surgery!

Well, as for me, I am very croaky and have lost my voice for the most part. My throat still hurts, but I'm on meds and know that I will get better. It's pretty amazing, isn't it, that when everyone is sick Mom takes care of them...but who takes care of Mom when she is sick? At this point, no one. :) I have been slowly doing things around here...dishes, cooking, taking care of kids, breaking up fights, etc. And have actually gotten better in the process! (But we haven't gotten ANY school done for the last few days....but hey, somethings gotta give!)

My poor boys have lived on cereal, sandwiches, fruit, snacks, and Halloween candy for the last 3 days. I feel bad for them, but I just couldn't cook healthy meals for them. Like tonight is nuggets and tots. Let's see....ketchup with them...so that's a vegetable, right?? LOL They have watched alot of movies and shows and have occupied themselves for the most part...they really are very good boys and I'm thankful they are old enough to do this!

Hopefully, the next time I update this, things will be better. I know the boys and I are going to worship in the morning....Terry hasn't decided yet. He would have to stand for it all and he hasn't figured out if he wants to do that. We shall see!

Till then....

Surgery tomorrow

Terry is having surgery tomorrow on his cyst. We saw the surgeon today and he agreed that it has to come out...but it isn't gonna be as simple as we thought. We had originally figured it would just involve numbing the area and draining the cyst or lancing it. WELL! They are going to knock him completely out! General anesthesia. So since they are going to just 'fit him in' to the schedule, they are going to call us in the morning and let us know what time to be at the hospital.

The dr said that for most people they take a couple days off work for this simply for the discomfort. Terry's trying to figure out how he will sleep....he's a back sleeper. We shall see what the next few days bring.

Now, I've got it!

Ugh! I started getting a headache in church yesterday morning and felt bad all afternoon. Didn't go back last night...

Then woke up this morning with a scratchy throat and just don't feel well. I'm trying to boost my vitamins and see if that helps. I really don't want to get this crud that's been passed around my house!

:((

WE are doing school right now in the floor of the living room....then we'll watch a movie together while I fold laundry. Then there is TKD later this evening. The boys both say they want to go....I will make it, I"m sure! LOL

At least I have gotten the dishes done, laundry going, the living room cleaned up and school going. Not bad, I think! I still have to change the sheets on everyone's beds, but that won't take alot of time, just alot of effort!

Another day in Sick-dom

Terry stayed home again today...he simply cannot move with the cyst on his backside! (I know he'll appreciate me telling the whole world this!) It's got us concerned, cuz he saw the doctor for it yesterday and saw a quack basically. The guy just said it was staph and that he should use a warm washcloth to 'bring it to the surface', then gave him 14 days of antibiotics. Well, there are two things wrong with this: One, you can't diagnose staph without a culture and even then you would prescribe a month's worth of meds for it, not 14 days. We've been there, done that. And Two, if it is staph, AGAIN, why has he gotten staph 4 times in the last 15 months? Why can they NOT seem to get rid of it for him? It's really wearing his body down.

Then there's Brent. He was doing so good today, playing and eating. No biggie... The doc didn't do anything for him either yesterday, just gave him a cough syrup to take at night. Big whoop. I was really aggravated by this because I knew Brent had a sinus infection and most likely an ear infection and I wanted meds for it before it got too far. I know my child and this has happened before and I wanted to nip it in the bud. Anyway, tonight as we were sitting down to supper, Brent says his ear hurts really bad....his left ear. He complains about it all through supper and then some more after supper. We'll most likely end up at the quick-care place with him in the morning....so aggravating. Terry wants to figure out a way to bill this other doctor the quick-care bill since he should have caught this in the first place. Argh!

But on a positive note, I made Antibiotic Soup today. I used a whole chicken (from last weekend's leftover food! :)) and boiled it and got my own chicken broth. Then I smashed through 2 whole heads of garlic and got them cooking while I chopped 2 leeks and several carrot sticks (also leftover from last weekend!) and just let the whole thing simmer for a few hours. I did add a broth and flour mix to thicken it all up a bit...but it was DELICIOUS!!! Even the boys ate it and enjoyed it. I hope it does us all some good.

Well see what the morrow brings!

A day off

Well, Terry is sick and Brent is home sick as well. So needless to say we will NOT be doing any school today or States Study with our homeschool group. :( Brent was sad about this as he's been looking forward to it all week.

Clayton keeps trying to tell me he's sick too, but then he runs around like a crazy boy! LOL He just wanted an excuse to stay home with Daddy. :)

We are supposed to be going to a Tae Kwon Do tournament this weekend, but with everyone getting sick, I"m not sure what will happen. ?? There will be another one in January and it may be best for us to just stay home and get well.

This weather is killing me!! It has been rainy all week so far (up to 3 inches in some spots!) and the winds has been crazy. It's blown 2 of my plants over and even blew the hose-house off the porch!! I mean it's not REALLY heavy but good grief! I didn't think it would blow it off completely.

Oh, and on the diet front. (What diet? you may be asking...) Well. I went to the dr last week to see if he could give me some idea of why I can eat healthy, exercise some and still not lost weight. It's been so frustrating. Well, he asked me to start journaling all the food that goes in my mouth. So I started on Monday and the first day I ate really well. I ate when I was hungry and didn't try to eat low-calorie. I still ended up with a 2200-calorie intake for the day. Which, isn't great, but I didn't htink it was bad for me. Well, on Tuesday, I ate cereal for breakfast and then PB&J with the boys for lunch. I about had a stroke when I realized how many calories I had consumed with those two meals!! Cereal is a diet killer! So I started paying attention to calorie count when I would pick my foods for each meal and I am amazed!

