RECENTLY
// Go-Go Mama - Does life ever slow down?
Homeschool Funnies
Posted on Oct. 19, 2006
Our water bill was outrageous last month. Turned out we had a toilet problem and the interior mechanisms needed to be replaced. It's one of those things I figured I could do myself, and it turned out to be a little more difficult than anticipated. I finally was seeing the light at the end of the tunnel (or at least it looked like that after toilet water in my eye), and I was feeling very pleased with myself, lying down on the bathroom floor with my wrench in hand.
Lizzie (age 10): Gee, Mom, you look just like a plumber.
Mom (feeling very proud of herself): Why, thank you, dear daughter. It took a long time, but I finally got it.
Lizzie: (giggling) Um, I meant your pants.
What a stinker! :-)
5 comments | post comment | permalink
� End = Homeschool Funnies
"The puppies are here, the puppies are here!"
Posted on Sep. 10, 2006
Today's science lesson -- birthing babies. Dalmatian babies, of course. 56 days ago, a stray snuck in the garage when Jenna was putting Lucky to bed. Unfortunately for us, Lucky was in heat. She's gotten HUGE over the last couple of weeks, and the blessed event came today.
So far, there are three. A black one with a white crest first, named Buster. Second, a traditional-looking Dal pup with two black ears. Last, a mutt. LOL. No, she's cute. An off-white with dipstick tail and a patched ear. It's been about 30 minutes, so she's probably done.
Anyone want a puppy for Christmas?
ETA: Ten hours later and she just delivered her 11th. This one is stillborn. It's very sad. Ten healthy pups, and then this little boy who won't revive. *sigh* My Dalmatian was so very sad, holding him up to us to ask for our help. After I took him, she picked up every single one of her others to make sure they were breathing. My dad's out burying it now so the kids won't find out. I hope there aren't any more stills in there.
� End = "The puppies are here, the puppies are here!"
Gimpy Gogo
Posted on Sep. 8, 2006
Growing up, I thought my middle name was Grace. At least, that's what my mom always said after spills, falls, and crashes. I admit that I've never really grown out of my klutziness. But tonight wasn't my fault. Tonight it was David carelessly dropping the doghouse on my big toe (yes, I *KNOW* I should've been wearing shoes). This makes 6. Yep, 6 times (that I can remember) that I've broken my toe.
Did you know there's nothing doctors can do for a broken toe? It's not worth a trip to the emergency room to have them tell me what I already know. About the only thing they can do that I can't do here is prescribe oxycodone for the pain; and I don't do pain medicines well. So I sit here opening another bottle of ibuprofen, icing and elevating the toe, and whining. The latter isn't prescribed, but sure seems to help ;-).
A couple of years ago, I broke the same toe the hard way -- with a lawnmower. Really, the hill wasn't that steep. Yet I went straight under it. Paul was on deployment, and I drove myself to the emergency room. Ugh. Know what the most painful thing in the world is? I'm not 100% certain, but I know that a digital block ranks pretty high up the list. I've had 4 C-sections and none of them even came close to the intensity of the pain of the block. I'm afraid I was less than kind to the young airman trying to do it. It's one of those regretful things. The block DID work, but I almost (almost!) would rather have just had stuff done without it.
I broke this poor toe in 2005, too. That was courtesy of Green Giant. Always wear shoes when you're stocking your pantry :-X. The corner of it landed on the sweet spot of the nail. Ouch!
It's so wonderful to me how God fashioned our bodies to heal themselves. The process never ceases to amaze me. Part of me, however, wishes I'd never again get the chance to see it firsthand ;-).
