Merry Christmas!

I won't be here for about 2 weeks, so I want to say to you Merry Christmas!

Our family leaves tomorrow for Arizona. The kids are very excited. My daughter was so excited about packing her suitcase, she emptied out her dresser drawers. Then, to be helpful, she emptied her younger brother's dressers too. Then she packed it all into their suitcase that they share. She was so sweet to be so helpful. I took everything out and she helped me fold and put into the suitcase what she would be needing. She is insisting we bring just about every stuffed animal and baby doll she owns.

This morning I gave my two younger sons a haircut. They were starting to look like Luke Skywalker. Now they have nicely trimmed hair and everyone got showers. I'll do my older son when he gets home from school. My to do list is so long, there is laundry and packing and I need to get to the library to return some books, and cleaning the house.

I've been learning, recently, about web pages. I'm learning some HTML and enjoying that. My hubby, who loves to do cool projects in Photoshop taught me a few basics and I'm creating things. It has been fun and my attempts aren't very good right now. I'm hoping to fix up my blog and make it fun and when I'm better at that, I want to create some web pages. Anyway, I'm having fun learning a bit of something new. When Christmas is over, I'll fix up my blog.

Well, I've goofed around enough. Merry Christmas everyone, and a very happy new year!

Typical Monday

Things have been quiet around here. A little too quiet. This week's schedule is crazy and this Monday morning we received an omen foretelling us of the week to come.

I got up this morning and went to start breakfast. I checked the dishwasher and found that I had forgotten to start it - again. I've done this a lot lately. I load the dishwasher, put soap in it and forget to turn it on. So, annoyed with myself, I start the dishwasher and start cooking oatmeal. At 7:13, the phone rings. I knew who it was before I answered it. None of our friends get up this early and most of our family are in later time zones so they wouldn't be calling us either. It was my husband's carpool companion asking "Is he coming today?" The answer was no. They had made arrangments, but she forgot. My daughter comes down a few moments later. She had wet her bed and was soaking. So, while the older kids are starting to eat the oatmeal, I take the princess back upstairs and start the bath. She bathes. I go into my bedroom to talk to my hubby while he gets dressed.

After a nice morning conversation in which he told me all about the lack of sleep he got because of the princess going in and out of his room all night, we went down stairs together. The kitchen stank. There is smoke coming out of the dishwasher. I open the dishwasher expecting a fire, but thankfully, there isn't any. It seems the smoke was in the front electrical compartment on the door. OK. The dishwasher is history.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank my friend Kristi, who gave me her dishwasher when she remodled her kitchen. We will be installing that dishwasher very soon. Thank you!

Now the downstairs skinks of electrical fire smoke. It is 30 degrees outside, so I can't open windows and doors to air out the kitchen. I lit some incense. I don't like that stuff much, it gives me a headache, but I was hoping it could mask the electric smell. Hubby leaves and I take a couple of things out to the mailbox. When I came back in, the smell nearly knocked me over. The house smells like electric fire with a hint of cinnamon. Ewww.

The week is packed. I have a to do list a mile long, a mountain of laundry awaits me and there are no free evenings this week to get extra things done. I do get the van tomorrow so I can run errands. We leave Friday for our trip to Arizona to see family. I'm dreading the airport!!!! With all the storms going on and all the canceled and delayed flights, I am going to be getting plenty of snacks to take along.

So, do you think the dishwasher fire is a bad omen or is it just one of those things that happen? I'm hoping it is just one of those things..... time will tell.

Boys will be boys

I looked out my kitchen window, just now and saw my two older sons jumping on the trampoline. They are laughing and jumping and flicking underware at each other. They each have a pair of their undies and they are shooting it like a rubber band at each other. Obviously, it is tremendouly funny to them.

What is it about boys? What is it about an underware fight is so hilarious? We live on a busy street. Anyone who walks by or drives by can see this going on. I'm horrified and amused at the same time. Do I let them have their underward fight, or do I stop it?

Ugg, boys!

Run Away Mom

Can I run away today? My youngest didn't get much sleep last night. That is his own fault, but he makes the rest of us suffer when he doesn't get enough sleep. He and his sister can't get along. He wants whatever toy she has. When she doesn't give it to him or she takes it back, he screams a horrible scream. It honestly makes my nerves jump when he lets out a scream like that. Most people would think he had just broken his arm because of the way he screams. No, he is just mad. What do I do to stop him from screaming like a banshee when he doesn't get his way? I've tried popping him in the mouth and telling him don't scream, but he does it again and again and again. He refuses to nap too and I can't hold him. He is too strong for me to stuggle with and my big baby belly just doesn't give me the lap room to hold him in.

So, I was working with my homeschooler and asking him a question. He didn't know an answer and spent more time hitting his head with his hand in a supposed deep thought than he actually spent time thinking. While he is doing this, he sits on his desk, knocking it over. As bad as it is to do that, he had a cup of milk on his desk. I didn't know that was there. The milk went everywhere all over his books, his calculator, and the floor.

Today is a rare day for me that I get the van. But the 2 year old is in a horrible mood and just throwing constant tantrums and crying spells because he is so tired. I wanted to get some copies of pictures at Sam's Club so I could give them to Grandmothers as gifts, but last night hubby told me we went over in our checking account. No money, again. He tells me I should use the credit card, like he does, but I can't stand the debt and I am not going to add to it. What errands can I run with a tired toddler and no money?

I guess it isn't all that bad. I'm in a bad mood today, I guess. I need to get moving. My hubby has had a headache for two weeks and has been in a terrible mood about it. Of course, he won't do anything about it but take pain relief meds and complain. I guess his mood is rubbing off on me. All I know is, if when we get old and he has a lot of medical problems, I'm going to have to get him a private nurse and I'm going to get my own apartment.

Monday clean up

I really haven't thought of much to write about lately. There are a hundred things going on and I stay so busy, but at the same time, nothing really to write.

A few things going on around here:

My 2 year old son is potty-training. He is very young, just turned 2 last month. He is doing alright. We aren't making this a serious effort and if he has accidents, oh well. He is aware of his body and even when he has on a diaper, he will let me know if he needs to go pee. It's messy and the bathroom stinks. I'll be cleaning the floors really good again later today.

Our Christmas plans are on hold at the moment. We were going to my husband's family for Christmas. I was having some anxiety about the trip - 4 kids in the airport for hours, 4 kids on a plane for many more hours, the in-laws pets, and finding a place to sleep everyone once we are there. Still, we were all very excited about seeing the grandparents and all the aunts, uncles and cousins there. Now we found out last night that a one way plane ticket was bought by accident by my mother-in-law. We can get there, but we couldn't get home. A large amount of money was spent and if you have ever looked at one way plane tickets, they are more expensive than just a regular round trip. For the 6 of us to get back home, it would cost a lot more money. So, we are thinking of the possiblities, cancel the trip and go next month for half as much money, go anyway and just spend the money to get home, drive? The drive would be nice but it would be a three and a half day journey each way. Basically, we would get there Christmas Eve and leave around the 28 or 29 to get home intime for school to start and without hubby taking off anymore leave. So, we are waiting to hear from hubby's parents. They are the one to make the decision. There isn't much time to think. Christmas is coming soon.

Anything else? Nope, homeschool, potty training and Christmas travel are taking up much of my thoughts. My mind is busy with those things, but my body is busy with laundry, weekend recovery clean up, and tortilla making.

The Silly Postman

The oddest thing happened today. I was at my computer typing an email to a friend, when there is a knock at the door. It is the postman and he has a registered package for me to sign. He was quite funny about it and told me I am the proud recipient of a registered package and would I please sign. Sure, I signed, took the package and the rest of the mail from his hands and he bowed as he backed up saying thank you in every language he could think of. It was funny and it made me laugh.

I bring in the mail and start going through it, not paying attention to anything else going on the house for a few moments. The package was for my hubby who does all his Christmas shopping online. A few moments later, my seven year old son closes the front door and tells me the mailman didn't pick up the Netflix.

What?

I go out to the mailbox and sitting in it, with the flag still up, are 20 Christmas letters, one birthday card to my grandmother, one card to my cousin and 2 Netflix movies!

The silly postman forgot to pick up our mail, but he was very kind in bringing the mail and the registered package to my door. As soon as hubby gets home from work, I'm going to have to drive those letters to the post office. Most of the letters can wait one more day, but not the birthday card to grandmother. Oh well. I need to get out of the house.