For example, this morning, I ate oatmeal for breakfast and knew I would want something sweet in it (my favorite is Maple and Brown sugar!) so I looked at the syrup bottle forcalorie count. There are 210 calories in 1/4 cup! That's a lot of syrup! So, a 1/2 is 4 ounces of liquid, making 1/4 cup 2 ounces. Well, I only needed 1 ounce of syrup (yes I measured it to see), only giving me 105 calories for the syrup and 73 calories for the oatmeal itself. Less that 200 calories for the entire meal. :) I was so excited when I realized this! Anyway, I just wanted to share...hopefully it will make a difference in both my choices AND in my weight!

Out of the mouths...

The other day, when all the girls were here, all the little kids were playing in the basement. My nephew came up and asked if he could play with the darts that we have downstairs. I told him he could. I said, "Oh, and be careful of the little ones and where they are..." Before I could get all of that out, he said, "I know, I have a B.B. gun." I just laughed and said, "I know..." And he laughed and said, "Yes, I understand. A mother's love demands it."

:-)

What a conversation!

We had a very interesting conversation with Brent the other night. He asked about being baptized and why he couldn't take communion yet. We went through the discussion of what it means to be baptized and the commitment behind it. We talked about why a person would be baptized and what ages we were (Terry and I) when we were baptized.

He was asking such big questions and didn't seem to understand what we were saying or why he couldn't. I finally asked him, "If something bad were to happen to you and you died, where do you think you would go?" He answered, "Heaven." I told him that because of that answer, we were positive and sure that he would go to heaven and that it wasn't time for him to be baptized.

We encouraged him to talk with us ANYTIME he had questions concerning baptism or when he was just thinking about it. It just amazed me what he was thinking!

A glorious weekend!

Well, we had a wonderful weekend with the ladies...just the ladies. No hubbies, no kids! We all needed a break and it was awesome!

It started really on Thursday for me and my sis. We did the shopping and got the house ready. In the middle of the night, the girls got here (3 of the remaining 4) and we all slept in the next morning! When we finally got ready, we left for Kimmswick, MO and did some shopping with the 4th member to come (for a total of 6 of us). After doing some shopping, we left for St Louis and sort of saw the arch...I got us lost (sort of) and we ended up in Illinois! LOL Anyway, we saw the arch and then went to dinner at a Brazilian restaurant...Yemanja Brasil.....A truly wonderful and delectable experience! It wasn't in the best place of St Louis, but it was worth it! HA!

After getting home that night we played games till the wee hours and then slept in again!

On Saturday, we went to Crown Valley Winery and toured the facility and tasted some wines. WOW! I found some I really like! :)

After we got home, we ate supper and played more games. On Sunday morning we had a small service here at the house and then everyone started leaving.

Poor K ended up with her rental car breaking down on her about 20 minutes away from my house, so G and J and Dad went to take her to the airport. She made it fine and all is well.

We are so blessed to have friendships that will last time and distance....AND blessed to have husbands who allow us the joy of getting together to renew old friendships! We're planning this again for 2 years from now...I can hardly wait!

EDITED 10-25-07
I saw a sign this morning on the way to preschool with Clayton that said:

Blessed is he who finds the beauty when on a detour.

LOL I just thought this was too coincidental NOT to put it in here! :)

Innocent Prayers

I forgot to post this last week. But when Janice was on her way to St Louis in the ambulance and her BP bottomed out, they took her to Washington, MO to get her stabalized in the ER before going on. Well, we were on our way to Tae Kwon Do when we got the call and before we went in, I had the boys come to the front of the van with me to say a special prayer for Grandma Niecey.

Clayton said his quick prayer and then Brent prayed this:

"Dear God, we know that it might be the end for Grandma Niecey right now and we know that it will make everyone sad if she goes. But we ask that you please be with her and the doctors right now and help them do good for her. And also please be with Daddy and Aunt Darlene and Aunt Donna and help them know that if this is the end that they will be okay and that Grandma will be in a better place...and just help them not be sad."

I had tears in my eyes and chills on my arms.....his prayers are so innocent, so sweet, and so intuitive.

When Madeline Was Young

When Madeline Was Young

by Jane Hamilton

Published by Anchor Books

Reviewed by Amanda Schafer

You grow up, you get married to the woman of your dreams. But then all of a sudden she has a bicycle wreck that leaves her living life with a 6-year-old mentality. What do you do? Do you stay married? What happens to your wife? We find in this touching story that the decision of one man was to take care of his wife as she was his own child. He raised her with his children (from a second marriage) and loved her nonstop.

Mac is this man’s son who grew up thinking that Madeline was his sister. Mac took Madeline to the park, to the ice cream parlor, and defended her against bullies who called her dumb or tried to take advantage of her. Somewhere along the way, Mac learned the truth about Madeline, but still continued to love her like a sister. Mac takes us through his journey as he remembers it when he gets the call that his cousin’s son has been killed in action. Mac tries to decide whether or not to go to the funeral and in doing so, relives his years growing up with Madeline.

Somewhere along the way, I lost the point of the story being Madeline–and it became more about Mac and who he was. Madeline was mentioned occasionally, but mainly as a background character. With the title being about her, I thought the book would have centered more around her rehab, therapies and life after the accident.