� End = Gimpy Gogo
A "real" school
Posted on Sep. 7, 2006
We've been relaxed homeschoolers, mostly out of necessity rather than conviction
. It's worked out pretty well, but the kids are getting older and I'm seeing a need for more structure. Enter co-op. Our co-op operates like a mini school where Moms get to go with you, and where most classes are age-segregated only into 12+ or 12-.Jenna (the 15 year old) was actually excited to go. The others were less than thrilled to (a) have to get up early, and (b) have "homework". Elisha: Technically, isn't ALL our homeschool "homework"? I stressed like crazy over teaching my class on Washington State History. I needn't have done so; it went well and kids are pretty forgiving. David and Elisha are taking a class based on Picture This! taught by the junior pastor. Surprisingly (to me), David said it was interesting. Elisha's also taking an elementary science class that promises to be a big hit. He says it's too easy for him (he's 12), yet he did his homework for the week on his first day back. All of them but Jenna are taking PE. That's a huge blessing to me since the few kids in our neighborhood are, for the most part, undisciplined and unsupervised brats (sorry, but it's the truth). Jenna's taking a writing class that I don't think is going to be much of a challenge for her, but I'm going to supplement it. Lizzie is enjoying it most of all. She takes Prairie Primer (a unit study based on the Little House books) taught by the same fantastic teacher who does elementary science, and Chess Club. The chess class is being taught by one of the kids on her chess team. Okay, it's being taught by the mother, but not really ;-).
Anyway, it looks very promising. The kids are already talking about what they want to do next semester!
� End = A "real" school
Where's my baby girl?
Posted on Sep. 5, 2006
Due to their busy lives, the choir directors are only going to do junior choir this year :-(. That was a big disappointment for us, since we had our hearts set on Jenna singing in the Girls' Ensemble.
HOWEVER, Jenna and Paul did a duet of "One Tear" at the Talent Show on Sunday night. It was extremely well received. And Pastor John said that Jenna has the voice to join the ADULT worship team. Wow! That's more than we could've expected. John is a teacher, and meticulous. She can only grow under his tutelage. We do want to get her a voice coach, however. To teach the technicalities that Paul doesn't have the experience with. Jenna really misses Carrie's coaching and teaching. Collateral damage from leaving NMBC :-(. Hopefully Paul will get a job making enough money that extras like that will be feasible.
Sunday is the first time Jenna will be singing with the team. On Saturday nights, only adults will be singing. I can't wait! But what happened to that little 2-year old running around the house, playing hide and seek, cooking with pretend utensils and plastic pans, and having daily teaparties? It goes SO fast.
� End = Where's my baby girl?
Free Museum Day!
Posted on Aug. 27, 2006
From http://www.smithsonianmagazine.com/museumday/
� End = Free Museum Day!
When Everything Goes Against It...
Posted on Aug. 24, 2006
My mom always told us that whenever everything seemed to be go against something, that it probably wasn't meant to be. So it was with our Hawaii vacation :-(. Bad news: We don't get a vacation this year. Good news: It's because Paul has four different job interviews in the next 7 days. He interviewed for an Evidence Handler position today. That would be a REALLY interesting job! Tomorrow, he has a final interview (down to 2) for the Highway Patrol. Monday, it's testing for Court Clerk. And mid-next week, it's for 911 in our area. Four intense jobs! It's all up to the Lord. My own preference is the clerking job since there are no holidays, no weekends, and no shift work :-). But whatever He has planned is good! It's so nice to see him calm and happy, knowing that he has been obedient and that God blesses that obedience.
Other big news - my parents are definitely moving up here. Hooray! I'm the biggest geek in the world and my mom is my best friend. It will be so great to have her near.
Life is so busy. This was supposed to be a relaxing summer -- that's why we took off school. Ha! Seems like it's been as busy or busier as usual. What an adventure life it!
� End = When Everything Goes Against It...
Oahu - Oh, Woohoo!
Posted on Aug. 6, 2006
Paul got RIF-ed 8 weeks ago, and started his cancer treatment 4 weeks ago (skin cancer on his face; not the really bad kind, just the really ugly kind
. He's been looking for a job, but God hasn't provided the right one yet. So, we're going to Hawaii! That makes sense, right? lolIt actually does. We can take a military MAC flight for free, but since there's never any guarantee that we'll actually get on one of the flights, we won't be able to do it once he's working. And my mom is sending me some $$$ again (bless her!).
Paul's the kind who likes to have everything planned, everything in it's place. Think Felix Unger. So I'm completely and totally shocked that he wants to do this, but I'm happy! We're leaving sometime in the next four weeks -- if there's a flight. Since 9/11, the military terminals won't release flight information until 72 hours before, so it's call the four bases in our area every day to check. Then it will be drive to them, sign up, and play the waiting game. We're the bottom category (retiree) with 6 passengers, so God will have to intervene to get us on *s*.