Poetic thoughts at 4:30 a.m.

I have a story to tell - the story of how I, ML, got to sleep on the couch.
This is a true story. Only the names have been changed to protect the not so innocent.

Two years ago, in October 2005, I was eight months pregnant with my youngest son and I had a terrible cough. I would lay in bed at nights so uncomfortable with a sore back and I would cough and cough. I kept my hubby awake and he was quite annoyed with me. So, frustrated, one night I went downstairs to the couch. With a few pillows, I propped myself up on the arm of the couch and fell asleep. My back no longer hurt and I coughed less because I was almost sitting up.

Into November, my cough went away, but still I slept on the couch. It was so comfy and my back didn't hurt. I was sleeping very well for being nine months along. Then, came the baby. Once we made it home from the hospital, I went back to the bed. But the baby would wake up at night and want to be nursed. I would go down stairs to the rocking chair. If I was able to get him back to sleep, I would go back upstairs. The thing about our stairs, though, they are very squeaky. And my bedroom floor, which is right over the living room, is very squeaky too. Well, after the first few nights of going up and down the squeaky stairs multiple times, I decided this wasn't working out. Baby didn't think so either, because he spent more of the nights awake and fussing than he spent sleeping and I spent more nights walking the downstairs with him than I did sleeping.

It just became easier to sleep on the couch again. Baby would wake up and want to eat. I was there next to my rocking chair. When I walked him, I wasn't bothering anyone else who was asleep. When he finally managed to sleep, I would plop down on the couch and get some rest.

Baby got older and became Mr. Fussy. He cried all day, he cried all night. When he did manage to sleep, he slept on my chest while I slept on the couch. It was the only rest for either of us. He got older and older and my attempts to get baby to sleep on his own were futile. He would not sleep unless I was holding him. Fast forward to now. He is now two and he keeps me up most of the nights still. Just before his second birthday, we got him a bed. It is a comfy bed and we lay him in it at night. He sleeps there until 12:45 and then his internal alarm clock goes off and he comes downstairs. See, I still sleep there. After sleeping there for two years, I can't go back to a bed. The moment I lay down in a bed, my nose plugs up and I can't breath and I usually get heartburn. So, I stay on the soft, comfy couch.

My son wakes up at 12:45 and comes down to find me. He lays on the couch in between my legs. He isn't comfortable. He squirms and kicks and squirms some more. He might finally find a sleeping position, but it is terribly uncomfortable to me. He doesn't sleep long before he wakes up and squirms some more. Anyway, this goes on and on all night long. I end up sleeping in the rocking chair most of the night, which isn't too nice and it makes my rear-end ache. By 3 something, I've had it with my son. I can't sleep. He is in my spot and won't leave. I end up on the computer, reading this and that. I read blogs, I read Wikipedia, I read about sewing, cooking, movie stars, I rate movies I've seen on IMDB. I stay up for an hour or more. Finally around 4:15, I decide I had better try and sleep some more. I go sit in the rocking chair (the couch is occupied) and I can't go back to sleep. My mind is racing. It is thinking poetic thoughts that I wish to blog the next morning. It is thinking about what Ms. Movie Star has done recently. It is thinking about anything. I can't get back to sleep. Finally with less than an hour before my alarm goes off, I fall asleep and moments later, it seems, my alarm goes off and I'm up for the day.

I've got to change two things. I've got to get my son off the couch! It is way too crowded with 2 1/2 people on it. Last night I was getting kicked by my son on the outside and my daughter on the inside at the same time. Who can sleep like that? So, my son needs to go back to bed.

The other thing I need to change is what I do when I get on the computer at night. No more reading! I should find some mindless game to play. I love the Sims 2. Problem with that is, it takes 20 mintues to load the game.

Then, I'm tired in the daytime and I fall asleep when I'm trying to do homeschool lessons with my son. He doesn't mind. It is free time for him, but I mind!

I think I need to get a hotel room each night just for me.

The Rich Vocabulary of the Three Year Old

My vocabulary has been greatly increased since having children. They have provided me with words and phrases that were previously not a part of my repertoire or anyone else’s that I’m aware of. Let’s explore some of this enriching vocabulary.

Pooky – Spooky. A word discovered and made popular by my oldest son when he was quite small. He had a Halloween CD with a song that would chant” “It’s spooky, It’s spooky” Being the small child he was he would chant with gusto, “It’s pooky, it’s pooky!” Now, each year when Halloween rolls around, I often find myself doing this little chant, but I don’t say spooky, I say pooky!

Shoody – Pronounced ‘shoe dee’ – This word is not one of my own children’s. It is my niece who founded this word when she was a small two year old. It means scary. When she saw something scary, she would yell, “Shoody!”

Pooker – Another word of my niece. It means fart. Personally, I like pooker better. Can’t you just see a three year old saying “I had a pooker.” It cracks me up when I think of it.

Opomeal – ‘Oh poe meal’ This is my daughter’s creation. It means oatmeal. It is usually combined with another word to create the favorite breakfast dish, opomeal scotch. When she requests opomeal scotch, I make butterscotch oatmeal for her.

Kol Lo Made – This was one of my son’s who liked to have this for a drink. It is Kool-Aid, the nice refreshing drink of powder, sugar and water. To this day, my husband will ask me if we have any kol lo made to drink.

Pooloo – Let’s go swimming in the pooloo! Be sure to pucker your lips with each “oo” When you say this word, you should look like you are ready to kiss someone – Pooo looo. My second son came up with this super word when he was two or three. Again, only my husband and I still use it in our summer vocabulary.

Gravy Rocket – Born on a mountain top in Tennessee, greatest state in the land of the free, lived in the woods so he knew every tree, killed him a bar when he was only three, Gravy, Gravy Rocket, king of the wild frontier. When my young sons heard this song, they misunderstood the great pioneer legend’s name. Davy Crocket became Gravy Rocket.

Noey – This is no with an ee sound on the end. Come on 2 year old, it’s time for bed. NOEY!

Splashy – This same word is used for all water related areas – a pool, a bath tub, a fountain, a river, the ocean. It is also a verb, as in “Let’s go splashy to get clean.” My older children take showers. My toddler on the other hand takes a splashy.

To boot

It has been a while since I had a random thought. It seems I'm too busy to have many random thoughts anymore, or at least time to entertain those thoughts and write about them.

So, onto today's random thought: to boot. Have you seen or hear this lately? "That purse is cute to boot." What in the world does this mean? Where did the phrase "to boot" come from? Why has it caught on so quickly? It makes absolutely no sense when you think about what you are saying.

Perhaps this is an old phrase, but it seems only this year I've heard it or seen it and it usually is in reference to how cute or great something is. The American Linguistic Society has a conference each year where they pick a word of the year. I want to offer the phrase "to boot" to the ALS. I know it isn't a word, but can some exception be made?

Curious me, I Googled "to boot". (Funny how the word google has become a common verb in our vocabulary) This is what Google says about this strange phrase:

To boot
Meaning:
Moreover; in addition to.

Origin:
This term has nothing to do with footwear. The 'boot' is thought to be a derivative of the earlier 'bat' meaning 'good or useful'. This is also the root of the word 'better'.

Forms of 'to boot' in Old English date from around 1000AD. Robert Manning of Brunne included a version of it in Langtoft's Chronicle, 1330:

"A hundreth knyghtes mo... and four hundreth to bote, squieres of gode aray."

OK, it means moreover; in addition to. So, "That purse is cute to boot" becomes "That purse is cute moreover." Well, in my mind, neither sound good, but it makes sense now. I think it is a phrase that will quickly become abused because I don't think the general population knows really what it means or how to use it. Well, this is one phrase I will avoid to boot.

All Dressed Up in my Christmas Best

Are things looking festive here or what? Do you like the new design of my blog?
I LOVE it!

A huge thanks to Dawn from Barefoot Blogs for making this for me.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope your day is filled with fun, family and tasty food.

Our day is off to a good start. The boys were up long before I was, I could hear them, but they didn't come downstairs and wake me for a change. I am thankful. We've had pancakes with chocolate chips and walnuts. Mmmmm. Now, my dear hubby is preparing the turkey and I'm thankful for that. I really don't like touching that cold, wet bird.

Well, to all of you, happy Thanksgiving and a happy start to the holidays! See you soon.

carpet woes

Why is it when you are tying your hardest at something, it all seems to go wrong?