Jane Hamilton has a gift in writing that makes it easy to read. While this story is a beautiful one, it was a bit confusing from chapter to chapter. I never knew what decade was being discussed. The story seemed to bounce all over the place with flashbacks that came without warning. It also seems very odd to me when a female writer writes from the male perspective and vice versa.

I think this book could have been better as a finished product if it would have had a little more organization to the story line. The story was there, it just needed some redirection.

Armchair Interview says: A story of extreme caretaking that most would or could never do.

A new week...

Well, we're at the start of a new week. We're already busy...the weekend was just one busy time. We haven't stopped since....well, since August 1, really. :) HA!

We have so much going on this week...my sister will be arriving on Tuesday sometime to help me get ready for our 'Ladies Weekend' this coming weekend. 4 other girls (besides us) will be arriving at my house on Friday to spend a no-kids-no-hubbies-girls-have-fun weekend. I can't wait...not exactly sure what we'll do, but we'll have fun just doing nothing! :)

The boys and I are going to Beggs Family Farm on Tuesday to have a hayride and look at pumpkins. We'll hit the maze, see the animals, and who knows what else! I can't wait.

Clayton is still getting things for his birthday....he got more presents this weekend. He finally got a monkey! (A stuffed one of course!) He decided this morning that he needed to name it Peyton. I asked why and he said that it did something bad and he said, Peyton, Stop it! So he just decided it should be Peyton! LOL

Janice is still in MoBap...but she's finally out of ICU. That makes visiting a bit easier. The kids are still trying to cover every day, but I don't know how much longer they can keep that up. Hopefully, she will start doing some therapy and start eating and doing what she's supposed to do and get out of there soon. We hope and pray! :)

Well, it's late and the boys are still up playing Ninja Turtles in their room. Better get them to bed...we have alot of school to do tomorrow...we didn't finish Friday's stuff, so we have to do that and THEN do Monday. LOL

Have a great week!

Weaver Believer

I just have to share about a wonderful group I was just informed of! :) It is a family who have been playing instruments together for a few years and have started singing and doing shows....check out their site and listen to the music! If you like bluegrassy/banjo/southern gospel type of music you will LOVE this!

Weaver Believer

One of the members of the family is Anna, a fellow PBS'er and GREAT gal! :)

The "Fort"

Well, last week we were going through some new words in our vocabulary, and we came across the word 'fort'. I asked B if he knew what a fort was, as I do with all words I think he doesn't know.

He said, "Mom, you know..."

I just looked at him and said, "Well, I do, but I want you to tell me what you think it is...."

He said (with a grin on his face), "Well, it's a not-nice-word some people use for when you toot."

Well, of course I just about lost it, but composed myself quickly and explained the true meaning of it to him.

So when I told T later that night about it, he just started laughing and said, "So that's why he looked at me like I was crazy when I asked him last winter if he wanted to go play in the fort."

LOL

Hey God...

A couple weeks ago, when we said the prayer for dinner, Brent prayed and had a LONG list of things he was praying for. We absolutely love his prayers and enjoy being able to 'see' into his mind and heart through his prayers. But this night, he apparently forgot something (I honestly don't remember now what it was, but it must have been important at the time...).

So after the Amen, Clayton pipes up and says, "Oh, we forgot...."

Dad says, "Okay, Clayton, go ahead and say it then..."

Clayton: "Hey God, we're back....we forgot to tell you...."

LOL I just about snorted in the middle of his sweet prayer! :) I truly love the 'open' relationship my boys have with the Lord through their prayers!

Kids say...

...the funniest things! Okay, most people around us know the boys have been wanting a pet (mainly, a dog) in the worst way for the last 6 months or so. Well, a couple days ago and dog (we assumed was stray) came over to the house while I was out getting the mail one evening. She had obviously just had puppies in the last couple of weeks, as she was 'sagging' considerably. LOL Anyway, she is your basic 'mutt'...her feet look like a BIG dog (lab or Rottweiler?), her coat is short and black/brown with white peppery mix. She actually looks like she might have some heeler in her. Well, she went away after that first day, but the boys saw her from the window.

Last night, we got home from TKD and the boys were outside riding their bikes and again here comes this same dog. Brent gets completely freaked out by her and stands UP in a chair we have out there and won't let her near him. Clayton just took to her and started petting her.

Terry got up and got a nerf football and threw it for her...she took off after it like most dogs will. But she was such a tease...she'd come back to him and then duck her head with the ball in her mouth and kept turning her head so he couldn't get the ball. After about 5 minutes of this, with the boys saying, "Here doggie...let me have the ball....", she took off down the hill around the house and Brent went chasing after her. All we heard from the side of the house was "DOG! Give me back my BALL!!!!" We just rolled with laughter.

A bit later, she starts off again with the ball in her mouth and went running around the van. Clayton says, "DOG! Hey, Mister....You in the black.....bring the ball here!" You in the black??? LOL

We just had to laugh at it all. She finally left when her owner stopped and picked her up (we didn't know at that point she even had an owner....). But now after seeing the light in their eyes, we're gonna have to do something about the pet situation in our house!

Funny thing is, it almost seemed to me that Terry really enjoyed the time as well. He had a 'fun' spark in his eyes that hasn't been there in a long time.....

Who knows what the next couple of months will bring....