Then it's off to Oahu! Where are we staying? We don't know yet! The military bases are booked, but Paul has one of those faces where hotel clerks always seem to "find" a room. Bellows has camping, which is fine by me, but I don't know how the princess and her dad will do
. We're going to figure it out when we get there! Since we don't know when and if we'll be flying until the last minute, we can't book a room at a good rate because we may have to cancel or change it. Life on the edge. ha ha. I've slept in airports before. *snicker*Anyway, we are SO looking forward to this. We're going to alternate kids with activities, so they each get to do the things they want to, but without breaking the bank. This way they get the chance to share all about their own individual adventures with their siblings, plus they get individual time with mom or dad (okay, mostly dad).
If you have some good ideas for things to do and places to visit with kids, I'd love to hear about them!
� End = Oahu - Oh, Woohoo!
"It's like a heat wave, burning in my heart."
Posted on Jul. 23, 2006
Okay, that's a different kind of heat :-). Still, it's appropriate. Almost midnight here and we're still in the upper 80s. I hope this goes away soon. Our family is so lily-white (that sounds a lot better than 'sickly pale'!) that none of us does the heat very well. We have a one room air conditioner in our bedroom. Poor computers couldn't handle it, and the Net has been in and out all week.
Even though money is tight right now, Paul said to go ahead and get a window air conditioner for the computer room. I dialed Lowe's. All I got was laughter as she 'politely' informed me that they'd been out for almost a week, and they were on backorder. Home Depot surely couldn't be out too? "Thank you for calling Home Depot. We're completely out of air conditioners. Can I still help you?" So we're stuck, sweating it out. Maybe I'll lose some weight!
My brother brought it all back into perspective, though. "It's 128 today in Iraq." He's back home, but feeling for his guys who are still there. "And they're carrying 60 lbs of gear or more."
We have another package ready to send out. AnyMarine.com lists what each individual troop is in need of. It's a small contribution, but lets them know they're thought of and appreciated. USPS will ship them a flat rate box for only $8. If you're looking for a service project to do during this awful heat, it's one of those small things that means a lot.
� End = "It's like a heat wave, burning in my heart."
What makes it "Christian Music"?
Posted on Jul. 20, 2006
We got Rhapsody earlier this month. Highly recommend it if you spend a lot of time near the computer. Since the six of us share this office, and five are musical (hey! I'm a good LISTENER!), it seems there's always music on. Rhapsody lets you listen to whatever you want! Okay, not exactly whatever. But whatever they have in their considerable database. Paul reviews music on the web, and he gets requests for a lot of different types of albums.
In my heart of hearts, I'm a Keith Green and Lionel Richie kind of girl. But I'm willing to step outside my comfort zone once in awhile :-). Paul introduced me to Kutless. Yep, Kutless. Maybe that should be Kutless-Light. It's their Praise & Worship album, and it's EXCELLENT. Out of curiosity, I went to Billboard to see what's on their Christian charts. Casting Crowns, Mercy Me, WOW, Chris Tomlin, Mary Mary. All good music. And UnderOath. Never heard of them before, yet they're #1. Put them up on Rhapsody -- should've known better and turned the volume down. It's screamo. Seriously. Little more than the lead singer screaming at the top of his lungs. And you can't tell what he's saying.
So what makes music Christian? Is it just the lyrics? If so, then what if the lyrics are unintelligible? Is it still Christian? Or why is that when Johnny Cash sings Hurt, it's a song of redemption, of the futility of man without Christ. When Nine Inch Nails originally sang it, it was about IV drug use. The lyrics are exactly the same save one word (crown of **** was changed to crown of thorns). Why is one Christian and the other not?
We all have our own tastes. I think rap (the c is silent) is atrocious and most of it really isn't music, yet I'm not willing to say that T-Bone isn't Christian music. (Okay, I might say it isn't music, but I wouldn't say it's not Christian *s*). Where is the line, though? When you can't tell a Christian song from a non-Christian one, is it still Christian?
I'm wrestling with this, and saddened to think that the lines are getting blurrier rather than more defined.
� End = What makes it "Christian Music"?