Maybe that is exaggerating a bit. This morning, in getting ready for my daughter's birthday party, (2 kids) I decided to clean the carpet with my neat-o carpet cleaner. I carefully went over the carpet, putting on the soap and water and then letting the machine suck up all that dirt, sand, hot chocolate, and muddy water that is deep in my pink carpet. When I was done, the living room looked good. The carpet is a brighter color (not always a good thing when your carpet is pink) and the carpet seemed to be fluffier and not matted down by dirt.

I yell, everyone stay out of the living room until the carpet is dry. Toddler isn't listening when I announce this. I walk into the living room later to see pumpkin bread ALL OVER the freshly washed carpet. AHHHHH! Who gave him pumpkin bread? Oh, yeah, I did. The carpet was mostly dry and I quickly ran the regular vacuum over the pumpkin bread.

You try hard and get the living room clean before guest arrive and that is the day the kids want to wander from the kitchen with food. Oh well. The guests coming over is a mom with a 3 and 5 year old. She understands messy floors. She has seen my house in every condition from very clean to don't open your eyes while in my house. She has seen it all and she is still my friend. I guess a little pumpkin bread won't bother her, but it sure bothers me.

P.S. Who's bright idea was it to spell "vacuum" with two u's?

We're getting old

Today is my little Princess's 4th birthday. It is so hard to believe. She is so tall, so verbal, so silly, so pretty, so smart, so great. Today, hubby asked her, what do you think you will get for your birthday? A rock? A stick? A clod of dirt? Princess laughed, No, I'm not going to get a rock or a stick or a clod of dirt. It is funny to hear a four year old use the word 'clod'.

Five days ago my toddler turned two. He is no longer a baby, he is officially a toddler. He can throw professional two year old tantrums. I actually like 2 year olds. They are really fun. They are still babyish in many ways, but they can play, talk some, and laugh at funny things. They are independent, but still need momma to comfort and kiss them.

What do I do with these kids who are growing up so much? My nine year old amazes me. My seven year old has to remind me he isn't so little anymore. My four year old holds great conversations with me and my two year old wants to walk down the stairs alone.

My friends with teenagers scare me. Can I just freeze time? Can't I just keep them at nine, seven, four and two? I don't want to deal with nineteen, seventeen, fourteen and twelve. Well, I have a few more years before we get to that point. Time is flying by and I had better enjoy it while I can. Well, my toddler is asking for num nums and holding the cereal bag. I had better go help him before he dumps the num nums to the floor and helps himself. Got to go enjoy that two year old while he is still two.

Word to the wise

OK, I keep a box for my free samples I get in the mail. It is my emergency box. It has lotion, shampoo, laundry detergent, toothpaste, soap, and other similar items. I was searching through the box the other day and I found that I had a small box of cereal that I had gotten. The box smelled like flowers, but I didn't think anything of it. Well, today, for a snack, I decided I would taste my free sample. It taste like fabric softener. It is also a bit stale (who knows how many months ago I got that), but I can't tell if I like the cereal or not because the smell of mountain air and the taste of wildflowers fill my senses.

Never store food in a container with fabric softener!

Tuesday, already?

This week is busy and my mind is in a million places, except where it should be. I must confess something - I forgot my parent/teacher conference with my son's 4th grade teacher today. I was painting my stairway and just forgot. I remembered this morning when I got up, but then I got to painting, forgot the conference and now I'm feeling quite down. Dumb me. So, here I sit, still in my painting clothes with all the painting stuff that needs to be put away sitting about in various places. The one good thing is, the stairway is DONE! (All except for one part that I can't reach and I don't feel like standing on a stool at the very edge of the top of the stairs. I'll ask hubby to get that for me)

My mom is coming to visit on Saturday! I'm so excited. We only see each other about twice a year. Unfortunatly, the visit is going to be extreemly short. She will leave Monday afternoon. I wish she could stay longer. (sigh)

We had a wonderful day yesterday. We were all home together on a Monday and no one was sick. Usually the only reason someone is home from work or school is because of illness, but not yesterday. We had a great morning, a trip to the Botanical Gardens, and a cookout in the backyard's firepit. The boys camped out in the backyard last night. It was COLD, but they had fun. I've been trying to get them to nap today, but when I sent them upstairs to nap, they turned on their crazy music and danced. Then they ask me if they can come down yet. No, not until you nap. They turned off the music, but I could still hear a lot of movement going on. Well, the toddler napped while the others were upstairs and for my sanity, his napping is more important than the others.

Well, I guess I'll go clean up the painting supplies, shower, put on fresh clothes, and write a note to my son's teacher, appologizing for my lack of showing up today, then I'll clean up and start dinner. I wrote up lesson plans for this week and half of next week's. I really need to get a head on those so I'm not in a panic on Sunday evenings. Later, later, now, it is time to clean.

I'm so excited, and I just can't hide it!

I entered a fall give-a-way contest and won a pre-made Christmas blog design! Around Thanksgiving time, things around here will change and for the better!

Dawn at Barefoot Blog Designs is going to give my blog a Christmas look and I can't wait to see it. I've seen some really neat blogs and they have the coolest designs. I don't know anything about web designs and so I use the pink pre-made blogger template. This is really a fun treat for me. Thank you, Dawn, for being willing to sharing your talent and making my little bit of blogging space a Christmas wonderland later this month!

The contest was started by a fun blog called Rocks in My Dryer . Over 600 people participated in holding give-a-way contests at their blogs. You could enter as many contests as you wanted. I, obviously, didn't hold a give-a-way myself, but the next time I find something like this, I'll hold a contest too. I don't know what I would give yet, but I'll be thinking about it now.

Finding yourself - Not just a teenage problem

There is a young lady that I see at church every week, almost. She is a pretty girl, but sometimes that prettiness is masked by the bizarre hairdos and clothes she wears. I'm sure you've seen the type.

One week she comes with the bottom half of her hair dyed black and straight while the top half is bleach blond and curly. The next week her hair will be all bleached blond and curly. The next week her hair will be something else. (At least part of it is always bleach blond.) Her clothes range from t-shirts and denim skirts, to empire waist mini-dresses, to a brown skirt and blue sweatshirt. It is a secret bit of entertainment for me to see what this young lady will look like from week to week.

I asked a friend of mine, who is closer to the young lady's family than I am, what is up with the changes each week. My friend said the young lady is "searching for herself" in a big way. She tries every hair style and clothing style during these searches. It is a stage most teenages go through.

I laughed to myself. I don't remember really searching for myself as a teen. I was confident in myself. I had a style that was comfortable and neat. It wasn't trendy in anyway, but I was always clean and neat. I knew that I would attend college and I knew what college. In the 9th grade I decided what it was I wanted to study in college and I stuck with it. I went to the college of my choice and I never changed majors once I got to college. I knew what kind of job I wanted and where I wanted to work. I knew what I wanted and where I was going.

Part of those life plans included marriage and children. Now, I have two college degrees, a good husband and four amazing children. Yet now, I feel myself is lost. I find my confidence in who I am is gone. My brain is mushy, I'm anti-social, I'm no longer an intelligent person and I prefer to stay hidden in my home rather than go out and have adventures.

I'm doing the opposite of the teenage thing. Now, I feel the need to find myself, search for myself and find out who I am. The thing is, as a teen, you have the energy to search for yourself, but now, as a 30-Something year old mom, I don't have the energy to do anymore than I'm required to each day. It is a shame to waste youth on youth.

This is all meant in fun, but it is also truth. It's too bad no one has told the young lady it isn't the clothes or the hair styles that make you who you are. Instead of dying her hair various colors from week to week, she should be spending that time she undoubtable spends in front of the mirror, working in areas of interest. Volunteer in places you might want to work someday, take a class in web design or flower arranging. That would help her find herself in a much better way than black hair or empire dresses.

Good luck to us all who are searching for ourselves, no matter how old we are.

Thoughts running wild

OK, hey there! I started wring a blog about a serious topic, but I couldn't get my thoughts expressed in a proper order. If I did, it would take pages to describe what I was thinking. Also, I like to keep my blog on a more positive side. There are so many negative things out there, I didn't want to add to it. Perhaps one day I'll write out my feelings on the serious issue, but for now, I'm letting it go and ready to write about the funny things that go on in life.