Hungry Hippos

We decided to play some games this morning (really I was having trouble motivating!) and C chose Hungry Hungry Hippos. So after setting it all up and getting the 11 balls ready (instead of the 20 we are supposed to use...wonder where those balls are???) we all popped them out and C said, "Okay...MUNCH!" and we all started chomping away.

Well, on the second round of the game, one of the balls was flung out of the 'rink' and all I hear is, "PAUSE!" ....in goes the missing ball....."MUNCH!" and we continue chomping.

Chomp, chomp, chomp...

"PAUSE!"

In goes the ball that committed Harey Carey....

"MUNCH!"

More chomping....

A ball inadvertently gets popped back into the start position....

"PAUSE!"

Flip the little button that pops the ball back into play...

"MUNCH!"

and we chomp again!

And on and on it went. We continued like this for about 30 minutes until my hand couldn't munch anymore!

:)

Where exactly is the brain?

While doing school today, I received a phone call from Leaps and Bounds in St Louis. They are a therapy place that works with kids who have processing disorders. (I had written them after hearing them speak at convention this year and asked them to call me.) Anyway, when I get off the phone, the boys of course ask who it was. So I tell them that it was someone who might be able to help us with teaching Clayton and helping him understand things. Clayton said, "Yeah, cuz I don't do things good." (break my heart!)

So I pulled him on my lap and we started talking about that it isn't him that does things wrong, it's that his brain has had trouble figuring things out. I logged on the Internet and showed them a virtual brain and we talked about the corpus callosum and how it works to keep things communicating between both sides of the brain. (So cool to have your 5 and 6 year-old talking about the corpus callosum! LOL) Clayton got very excited when he thought there might be someone out there who could help him work through all of this.

Anyway, Brent starts talking about how since Clayton is young his brain is way down here (pointing to his waist) and that the older you get and the more you learn it starts to grow up to here (pointing to the chest) and then when you're a teenager it gets to here (the neck) and when you're an adult it finally gets up to here (the head). Now, I had to chuckle a bit at this explanation...but he kept on. He told Clayton that since he was having trouble, his brain was still probably down around his waist instead of nearing his chest like it was supposed to be. LOL I just had to laugh. Where do they get this stuff????

Well, it gets better! Then Clayton starts playing with this little guts and brain person that we got at the dollar store (I think) and the internal organs can be removed and you can see through the 'skin'...pretty cool. Well, based on Brent's description of where the brain starts out when you're little, Clayton looks at the toy's guts and intestines and says, "Hey, Mom, if this is where the brain is, does that mean that this is where our peepee brain is?" LOL I just had to sit there and chuckle....I didn't mean to laugh at him...but for many men that IS where the brain is located! LOL

All in a day of homeschooling!

Busted! (Twice)

Well, it's been a slower week this week than we've had. Thank the GOOD Lord for that! :) Janice was transferred to a rehab facility closer to home and she's much happier being there. So since she's happier, her rehab will go much smoother, we believe. We're just glad to have her out of Barnes.

The other night, I was fixing supper (which was late as usual!) and C kept saying, "Mom, I'm just soooooo hungry!" I kept having to tell him it was cooking and we'd eat soon. Well, while I was cleaning up the kitchen (while water boiled), I was going to put up the peanut butter (still out and open from lunch...oy) and thought, 'hmmm, a spoonful of pb sounds good...'. So, I grabbed a spoon and licked it clean, put the lid on and put the pb up. While the rest of supper finished, I walked to the living room to cuddle with the boys and C (who was sitting by me) says, "Mmmmm, I smell peanuts! Where are the peanuts??" GUILTY! LOL I just said, "Don't know...." Busted, first time.

Well, yesterday afternoon, we went shopping for groceries. B was so concerned that we were low on syrup (even though we haven't had pancakes in several weeks!) and make sure to find the syrup at WM. See, they like Mrs. Butterworths (at least, they like the bottle) and always want that. Well, I refuse to continue paying that price for basic syrup and have just been refilling the bottle we have with Great Value brand. So, B walks up to me in the store with a Mrs BW bottle and I say, "Oh, please go put that back...I'll take care of picking out the syrup." So when I walk by that part of the aisle, I grab the GV brand and stick it in the cart. So later last night, I have the non perishables on the island (just never made it to the pantry) and B sees the new bottle of GV brand on the counter and says, "OH, MOM! You got the wrong one!!" Busted, again!

Just goes to prove that I can't outsmart my kids anymore. Gone are the days when I can sneak one over on them. Gone are the days when I can grab a snack when my sugar gets low without them catching me and then wanting something themselves...normally something unhealthy. Those days are GONE, my friends...and GONE forever!!! :-(

Oh, well. Probably better for me anyway. LOL

We're home this weekend for a much needed rest and relaxing time to get things done here that have been neglected. I know, doesn't sound very relaxing. But believe me, it will be. :)

Better hit the sack!

Hospitals are crazy!

I just don't understand how hospitals get such good reviews....someone is lining someone else's pockets! Poor J has NOT been receiving good care at Barnes and we're very unhappy about it. She had to ask for over 2 hours just to get some sort of pain medication yesterday. The day before, she asked for a bedpan and they didn't bring her one...so she had to just go in her bed. She sat in p**p for 45 minutes before they came to bring her a bedpan...by then it was too late and they just had to clean her up. Grr....

The dr's and nurses say she's doing better and they are talking of transferring her to rehab tomorrow. But I'm going up there tonight to see for myself how she is doing. I want to know that she's okay for transfer. It's been a week since I've seen her and if I don't go and something happens, I would regret it. I feel like I need to see her.