I have three sons and one daughter. The boys are boys and they are noisy, messy, gross, and funny. My daughter is girly, pink, sweet and something of a rebel. My toddler son and I were playing with cars the other day. The cars in each of our hands would run head first into each other and crash spectauarly. He would laugh so hard and we would do it again. Later he brings me a couple of his sister's Polly Pocket dolls. (They are the perfect size to fit into a little fist) He gives me one doll and takes the other. He brings his Polly up to mine and says "hi". I say hi back and his Polly attacks mine. He jumps on her head and knocks her over. He laughs and laughs.

On the other hand, when my daughter brings me her Polly's to play with, we first much change all the girl's clothes. After new dresses are on all the girl's, we meet. "Hi, I'm Polly," I say.
"Hi, I'm Cinderella."
Then I ask, "So, Cinderella, what are we going to do today?"
"We are going to have a party"
"Yeah, a party!" I say making Polly jump in the air, "What kind of party?"
"A Valentine's Day party," (forget Thanksgiving and Christmas, let's get right into Valentine's Day)"You need to get the presents"
You know, it isn't a party without presents. "OK, where are the presents?"
"Back there," Cinderella tells me, pointing to some random place in space behind me. I make Polly go to the general area of random space. "No, not there," Cinderella is sounding annoyed, "Over there!" Another random place of space.
"Maybe you had better get the presents, Cinderella. I'll go make a cake."

Well, to make a long story short (too late) Polly can't make the cake correctly either. She doesn't seem to know where the random space kitchen is. This goes on and on. Polly and Cinderella are joined by Ariel, Belle, a kitty and a pet dinosaur. Now, toddler sees the fun, grabs the dinosaur and basically destroys the party in a Godzilla-like fashion.

I love my one sweet daughter. I'm so happy to have that bit of pink and princess in my life, but right now, it is more fun to play with my toddler. I love his laugh when the cars crash or when dolls attack each other and jump on each other's head. I think my three sons have corrupted me.

Ski Battles

My kids found the funniest web site. They love playing funny games and this one is one that even I got into. It is called Ski Battles. Basically, you build a ski slope, push play and watch a little man on skis slide down (or fall down) the slope you made. My kids love to put bumps and strange obstacles in the way of the skiier and watch him fall. It is funny and really quite challenging to make a good slope. It is on a site called addicting games and with ski battle, it is addicting!

http://www.addictinggames.com/skibattle.html

Give it a try.

Air Noise

We live very near a Navy Air Base. F-18’s fly over our house constantly. They fly day and night! The latest at night that I’ve hear a jet fly over was after 2 a.m. I understand they need to practice night flights, but really, can’t they limit the night flights or just stop after 11 p.m.?

I actually don’t mind the noise. I like seeing the F-18’s flying around. I realize they have a very important job.

Virginia is a lovely state for fall and spring. Those seasons last a long time here and they are my favorites. Winter in our area of Virginia are mild and we have seen very little snow, although we get some biting cold winds and summers are hot and humid. But fall, ooo, fall, it is perfect here. The temperature hovers in the mid 70’s and it is pleasant to be outside. I love to take walks and feel the cool air. I don’t turn on the air conditioning, just open up lots of windows and it keeps the inside of the house a perfect temperature. Right outside the front living room window is a little water fall that we installed in April. I love hearing the sounds of water falling from one little pool to the large pool. It is calm and peaceful.

Then, the F-18’s rev up and start flying over. It certainly gives the ambient sounds a new tune. Sometimes they fly directly over the house, pointing their engines right at us. The windows rattle, glasses in the cupboards rattle and I’ve even heard a door shake on it’s hinges. All conversation must be stopped, and if we happen to be watching a movie, we have to rewind a bit to hear what we missed when the jet flew over. F-18’s never travel alone. They work in groups of twos or fours. One passes by and the noise just starts to subside then the next one flies by, then the next one and the next one. Yesterday I was sure they were going to land in our yard. They were low and loud. My toddler, who loves to play outside doesn’t know how to cover his ears yet. He lays his head on the ground, waiting for the jets to pass.

Often I must close the windows while they are flying around. Later I’ll notice they have stopped. I go open all the windows again and guess what happens…. Yes, the F-18’s rev up again.

We are bound to live near air bases. My husband’s work is of the nature where he works with military. (Luckily he is no longer military, but that is another story.) Truly, I don’t mind. I like the jets. I just hope one day we will live near an Air Force Base rather than a Navy Air Base. Air Force has usually got quieter engines. Or, better yet, we can live near some of the stealth fighters. They are awesome to see and well, stealthy quiet.

Blog to blog

Sorry for the multiple postings. I can't get here everyday like I would like to and then thoughts build and finally I do a blogging explosion.

So, what's on the ol' mind?

Blogging. I love reading others blogs. I have a few I visit frequently and somtimes I'll follow links they have for blogs they enjoy. You can go on and on and on doing this. Some, ok, many blogs have weekly things, like Menu Monday, Kitchen Tip Tuesday, Frugal Friday, and I've seen stuff for Wednesday and Thrusday, but I don't remember any right now. These are fun and I enjoy reading kitchen tips and frugal ideas. However, some blogs are nothing but these things. It seems that blogs are used for many reasons.

Some blogs, like the ones that follow the weekly things and nothing else seem like a public To Do list.

- Some are there as family journals
- Some are a nice combination of journal/weekly To Do
- Some are there for the blogger to make money, they get commission off things they review and sell or they are promoting their own wares.
- Some are for creative muses and thoughts
- Some are to make bold statements on certian issues
- the list can go on and on

Nothing is wrong with any of these. I have no point to this, it was just an observation. I hope that my own little blog is a creative combination of personal observation and amusing family life. The blogs I visit most are SAHMs, like me, who want to share a little of their life, their kids lives, and recipies. It is nice for me, who is home all day with her children, with no car available for me to get out of the house, and who just wants to reach out and feel a part of a social group where we all understand each other.

The absolute best part of this social organization is that to visit "friends" I don't have to clean my house or change out of my pink Winnie the Pooh pajamas!

Breakfast?

Breakfast this morning was strange. It was a every kid for himself kind of thing. I didn't plan it that way, but everyone craved something different for breakfast. Hubby and Little Princess had toast, pumpkin bread and mandarine oranges. Oldest son appeared soon after and had pumpkin bread and a banana. Middle son had 2 slices of pumpkin bread. Toddler had a banana, 2 slices of lunch meat (I was fixing Oldest Son's lunch) and a slice of toast. Me, well, mine was the oddest. I had one slice of toast with grape jelly, 2 olives, and 2 slices of dried beef with cream cheese. The olives and dried beef were a part of the lunches I was fixing for hubby and Oldest Son.

Oh well. Everyone has full, happy tummies.

Tomorrow - oatmeal!

Kanga

I don't often do these personality quizzes, but this one was cute. Who doesn't love the Hundred Acre Woods?


Take the 100 Acre Personality Quiz!

Apparently, I'm Kanga, and yep, it fits me pretty well. I'm a mom, through and through. I'm pretty easy going with most kids, but I don't care who's kid you are, you disobey me when I've asked you not to do something, you get a time out. ;)

Giant Pink Fish

Remember the adventures of Jenny Jenna? Well, Jenny Jenna, it seems, is on vacation right now. We haven't heard much about her lately. Now we have a giant pink fish who talks to us. The fish is a stuffed toy that was given to my Little Princess by someone at church who was cleaning out their closets and getting rid of the kiddy stuff from their teenagers rooms.

This fish, would you believe, loves to party. Anytime the big fish talks to us, she is telling us about a party that she is going to have. It seems to plan parties everyday. I'm not sure if pink fish actually has the parties, but she loves to plan them.

It sounds a bit like me, actually. I'm a planner. I love to plan. I have a hard time executing those ideas though.

Back to the giant pink fish, it has gone everywhere with us since last Wednesday when it joined the family. Sometimes the toddler wants the pink fish. Sometimes Little Princess doesn't want to give up her fishy friend. As a result, pink fish has had to have several time outs. Mostly, however, it plans parties with Little Princess. I have been proxy to many invitees: Cinderella, Ariel and Polly. The plans always include cake, dancing, decorations (often in the form of a Christmas tree) and presents. Confused? Yeah, it is hard to keep up with the big pink fish and Little Princess's party plans. Little Princess will be thrilled in a few weeks when we actually begin the planning of her real birthday party. Can you imagine what she might come up with? Perhaps the pink fish will give us some good ideas.

Silly the Clown

We are in homeschool week 5. We are still having fun, but the realization of doing this every day for the rest of the school year is really beginning to dawn on me. I started knowing that I would do it everyday, but today I was thinking how nice it would be to take a break and play or walk or do something else and knowing that all my wants would have to wait until school was done. It's OK, I'm still really enjoying it. (things would be easier if my two younger kids were a bit better)

So, today, I was following a neat set of lessons I found. It said, have the student make his own clown. Then describe the clown and make up a story about the clown. Encourage creativity. Alright! This is something I love to do. Well, Son built the clown. I asked him constructive questions about the clown.

Does your clown have a name? Silly.

OK, does Silly have a hat? No.

Does Silly have hands and feet? Yes.

Tell me something that Silly likes to do. Ummmm.... I don't know.

What makes Silly happy? Ummm...I don't know.

OK, (I start to panic a bit) how would Silly rake leaves? Ummm... with a metal thing on the

bottom and the wood poking up.

Yes, that is how you rake, but would Silly do it in a funny way or would he rake like Dad rakes? Yeah.

I go around in circles with various questions trying to get a creative or articulate answer out of him. Finally I say, Pretend you are Silly, now show me how you would rake the leaves. Son does a little dance. YES!

What are you doing? Raking leaves

Right, but how are you doing it? What makes the way you rake leaves different? I'm doing a dance.

YES! You are doing a dance. Now, tell me a story about Silly doing a dance when he rakes leaves. Ummmm.....

Inside I'm thinking ARGHHHH!

I wish my mom were here. She would know the way to get him to think and talk. I talked to hubby about this today. He told me to forget the clown and next time have him tell a story about his Guild Wars character (a computer game that Son loves to play). That makes sense. I'll try that next time.

Don't send in the clowns.

11 years

We have had an exciting morning. It is my husband and mine anniversary - 11 years!! It is hard to believe. In some ways, it doesn't seem like it could be that long, and it other ways, it has felt like 50 years. Anyway, it has been 11 years ago today we were married in the Jordan River Temple in West Jordan, UT.

Well, my oldest son headed out to the school bus like normal, but a few minutes later, I heard loud dog barking and my son burst through the door. He was breathing hard and had only one shoe on. Three large dogs were on our porch barking. They ran off back into the front yard and down the road a bit. My hubby got on his shoes and grabbed a bat. The kids and I watched from the doorway. They came after my husband and he gave one of the dogs a good whack in it's side. They barked a lot more, but they didn't come back down our side of the street. The kids were able to get on the bus when it came around. My husband was in the yard ready to strike again had the dogs come back. A lady and I called 911 and two police were sent out. Come to find out, the three dogs belongs to a neighbor down the street a bit. They released the dogs back to the owner. I hope they got a good fine to help them remember to keep them locked up better.

It turned out fine and we didn't press anything because no one was hurt, but had they gotten to my son, well, it is awful to think about and I'm just glad he was fast enough to make it back to the house - shaken, but safe.

Now, we are having school. We are playing with cuisenaire rods this morning. My toddler has exactly the same thing as the other two have, but he is still fussing about it and trying to take things away from the others.

Oh, and to top it all off, our fridge doesn't seem to be cooling at all. When I took out sandwich stuff today, the cheese was soft and gooey and the butter was soft and there was just no blast of cool air when the door was opened. Hopefully it can be fixed, but if not, we only have a short time before we have to replace it. Now you know why our family motto is "It never rains, but it pours."

Easy as 1-2-3

This week we said good bye to our beloved above ground pool. We were only here three summers to enjoy it, but the pool was too old to go another year. After a lot of back breaking work, it is gone and laying in sad pieces in the front yard, waiting to be picked up by the trash guys.

Well, a year ago, I was looking through a pool supply magazine that we got in the mail. They had liners for above ground pools for sale. They advertised that switching from an old liner to an new liner was as easy as 1-2-3!

1. Remove old lining - the picture showed a man happily removing lining from his pool. He was merely lifting it out. (we had to drag ours out and it took two adults and two kids to do it)

2. Install new lining - the picture showed the same man happily fitting the new lining over the pool's side

3. Fill the pool with water and enjoy. We see the man and his family splashing about happily in the pool with the new lining.

OK, let me tell you what it took to, ahem, "simply" remove the lining from the pool. First, you must remove about 40 bolts that old the top of the pool on. Two bolts per joint and there were probably 20 joints. After you remove the joints, there are 2-4 screws that hold on the rim and two more screws that hold on some other part that was under each joint. I have no idea what all the names for the various parts are. Anyway. After about 100 screws, bolts and washers were removed, we could take off the rim in sections, about 20 sections. This being spider season, each section had at least one web with a mother spider, two or three egg sacks and usually one of them had opened with 50 microscopic infant spiders with her. My skin crawls just to think back to it. OK, so, we get the sections off, then comes the rubber bits that hold the liner in place over the rim of the pool. By the time we got all of these things off and we could actually get to the liner, the pool sides were sagging.

We then removed the liner. It unfortunatly had a few inches of water still in it. Our pump quit working and we couldn't remove all the water. Now, because we were taking the pool apart, we opened up the side of the pool. My hubby got to use his saws-all and cut us a opening in the side. (he enjoyed that) My husband, my two sons and I grabbed on end of the liner and will all our might, we pulled that liner out of the pool. It was huge and heavy.

I can't imagine what it would be like to put in a new liner. Even if we had succeded in getting the liner out without cutting an opening in the side of the pool, the sides were all sagging in. How in the world do you put on a new liner on a pool who's sides are sagging everywhere? All I know, is that I never want to put a new liner in an above ground pool. Nor do I ever want to set up an above ground pool. Aside from the blow up kiddy pools we will be using in the future, if we ever get a family pool again, it will be in-ground!

So, through this entire experience, we laughed about the "It's as easy as 1-2-3" bit we saw in the magazine. Now it is becoming our joke family motto. (Our real family motto is "it never rains, but it pours", but that is another story) So, today, when the kids were acting up, my hubby said, "raising kids is as easy as 1-2-3! First, have the kid, second, raise the kid, third, send the kid out into the world" Yep, 1-2-3.

To do today

I should rename my blog: Abandoned Thoughts.

I think about my blog often, but I can't make it here. In fact, we are not doing any school work right now and we should be. But, I had to come here and I'll try and make this short for my sake and for yours.

Today's must do:
School work
Clean out van; we are donating our dying van to the Purple Heart group. They will be here between 1 and 3 and I need to get all our personal belongings out of the van
Clean up house; yeah, right. We'll I'll try hard because the bug man is coming out to spray today and I need to get a lot of things up off the floors. A lot of things....
Email people who responded to my Craigslist postings for our pool supplies.

Today's want to do:
Look up info on Scottish Festival going on in Williamsburg this weekend. We might go.
Find anniversary card for hubby. I bought on last year and forgot to give it to him. Must find it and try again this year. (it will be anniversary number 11)
Work on lesson plans for next week. Before school started, I spend several days and put together 4 weeks of lesson plans. Those 4 weeks are over and I need to work on the next couple of weeks.
so much more and no time to even write it down on the "to do" list

OK, I've had 2 phone calls, had to make one phone call, gotten one cup of milk for a kid, had to save my digital camera from the clutches of my toddler who was banging the camera against the wall, and several other kids come ask me multiple questions since I started writing this blog. It is not going well. I will never get this finished.

One more thing on the Want to do list:
Blog - I have two things I want to write about and I will tell the topic here so that when I return, I can remember. Easy as 1-2-3 and Dressing...... more to come!

No time

I don't seem to have time for my random thoughts anymore. I'm happy with what is going on in my home, but at the same time, I'm feeling quite overwhelmed and there is a sense of falling behind.

I was released from Primary on Sunday. The Primary is no longer my responsibility. I had such mixed feelings over that. Being Primary Pres was like having a fun, but huge sack on my back. I enjoyed the time and I will miss working with the kids the way I did, but at the same time, I can feel a bit more relaxed and not have to worry about what will next Sunday's sharing time be or where are all the teachers? I'm not sure what I'll do this Sunday. I'll probably make sure my three year old stays in Primary this week. She has a tendency to run off. I'm still doing activity day girls and cub scouts until new leaders are found, but that most likely won't be until the end of the month or October. I'm ok with that, I like those groups.

Even without all the primary responsibility, I still have so much on my plate. This week of school didn't feel quite as productive, although we had fun. I can't be too upset with myself. It was week 2 after all and I'm still learning. I'm probably doing more learning than my son this week.