Other than that, the boys and I are working on getting the house cleaned up and some schoolwork done. It's so hard and stressful...my mind is just not there.

Better go...have hungry children! :)

Things are slowly improving...

For one, the maggots are GONE! :) I worked really hard on Wednesday to get the kitchen cleaned up and get all of them out of the house that I could see. Now, granted, I didn't move the refrigerator or the stove, but I moved everything else that was moveable and swept them all up and got them outside for trash day on Thursday. Time will tell in a few days if we start seeing hoards of flies in the house...then we'll know I didn't get them all! LOL Oh well....lessoned learned. A HARD lesson learned. I still have this smell in my kitcehn (which permeates the rest of the house) that is just an old, dirty, icky smell. I have cleaned everything I can find that might be the source to no avail. I've burned candles and incense and it's still there. I'm wondering if it will just take time and lots of candles to get completely rid of it. I'm also thinking that we will open the windows this weekend and air out the house with the attic fan. Perhaps that will help.

T's mom is doing much better. Her kidney levels are coming down and she's sounding more and more like herself. She still has a long way to go to get out of the hospital and then even longer with rehab. But at least her rehab is supposed to be closer to home (30 minutes from home for her as opposed to 3 hours) and will make her feel better. We're so thankful that things are turning back in the right direction for her.

We had TKD last night, after a VERY long and eventful day yesterday. The boys got to spar for the second time and they really like it. They just love the opportunity to hit and kick one another and it be okay.... LOL.

C also started his last year of Thursday School yesterday morning. He has been so excited about going back to TS and really had a great day yesterday. While he was in TS, B got to start doing a state study with our homeschool group. One of the moms has volunteered to teach it to several of the kids and we're going to be doing one state per week. It's so neat to learn little tidbits about the states...the flower, the bird, the motto, population, etc. She's really put alot of effort into ths and we're so thankful! :)

Well, I need to clean our schoolroom and get somethings done before the day totally gets away from me. The boys want to play outside too....fine with me....I get to read more when they play outside! LOL

Happy Friday!

When it rains it pours...

Well, we've had some eventful days~

We had our annual family 'camp-out', which ended up being a 'camp-in' this year!, in Branson. What fun we had! We spent the entire weekend playing games, watching the kids play and visiting. No one got sick. No one got hurt! (I think that's a first for our little family in a while! LOL)

But we're home now and trying to get things back in order.

On our way home, we went up to St. Louis to see J in the hospital and she's just not doing well at all. She's completely bruised up from the accident, but her kidney's are the biggest concern. She's talking out of her head and that just isn't like her. We're hoping it's only from the kidney failure and that that will get better in a couple days.

Then when we were almost home, we got a phone call the Brother Dale had passed away. We're so sad, but rejoicing at the same time. He's been suffering from cancer for so long now, and we know he's finally at peace and with his Father. The boys and I went to the funeral home this afternoon (along with mom) and the family seems to be handling it well. I think the saddest part of it all is that Dale will not be able to see all the new grand babies he has coming in March. But the Lord knows best....the families are all taken care of and that is what he would have wanted. We're convinced that was what he was waiting for.

Of course, then this morning, I'm sitting down at the table to have a bowl of cereal and get half way through my bowl, when I see this little white worm crawling across my table! Ewwww! We had a smell when we came in last night, but it was late and I didn't feel like dealing with it. I just figured it was the bad tomatoes we had on the counter from the weekend. But the more I get looking and cleaning this morning, I realize that it was from a bag of deli meat that had been left on the table ALL weekend long....and what I had were maggots. (shivering and gagging as I'm typing this!) So, I spent the next hour taking out the offending bag, cleaning up the kitchen, lighting candles, and picking maggots up off the floor (with napkins, of course!). Then I get home from the funeral home, and there are MORE of them crawling across my floor! Ugh! So now, I know I'm gonna have an infestation of flies in a few days and I'm just gonna have to deal with it, cuz I have no one to blame for all this but myself. I was the one that left the deli meat out and didn't get it in the trash on trash day. Ugh. Just more frustration for the week, I guess.

Ho hum.....

I will go for now...have to get the boys ready for TKD...they have some sort of weird energy they need to get rid of....where they get it all after the weekend we've had, I'll never know. LOL

Cuz I'm the Mom!

Someone sent me a link to this...just had to add it!

How do they know these things?

Okay, so we're doing school just now and C has a page that has all kinds of pictures on it. Matches, a needle, an ax, a ball, blocks, a doll, a sled, safety pins, a pitchfork, and broken glass. He was to circle the pictures that were okay for kids to play with and X out the ones that weren't safe. He gets to the safety pins and says, "Mom, I had to X these out cuz these are for keeping babies diapers closed and we don't want to play with those."

So coming from a kid who ALWAYS had disposable sticky-tab diapers and NEVER had safety pins on his diapers (I don't even know if we have any safety pins in the house!), just exactly HOW did he come to this knowledge? LOL

It's just so funny to me how they inherently know some things and yet are oblivious to others.

Is that another beaver??

No...it was a ground hog. LOL Well, I went to the store last night and as I was driving home, I saw some roadkill that hadn't been there when I left. My headlights shone on it and I was sure it was a beaver. But, no...not in town. So I drove on. But then remembered what was in the newspaper about the lake that was near our neighborhood being 'trashed' by a family of beavers. So I went around the block to get a 'better look.'