Now, the weekend is here. When my husband gets home, I hope to pass off the toddler to him so I can do some good cooking, so good cleaning and write up my long "to do" list that I've got in my head. Oh, I was sewing a new apron for myself, but I cut out on panal of the apron wrong and now if I attatch it, it will be wrong side of the fabric out. AHHH! I was so close too, and this apron was going to look good and hold together, unlike my last one. I'm not good at this. So, do I cut a new panal? I think I've got enough fabric. Or, do I just sew the one on and let it be inside out? It is on the back anyway..... I don't know. I just want it done.

Happy Birthday to ME!

Today is my birthday! I'm, um, 21. Oh wait, I was twenty one more than a decade ago. That's OK. Whatever my age, my hubby is one year older than I am.

My birthday has always been September 11th. Now, it's 9/11. When people see my birthday, like a clerk at a store looking at my drivers lisence, they say "your birthday is September 11th? How sad!" My reply is, no it isn't, it is my birthday and I have a good time. It was my birthday long before it became "9/11". I have always felt that to not celebrate my birthday birthday because of what happened is letting the terrorist win exactly what they were trying to do - crush the American spirit.

(many hours later)
OK, I got inturrupted by life and now it is 10:40pm and I'm just now getting back to it. I had a fun birthday. My best friend and her family came for fondue dinner and we had so much fun. She gave me a Yankee Candle. I love those and I hardly ever get one, just for my birthday from her. My hubby got me a cross stitch book that is a collection of the stockings I make for our kids. I hope someday to make more stockings for the kids' families as they get older. Anyway, it was a great day.

thoughts on a mother's employment

A week ago, my husband and I and our herd of kids went to a company picnic. It was a small get together since my husband's work is usually with a small team of people. There were about 20 (give or take a few) couples there.

I don't know any of these people. A few I had met over a year ago at a similar function, but did not remember who they were. While my husband mingled and chatted with co-workers, I listened to various conversations that were going on around me while watching my kids to make sure they stayed out of trouble. As I'm listening to all the conversations, I realized that I am the only woman there who does not hold a job. I commented this to my husband who said, don't compare yourself with them. I wasn't, it was merely an observation - I was the only woman who did not work outside of the home.

Two nights ago, I get a telephone call for a survey. I had the time to do it, so I participated. At the end of all the questions, they ask for the statisical information. One question was do I hold a full time job, a part time job, or am I unemployed. I answered, I am not employed outside of the home.

I can't say I don't have a job, I do. I am a primary caretaker to four children, I am a chef, I am a laundry maid, I am a house cleaner, I am an audio visual technician, I am a dictionary, a calculator, and homework helper, I am a teacher, I am a babysitter of other people's kids, I am a pool cleaner, I am an accountant, I am a book keeper, I shop for all of our needs, and I am a lawn caretaker. I don't just hold down one job, I hold down a hundred. And the crazy thing is, I do it all for FREE.

Just because we are stay-at-home moms, don't call us unemployed. I know working mothers do all those jobs I named plus one outside the home. I work too, but it is not a paying job.

I have a job that I love. One day I hope to return to the world of paying employment, but I'm not rushing it. The kids will grow and I'll have lots of time then. For now, I work at home and watch my children grow.

Homeschool adventures, Day 3 and FOOD!

I love working on my blog, but since school started, there hasn't been much time. My oldest child started 4th grade. It is hard to believe he is in the fourth grade. He is growing so fast. On the homefront, we have begun our homeschool adventure. This is Day 3, and we are actually in the middle of it. He is working on a project at the moment, giving me a few free minutes. It has been fun and gone very well, so far. I've learned a lot about my son in the last three days. My two other children have been pretty good. My little princess, sits at her little dest next to us. She has a pre-K workbook (previously used by one of her brothers) and she loves to sit at her desk, color "work" in her workbook. All the while she is singing, singing. My 21 month old will sometimes play, sometimes fuss, sometimes scream at us while we are working. About mid morning we will take a 30-45 minute break so I can get the youngest to take a nap. He has had a runny nose and I think it is adding to his normal fussiness. Anyway, we are having fun. I'm keeping a detailed journal of our days for two reasons - a journal and a record in case the school wants to see what we have been doing.


Other thoughts recently have revolved around food. I love food. As a result, I'm, well, as the deparment store puts it, a Plus Sized Woman. For the last six year, my weight has been on the climb. I finally said this summer, no more gain. Either hold steady or loose it. I've done both. In a fairly short amount of time with only a slight adjustment in my eating, I lost 10 pounds. Then I held steady for about 2 months. I've now lost 5 more and seem to be holding steady here too. It is progress, even if it is slow. So, that is the first thought about food.


Recently, in the morning, I've not been drawn to those breakfast foods I've so enjoyed in the past. The cereal, oatmeal, and pancakes hold little appeal to me. What else is there? I'm not a jelly fan, but jelly has sounded so good to me lately and guess what, we are out of jelly. I guess I'm having a fruit craving. We need more fruit in the house. The problem is, when I get it, my kids devour it within two days. That is great. I'm glad they like it, but it is expensive to keep up when it goes so quickly. Anyway, I'm hoping to get to the store later and get some fruit!


Last food thought, my birthday is coming up. It is next week even. For the last 9 or so years, on my birthday we have a fondue. I love to fondue. It's one of those 70's things that disappeared with bell bottoms and disco. Thanks to the 70's revival that has gone on, fondue has made it's way back into popular culture. I love a good cheese fondue. Mmmm, there are so many wonderful cheeses that you can fondue with. I don't do the oil fondue often, but we do them once in a while and they are tasty. The best of course, is the chocolate. How much more glorious can food get than that beautiful liquid chocolate! However, due to time and money constraints, I'm going to limit my birthday fondue to cheese and oil. We haven't done oil in several years. So, I'm making my shopping list and I'm very excited about the birthday fondue. It is a great tradition.
Isn't that the most wonderful food picture you have ever seen? This tasty picture comes fromt he Better Homes and Gardens Fondue and Tabletop Cooking book.

Homeschooling jitters and not burning the food

Yesterday was a very productive day. I baked and baked. I made scottish oat scones, honey muffins, 4 loaves of bread, peanut butter balls, and two batches of tortillas. I would have like to have done more, but I ran out of time. Maybe I'll try more tomorrow, maybe not.

I can't believe summer break is almost over. I'm ready and I'm not. It has been a good summer. I'll be homeschooling for the first time this year. I'm only doing one of my sons, the seven year old. My fourth grader will go to school, like ususal. I met his teacher last week and she seems very nice. He will ride the bus for the first time. Oddly, he isn't very excited about it. The last two years I've taken the kids to school and picked them up in the afternoon. This year, we are going to try the easier way and let him ride the bus. After he leaves for school, Tuesday morning, I'll be sitting my seven year old down and we will begin talking about the community, weather, reading books and doing a math sheet. I'm excited and curious how this is all going to work out.

Before I made the decision to homeschool, I read a lot about it. But this adventure is a lot like everything else that involves children - no amount of reading books can really prepare you for what is to come. My three year old wants to participate and I'm excited for her to. I think she will be able to learn a lot from this experience. My 21 month old is going to be the major challenge. I'm hoping with all of us together working on things and his toys close by, he will sit and play or let me hold him. I made a trip to the library today to get out weather books for science.

Well, tonight is another social activity, but it is not at my house! I do have to bring a dish though, so I've got a cobbler in the oven. It is apple, pear and marashino cherries with red velvet cake on top. It will be delicious. As long as I keep an eye on it and not burn it like this:

This was a cobbler I made in a dutch oven. The coals were a bit to hot and we left them on way to long. Way, Way, Way to long......

The Last Dog Days of Summer

Why in the world is it called the last dog days of summer?

My children are enjoying the remains of summer before school begins. There has been lots of swimming, a trip to the park, Monkee watching, X-Box playing and all that good stuff. It's always to bad when the summer ends, but I'm glad it will be warm for several weeks after school begins. That means that when they kids get out of school, they can still enjoy their favorite summer-time activity, swimming. This is the last season for our huge above-ground pool. It is falling apart, the liner has many holes and really, it cost a lot to run. I will miss it when it is gone and next summer will be very different without it. Our backyard is going to get a lot bigger soon. Until the end of September, though, we will be loving the last of the pool.

My scones turned out well yesterday and they tasted great. The enrichment night was international night. Women brought food to represent Paraguay, Germany, Hawaii (not another country, but certianly another culture), the Phillipines, West Africa, and Brazil. Oh, and of course, I did Scotland. I took my photo album from when I went in 1992 and a few books I bought while I was in Scotland. I talked a bit about my amazing great-grandmother who had been born and raised there until she was about 21 and then she married a Texan called Tex, moved to Texas and saw Scotland only once more in her long life. She was an amazing lady.

Each morning we have the breakfast delima. The family likes cereal, but cereal doesn't last long in our family. It is expensive and just isn't worth the money. So, often, I make butterscotch oatmeal, mush, or pancakes. This morning, nothing sounded good to me and I didn't feel like cooking. I decided I'm going to bake tomorrow. I'm going to make pancakes and muffins and keep them in the freezer. That way I won't have to cook every morning. I don't mind usually, but some mornings..... I just can't. I've also been making my own bread and I need to make another batch tomorrow. We are running low. Everyone loves toast. Tomorrow will be a baking day and for dinner we have been invited to someone else's house to eat. Bonus! I don't have to cook or clean up after it!

Well, that is enough babbling for tonight. Speaking of babbling, my sister and I (who spend a lot of time on the phone with each other thanks to unlimited long-distance) have started "chatting" during the day. We just leave up the chat box all day and add things here and there for the other to read. It has been fun. It is almost like having her with me. The joys of the Internet!

scones

OK, I'm making scones, and the recipie says sixteen serving, but I only got eight small ones the size of my palm. I guess I'll be doubling the recipie. I wanted to take these to an Personal Enrichment Night at church were we will be having International food night. My Scottish scones would be my contribution. Just thought I'd share.

The Abandoned Blog

I’ve not written in a long time. It isn’t that I’ve forgotten or that there have been no thoughts to discuss, but I just haven’t been able to really get on and type. (I don’t guess it matters a whole lot, since my sister is the only one who reads this. Hey Sis!) The kids always make it hard. I’ve already been up and down more times that I can keep track of while writing this. I’ve given lots of hugs and kisses, gotten up a few times to help my son with his breakfast, get him off of the chair he climbed into, gotten two cups of milk, and gotten a toy out for my princess. It takes a lot of energy to write. No, there have been many random thoughts and little energy to sit and write them out. I spent the weekend in a bad mood too. It started with a trip to the dentist – I Hate the Dentist!!!!! and the weekend ended with a long two hour “fight/argument” with my husband. Things have been eating at me for months and months and I finally blew up on Sunday. So, until yesterday, I haven’t been in the mood either. Yesterday I tried to write, but some how while I was typing, my hand hit a key that backed me out of my blog and I lost all that I had done. So, here today, I present, two other entries that would have happened had things gone better.

The Magazine of LIES

Through a strange train of thought the other day, I ended up thinking about pregnancy magazine’s views of morning sickness. NO, I don’t have morning sickness, like I said, it was a strange train of thoughts that led me to this. So, anyway, I was thinking back to when I was expecting my first and reading every magazine I could get my swelling hands on. I remember being very amused with the article about morning sickness. It would talk about nibbling crackers and such. Accompanying this article would be a picture of a woman (with very nice hair for having just woken up) who was sitting up in bed, leaning against lots of white fluffy pillows, and happily nibbling away at a Saltine cracker. The sun is streaming in through the window and next to the newly pregnant mom is a bed stand with a plate of decoratively arranged crackers.

ARGGGGHHH! So many things wrong with this picture! We won’t even get into the fluffy, white pillows (I don’t have any, do you?) or the sun streaming into the room (most of us are up before the sun), but I do wish to address some other things that we see in this lovely photograph. Let’s look at the mom-to-be, she is looking awfully good for having morning sickness. Most women have a greenish tint to them. Our photo mom is sitting quietly in bed eating her cracker. This is obviously her first baby or else she would be surrounded by children who are bouncing on the bed, making her already queasy stomach feel worse. Those children would be fighting over or eating her other crackers, getting crumbs everywhere and she would be thinking how she had better take the sheets off the bed and shake them out before the crumbs start to attract other visitors. And let us look at that plate of crackers on her bed stand. Who put them there? If she did, she did it the night before. I’m sorry, but I would be worried about roaches, ants or the crackers going stale overnight. Did her husband bring the crackers then? No, that couldn’t be, if she had asked him to bring her crackers, he wouldn’t have arranged them on a pretty, floral plate. He would have brought the bag of crackers in and the top of the bag would be twisted shut.

Yes, that picture has always annoyed me, and yet, I’ll bet if you picked up a pregnancy magazine in a doctor’s office, that same article with the same picture will still be there. Let’s ignore the unrealistic photo and forget too that most women have never found nibbling crackers to help them with their morning sickness. Most of them spend a great amount of time bowing before the porcelain throne anyway thinking, those stupid crackers just make me throw up again.

Oh well, anything to sooth those first time moms as they journey through the crazy time known as pregnancy, because the rest of us well seasoned moms know to skip the article and just wait for the trimester to pass.

Summer with the Monkees

Since 1987, when the Monkee’s were having their big 20th anniversary come back, I’ve been a Monkees fan. When I was in the 5th grade, I wrote a poem about my favorite TV show. I would tape their shows on my VCR and I ended up having two video tapes with about 4-5 hours of Monkee shows on them. Every summer I would celebrate having no school by watching my Monkee tapes – over and over and over. My siblings got into it too and we had great fun. My parents just tolerated it. It wasn’t summer without the Monkees.

Fast forward many years and now my four kids and I love watching the shows. I got the two seasons on DVD. So, this summer, we have had many a Monkee marathon. My kids and I love Peter’s silliness, I love Mike’s dry wit, Micky’s crazy antics and Davy is just funny, cutie Davy and all is great with that. I still find the shows so entertaining and funny. With so much awful stuff on TV and “family shows” that make me turn red to watch, I find the Monkees to be so refreshing. So, the tradition continues, summer ain’t over until you’ve watched the Monkees.

(got the picture off the Internet, Wikipedia)

more random happenings

As the day has progressed, I've thought of more things and my kids have reminded me of some things too.

In the earlier post about Jenny Jenna, I mentioned how at Jenny Jenna's house, there would be trick-or-treating. My three year old daughter has not given up on the idea. She has been talking about Halloween and trick-or-treating ever since. Last night she was very upset and almost histerical about we were not going trick-or-treating. She found in one of my drawers, a Halloween bow, for hair. At the stores, the Halloween and fall exhibits are up. Even though it is still more than two months away, Halloween is every where and my daughter doesn't understand time. She is currently working on her Halloween drawings.

My youngest son seems to be in the halloween spirit too. At least the decorating part is. This afternoon, he got hold of a blue marker that his sister left out. (Thank goodness they are non-toxic) He drew all over his hands and legs, ate it of course and has blue on his lips, and then he went crazy. While I was cross stitching, something I love to do and don't get to enough, the little marker fiend drew all over several brand new books that great-gran sent to them today. He drew on a wooden alphabet puzzle and he also drew on the carpet and on the sofa. He decorated himself and my house.

My youngest is 21 months old (I think, I quit counting after they reach 18 months and are old enough to go to nursery at church). He can be quite the mess maker - Blue Hand, Weilder of the Marker of Mess, the Terror of the House.

I love to cross stitch, but when things like this happen, I don't get around to it often.

Would you?

forgotten thoughts

I had thought of a good topic earlier today but was unable to sit down and write, and now I've forgotten what it was!

Don't you hate it when that happens? I've actually had many random ideas floating about today. I'll see if I can remember some of those and they might spark a memory.

In a past post I talked about blogs I've seen by women who live the kind of life I would love. They live on farms, make their own soaps, raise their own chickens and so on. I was on another blog recently and this amazing lady has seven children, they raise sheep, a llama, and a goat or two. With the wool from their sheep, she makes the most amazing wool dolls. They look like Beatrix Potter characters - bunnies with violins and such. With the oil that comes off the wool from their sheep and llama they make their own lotion. They make goat cheese. She makes their own plates with her pottery and kiln. There is a huge garden that provides them with a large amount of their food. In short, it looks like an incredible life. A life very few Americans currently live. I read her blog and look at her photos and my heart sighs, I wish I could live like that. Then, I have to take a reality check. The lady who is the mother of this family was raised in a similar way. I was raised in a large city that is a suburb to a huge city. I have had absolutly no experience with livestock. I wouldn't know what to do with it. Things like making dolls, and making soap could be learned, but it is also something I've never done. Another big reallity check for me is the garden, I don't like veggies. Why would I want to raise an enormous garden of plants I don't like?