Well, it was still there this morning (of course) when the boys and I went to run an errand. I was now sure (in the light of day) that it was a beaver...only the tail looked different. So I called Terry and asked if he saw the dead beaver on the road near the house. Here is the conversation that followed:

Terry: Are you sure it was there when I went to work?
Me: Yeah, why do you ask that?
Terry: I don't know...I was just wondering if you just saw it or if you are trying to tell me you hit it this morning. (chuckle)
Me: No...it was there last night and was definitely dead when I saw it, smarty.

Well, after thinking more about it, I realize the tail just wasn't right....so I looked up ground hog....and sure enough. It is a ground hog...which is in the beaver family, hence the similar markings.

Oy, what is it with me and these rodent creatures???

Hilarious Ebay Auction 2...

I decided to move this description over here to my blog as a follow up on the post below. I know that after a certain amount of time, these item descriptions time-out and I wanted to have this one saved for posterity! LOL This woman had 53 watchers during this item auction and ended up winning $142.51 for these piddly cards. Yowza! LOL


I'm selling a bunch of Pokemon cards. Why? Because my kids sneaked them into my shopping cart while at the grocery store and I ended up buying them because I didn't notice they were there until we got home. How could I have possibly not noticed they were in my cart, you ask? Let me explain.

You haven’t lived until you’ve gone grocery shopping with six kids in tow. I would rather swim, covered in bait, through the English Channel, be a contestant on Fear Factor when they’re having pig brains for lunch, or do fourth grade math than to take my six kids to the grocery store. Because I absolutely detest grocery shopping, I tend to put it off as long as possible. There comes a time, however, when you’re peering into your fridge and thinking, ‘Hmmm, what can I make with ketchup, Italian dressing, and half an onion,’ that you decide you cannot avoid going to the grocery store any longer. Before beginning this most treacherous mission, I gather all the kids together and give them “The Lecture“.

“The Lecture“ goes like this…

MOM: “We have to go to the grocery store.”

KIDS: “Whine whine whine whine whine.“

MOM: “Hey, I don’t want to go either, but it’s either that or we’re eating cream of onion-ketchup soup and drinking Italian dressing for dinner tonight.”

KIDS: “Whine whine whine whine whine.“

MOM: “Now here are the rules: do not ask me for anything, do not poke the packages of meat in the butcher section, do not test the laws of physics and try to take out the bottom can in the pyramid shaped display, do not play baseball with oranges in the produce section, and most importantly, do not try to leave your brother at the store. Again.”

OK, the kids have been briefed. Time to go.

Once at the store, we grab not one, but two shopping carts. I wear the baby in a sling and the two little children sit in the carts while I push one cart and my oldest son pushes the other one. My oldest daughter is not allowed to push a cart. Ever. Why? Because the last time I let her push the cart, she smashed into my ankles so many times, my feet had to be amputated by the end of our shopping trip. This is not a good thing. You try running after a toddler with no feet sometime.

At this point, a woman looks at our two carts and asks me, “Are they all yours?”

I answer good naturedly, “Yep!

“Oh my, you have your hands full.”

“Yes, I do, but it‘s fun!” I say smiling. I’ve heard all this before. In fact, I hear it every time I go anywhere with my brood.

We begin in the produce section where all these wonderfully, artistically arranged pyramids of fruit stand. There is something so irresistibly appealing about the apple on the bottom of the pile, that a child cannot help but try to touch it. Much like a bug to a zapper, the child is drawn to this piece of fruit. I turn around to the sounds of apples cascading down the display and onto the floor. Like Indiana Jones, there stands my son holding the all-consuming treasure that he just HAD to get and gazing at me with this dumbfounded look as if to say, “Did you see that??? Wow! I never thought that would happen!”

I give the offending child an exasperated sigh and say, “Didn’t I tell you, before we left, that I didn’t want you taking stuff from the bottom of the pile???”

“No. You said that you didn’t want us to take a can from the bottom of the pile. You didn’t say anything about apples.”

With superhuman effort, I resist the urge to send my child to the moon and instead focus on the positive - my child actually listened to me and remembered what I said!!! I make a mental note to be a little more specific the next time I give the kids The Grocery Store Lecture.

A little old man looks at all of us and says, “Are all of those your kids?”

Thinking about the apple incident, I reply, “Nope. They just started following me. I’ve never seen them before in my life.”

OK, now onto the bakery section where everything smells so good, I’m tempted to fill my cart with cookies and call it a day. Being on a perpetual diet, I try to hurry past the assortment of pies, cakes, breads, and pastries that have my children drooling. At this point the chorus of “Can we gets” begins.

“Can we get donuts?”

“No.”

“Can we get cupcakes?”

“No.”

“Can we get muffins?”

“No.”

“Can we get pie?”

“No.”

You’d think they’d catch on by this point, but no, they’re just getting started.

In the bakery, they’re giving away free samples of coffee cake and of course, my kids all take one. The toddler decides he doesn’t like it and proceeds to spit it out in my hand. (That’s what moms do. We put our hands in front of our children’s mouths so they can spit stuff into them. We’d rather carry around a handful of chewed up coffee cake, than to have the child spit it out onto the floor. I’m not sure why this is, but ask any mom and she’ll tell you the same.) Of course, there’s no garbage can around, so I continue shopping one-handed while searching for someplace to dispose of the regurgitated mess in my hand.

In the meat department, a mother with one small baby asks me, “Wow! Are all six yours?”

I answer her, “Yes, but I’m thinking of selling a couple of them.”

(Still searching for a garbage can at this point.)

Ok, after the meat department, my kids’ attention spans are spent. They’re done shopping at this point, but we aren’t even halfway through the store. This is about the time they like to start having shopping cart races. And who may I thank for teaching them this fun pastime? My seventh “child”, also known as my husband. While I’m picking out loaves of bread, the kids are running down the aisle behind the carts in an effort to get us kicked out of the store. I put to stop to that just as my son is about to crash head on into a giant cardboard cut-out of a Keebler elf stacked with packages of cookies.

Ah! Yes! I find a small trash can by the coffee machine in the cereal aisle and finally dump out the squishy contents of my hand. After standing in the cereal aisle for an hour and a half while the kids perused the various cereals, comparing the marshmallow and cheap, plastic toy content of each box, I broke down and let them each pick out a box. At any given time, we have twenty open boxes of cereal in my house.

As this is going on, my toddler is playing Houdini and maneuvering his little body out of the seat belt in an attempt to stand up in the cart. I’m amazed the kid made it to his second birthday without suffering a brain damaging head injury. In between trying to flip himself out of the cart, he sucks on the metal bars of the shopping cart. Mmmm, can you say “influenza”?

The shopping trip continues much like this. I break up fights between the kids now and then and stoop down to pick up items that the toddler has flung out of the cart. I desperately try to get everything on my list without adding too many other goodies to the carts.

Somehow I manage to complete my shopping in under four hours and head for the check-outs where my kids start in on a chorus of, “Can we have candy?” What evil minded person decided it would be a good idea to put a display of candy in the check-out lanes, right at a child’s eye level? Obviously someone who has never been shopping with children.

As I unload the carts, I notice many extra items that my kids have sneaked in the carts unbeknownst to me. I remove a box of Twinkies, a package of cupcakes, a bag of candy, and a can of cat food (we don’t even have a cat!). I somehow missed the box of Pokemon cards however and ended up purchasing them unbeknownst to me. As I pay for my purchases, the clerk looks at me, indicates my kids, and asks, “Are they all yours?”

Frustrated, exhausted from my trip, sick to my stomach from writing out a check for $289.53, dreading unloading all the groceries and putting them away and tired of hearing that question, I look at the clerk and answer her in my most sarcastic voice, “No. They’re not mine. I just go around the neighborhood gathering up kids to take to the grocery store because it’s so much more fun that way.”

So, up for auction is an opened (they ripped open the box on the way home from the store) package of Pokemon cards. There are 44 cards total. They're in perfect condition, as I took them away from the kiddos as soon as we got home from the store. Many of them say "Energy". I tried carrying them around with me, but they didn't work. I definitely didn't have any more energy than usual. One of them is shiny. There are a few creature-like things on many of them. One is called Pupitar. Hee hee hee Pupitar! (Oh no! My kids' sense of humor is rubbing off on me!) Anyway, I don't there's anything special about any of these cards, but I'm very much not an authority on Pokemon cards. I just know that I'm not letting my kids keep these as a reward for their sneakiness.

Shipping is FREE on this item. Insurance is optional, but once I drop the package at the post office, it is no longer my responsibility. For example, if my son decides to pour a bottle of glue into the envelope, or my daughter spills a glass of juice on the package, that’s my responsibility and I will fully refund your money. If, however, I take the envelope to the post office and a disgruntled mail carrier sets fire to it, a pack of wild dogs rip into it, or a mail sorting machine shreds it, it’s out of my hands, so you may want to add insurance. I will leave feedback for you as soon as I’ve received your payment. I will be happy to combine shipping on multiple items won within three days. This comes from a smoke-free, pet-free, child-filled home. Please ask me any questions before placing your bid. Happy bidding! :)

What a day!

Whew! We have had quite the day with schooling here...so frustrating on some days and so exciting on others. Today was one of those frustrating ones. :( B and I just had constant issues...well, he had the issues. He just wouldn't concentrate and kept complaining about things being boring and wanting to take a nap and then being hungry, on and on it went. We started school at 10 AM and didn't finish until 5:30 when Terry got home. That is the longest school day we've ever had.

Then when Terry got home, I asked to have a 'parent teacher conference' with him....so we talked about everything. He agreed to have a 'talk' with B tonight while I went to the store. When I got home, I found out what all they discussed and I really think that our school will go better tomorrow. We're going to revamp our math stuff and see what I can do to make things better for him and he will buckle down and focus more. We also talked to C about staying out of the schoolroom while B is doing his school, cuz it would be a distraction to have C in here so much. We'll see how that goes. So hard to keep a 5 year-old occupied while the older one does his work. Hmmmmm.......

I am hoping that Terry got through to him. Sometimes it just takes that little bit of, "wow, dad is saying the same thing that mom is, so maybe she's right.' I don't know. The boys just seem to put so much stock into what dad has to say that sometimes when he says it, it actually sinks in. LOL

Terry is back on meds for his staph infection...his toe is really nasty. Well, probably not now..they cut away all the nasty tissue and now he has to deal with the pain and achiness that will come with the healing process over the next month or two. Oy. I feel so bad for him. His diabetes is the main factor of why they are doing such an aggressive approach to it all. They don't want to take the change of it going further than his toe and creating more problems. I hope this time it works. :)

Time for bed.... More later!

End of the week!

Well, it's Friday and we've gotten through our second week of school! :) So glad to be working on some sort of a schedule, even it if isn't completely consistent yet! LOL

The boys are going to mom's tonight to spend the weekend. They are so excited and I am looking forward to sleeping in tomorro morning! LOL

We have had a relatively quiet week...just school, house, laundry, and school pictures. We got them done at WM portrait place....they look so good. WM was so nice to us, letting us do the whole homeschool group! :) We get them in a couple weeks.

Well, that's it for now...don't have a whole lot to say. I'm tired. That about says it all, huh? LOL

Hilarious Ebay Item Description

Okay...you have to check out this item description. LOL It's too funny...someone sent me an email asking me to read it and it hit way to close to home!

Go to Ebay and paste this item number (130144061675) in the search box.

It's been awhile!

Well, it's definitely been a good long while since I've posted anything...things have just been so crazy here. The boys got home from their VBS week and we've just been running ever since.

While they were gone, mom came and helped me 'deep clean' the house. We worked ALL day on Monday and cleaned closets, floors, bathrooms, etc. I even shampooed my carpets late that night. :) But boy was it nice to have the house clean (and stay clean!) for more than 2 hours! Three whole days of a clean house!

I worked on curriculum and got things more organized for our year, but just didn't get it all finished. There was just so much to look at and thumb through, that I had a headache by the end of the day!

Terry and I took an afternoon and evening of just 'vegging' and watching movies. It was really nice to just do nothing. We sort of regretted it after the fact, simply cuz there was so much more that we could have done. but we both needed it. :)

When the boys got home, we went to see a Cardinals game...and they won! :) It was a family birthday present for J and I really think she had a great time. The next morning, she was put in the hospital for a pacemaker and hasn't been able to stay out of the hospital since. :( We're trying to figure out what to do with her...not sure if she needs to be where she is, or in St. Louis. She just seems so weak.

We started school this week instead of last week. We did school on Monday, but didn't do any on Tuesday or yesterday, cuz we were in S for Uncle D's funeral. The boys got to play with K and had a great time with her. Discovered that they all like Legends of the Hidden Temple! Woohoo! LOL While we were gone, I ended up with stomach flu and have just been very weak and dizzy since. I haven't gotten much done and we of course haven't done school today. But I hope to get laundry caught up and get the house straightened if nothing else.

Hopefully, we'll keep things updated from here on out.

O! And C did a dot-to-dot in school the other day and then colored it and said it was Grandma and Grandpa's car. Here's the pic:

School starts....

In 2 weeks!!!!!!

I can't believe the summer is already gone and we're getting ready to start school again! The boys will be leaving on Friday to go to VBS with Aunt D and I will have a whole week to get curriculum together and organized for the year. I have schedules to work on, chores to organize, and would like to have it all set up and ready to go when the boys get home.

Are they ready? I think so. They have been really needing some scheduling in their days and really need to be more organized, which comes from me. I think with more structure, their attitudes will improve and we'll get more accomplished with our days.

They also will be starting Tae Kwon Do (TKD) when they get home. We had a 'practice' class last night (and have another one on Thursday) to see how they like it and if they can handle it. B did really well...I think he will really enjoy TKD and it will do him a lot of good. C on the other hand, had a meltdown in the middle of the class because he couldn't remember the order of the instructions. He got embarrassed and just came running to me, crying. I felt so bad for him, thinking maybe he wasn't ready for TKD. The instructor (Mr. J) said he'd do fine and really encouraged C through the process. Told him that everyone forgets things and that C needed to just do the best he could and ask questions when he needed help. Mr. J thinks C will do fine, but we need to talk with him (C) and see if he wants to continue with TKD. If he's not all that interested, we can wait a few months and try again.

Now, we're gonna go outside after eating some lunch and see what kind of fun we can have in the pool.....

The Lake House

with Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves

A good movie with a PG rating, but very slow! Kate leaves the Lake House and puts a letter in the mailbox for the next renter. Alex retrieves the letter and reads it, but gets confused by her statements. Writes her back basically telling her she's daft. Kate then informs him it is 2006 and gives her address...which in his time (2004) hasn't even been built yet. They continue their correspondence and even 'take a walk' together through Chicago. The end of the movie offers a twist that makes the movie worth the wait! Do they end up together? OF COURSE! It's a movie after all!

Freefall

Freefall by Kristen Heitzman

ISBN: 978-0764228292

She feels herself falling and then feels herself trying to grab anything to pull out of the water. Disoriented and confused, she knows instinctively she must follow the water and she might find help. After showing up at someones doorstep and collapsing with exhaustion, she wakes and realizes she has no memory of what's happened and even who she is. Her new host, Monica, names her Jade. Monica then calls her investigator brother to help with this confused one.

Cameron, or Kai as Monica calls him, comes over to protest his sister, but finds himself protecting Jade instead. Not believing her story, he continues to question her and help her go back to the area where she fell in the hopes that her memory will return. As they discover that there is someone out there hurt and waiting for her, Cameron finds out she's really Gentry Fox: movie star.

While the press hounds them about the condition of the man she left behind, the tabloids do everything possible to destroy him and her. But what caused Gentry to go over the falls? Was she pushed? And who would want her dead?

Heitzmann's writings always draw me in from the onset and keep me till the very last page! I love reading the mystery and romance involved in almost all her stories. An easy (and intense!) read.