I guess, I'll just have to read her blog and wish I could live her life, knowing full well, I would never survive.

I do plan, however, to have a garden next year. Not a big one, but I do want to try a few things. Like I said, I don't like much in the way of veggies, but there are a few. I hope next year to grow carrots, pumpkin, squash, cucumbers, and watermelon (not a veggie, I know). My husband does love vegetables and he will probably want to grow more than my small selection. So, next year, I will take one step towards that ideal life.

Another random thought I was having today was all about digital cameras. Aren't they great? I love mine. It isn't top of the line, just the basic camera, but that is all I need. I love I can take 8 pictures of the same thing, trying to get that perfect picture and not have to worry or feel guilty about wasting film. That is nice when you have moving kids. A few weeks ago, I saw a comic strip, Baby Blues, if you know that one. The father was talking to his wife, "My mother took two rolls of film each year for our family. That covered birthdays and Christmas." The next picture pans back to show him sitting at the kitchen table with his wife and two kids. He says, "Now, we take 180 pictures at breakfast alone." And the kids each have a digital camera and are furiously clicking away taking pictures of each other.

I let my kids have the camera one evening and let them take as many pictures as they wanted to of anything they wanted to. The results were interesting. There were several pictures of the raw meat I had in a pan on the stove that was just starting to cook. There were pictures of the computer screen. Their were pictures of each other and one of dad. (It is funny to see what dad looks like from the height of a seven year old). There were pictures of their bedroom walls, pictures of the stairs, and so many other strange things. Many were out of focus as they were taken to quickly or while moving. Still, it was interesting to see life from their view. They often ask if they can do it again. I haven't let them yet, but I will sometime. They will never understand the point and click and crank the film to the next position. They will never really know what film is. It is kind of like vinyl records or phones with a rotating dial and attached to the wall with a cord.

Yes sir, I like the digital age.

Non Toxic

When I was a teen, I noticed products started advertising they were non-toxic. Maybe that bit of information was always there and I just didn't notice until I was a teenager. Either way, it was then that I saw the non-toxic information on the packages. I always joked, "Oh good, it's non-toxic, we can eat it." I would laugh to myself and wonder why it mattered. Who was going to eat a marker anyway, right?

Fast forward 10+ years and lets look at my youngest child today. His lips, hands, and forehead bear the marks of a light green marker. He first put it in his mouth (he has destroyed several markers this way, biting off the tips) and took it out only when I pulled it out. He went back to his paper and then tried drawing on his hands. "No," I said, "don't write on your hands, only on the paper". He goes back to the paper, but only for half a moment. He raises his marker over his head and very casually brings it down over his blond hair onto his forehead. At that point, the marker got taken away.

I'm so glad those markers are non-toxic and my youngest can eat them without worry.

The Adventures of Jenny Jenna

My sweet little three year old has an imaginary friend named Jenny Jenna. She is called Jenny Jenna, just like Mary-Anne is called by both names. Jenny Jenna showed up about six months ago and since has ruled the life of my daughter. So often we hear, “Jenny Jenna said…..” or “Jenny Jenna has ….” And you know, Jenny Jenna has everything that my daughter wants. Jenny Jenna has dictated what my daughter does, what she wears and how we fix her hair. My daughter has fallen into peer-pressure of her own imagination.
When Jenny Jenna arrived in my daughter’s life, it was quite harmless. It was the name she gave to one of her little dolls. Then Jenny Jenna took on a life of her own. She lived a couple of blocks down the street, near the school the older brothers attend. Frequently she would ask me to take her to Jenny Jenna’s house. My three year old didn’t understand that we couldn’t go to Jenny Jenna’s house because she really didn’t have one and we couldn’t just knock on anyone’s door. So, I told her she needs to invite Jenny Jenna over to our house to play. Many times my daughter would run to the door to see if Jenny Jenna arrived, but be disappointed that she was never there when the door was opened. She really seemed to think Jenny Jenna was coming over.
Jenny Jenna’s home has since changed locations several times. Right now she lives in Texas, but it is just down the road a bit according to my daughter. (We live on the east coast and it is a 21 hour drive away from Texas, I know, I just drove it, but that is another story for another time.) Jenny Jenna’s age keeps changing too. Tonight, I was informed that Jenny Jenna is six, and getting ready to drive. Her car is being painted pink by Jenny Jenna herself. Apparently, Jenny Jenna doesn’t like white cars. My daughter then asked me if we could paint our white van pink. No, I said, Dad wouldn’t like a pink van.
Tonight has been a night full of Jenny Jenna stories. My daughter told me she was going trick-or-treating tonight because that is what Jenny Jenna is doing at her house. It is August, by the way. Also tonight I heard about Jenny Jenna’s great computer game playing prowess.
In the past Jenny Jenna has told my daughter what to wear and how to fix her hair. “Jenny Jenna said I can’t wear that dress.” I am sometimes told when I pick out the clothes for the day. My daughter has her own taste in clothes and she changes her clothes often, like three to five times a day. Now, I’m not sure if that is Jenny Jenna’s influence or just my daughter’s personal taste. One day I was fixing my daughter’s beautiful long, blond hair. I wanted to braid it and make it look so cute. While I’m braiding, I’m told Jenny Jenna doesn’t like my daughter’s hair braided. She fought me and fought me.
I said, “Jenny Jenna may not like braids, but I love the way your hair looks in a braid.”
“But Jenny Jenna doesn’t like my hair braided.”
“I’m your mother, and I want to braid your hair.” I put the braid in and put at twisty at the end of the hair. Minutes later the twisty is gone and the braid has fallen out. “Jenny Jenna said I can’t have my hair braided.”
Jenny Jenna won.
So, the adventures with Jenny Jenna continue. I can’t count the number of times we hear about Jenny Jenna each day. It is constant and often amusing. I’m glad my daughter has an active imagination. She is smart and creative. I just wish Jenny Jenna would come around to play and then my daughter could to talk to Jenny Jenna instead of telling me what she is up to and what she has in her house.
My biggest worry with Jenny Jenna, is that even though she is imaginary, she seems to rule my daughter’s life. I just hope that when real friends are around, my daughter won’t be so easily influenced. I think that Jenny Jenna is just a way of a three year old venting her opinions and wishes.

summer fun and setting the story straight

I have sat down to type 4 times now. My kids are working against me. Actually, it is mostly my youngest making this difficult. I have been so scatter-brained lately and very busy. It has been a social week and I really don't enjoy being so social. On Tuesday was book club. Luckily for me, it wasn't at my house, like the book club meetings normally are. On Thursday was lunch bunch. These use to be at different ladies homes, but because it is summer and I have a pool in my back yard, all the lunch bunches are at my home. A little get together that should last two hours usually turns into four hours. Then, on Friday, we had a big pool party/BBQ. We had 14 people, not including our family of six and two couples didn't show up. My husband plays in the pool all evening with the kids while I chat with our guest. It was nice, but I'm partied out.

I have also been spending the time since coming back from my trip, putting things away that I brought back with me. For instance, my trombone. Where do I put my trombone? I played it in the high school marching band. It can't go in the garage or attic, but I can't find a home for it either. I've been going through a million photos and programs and other memorbilia from my childhood, putting it into photo albums and scrapbook pages. After about 30 pages, I quit for now. I'll go back to it later.

We have four weeks of summer left. I think I'm actually one of the few parents who don't want school to start. We have fun during the summer and while the house is extra noisy and there are a lot more fights to break up, I like having the kids all home. We have fun and the schedule is free.

My sister wrote a post that was much to kind for me last week. Sisters are so wonderful. I feel bad my daughter has three brothers and no sister. Friends come and go, kids grow up, but your sister is always your sister and I'm grateful for mine. Just to set the record straight, though, I didn't try and sell her. My friend, Lizzie, did try. Have you ever seen the comic strip, One Big Happy? If so, you know little Ruthie is often selling her good art by the road for 10 cents. Well, my friend Lizzie and I would try this too, selling our art in front of my house. Well, one day Lizzie got the idea we should sell my sister. She was, after all, a small child and annoying as small children often are. I didn't really want to sell my sister, but I didn't have the nerve to tell my friend no. Finally I told her that my parents would be really upset if we sold my sister and I told her we better not do it. So, really, I didn't try to sell her.

Have you ever seen the poem by Shel Silversten? One sister for sale, one sister for sale, one crying and spying young sister for sale!

Home again

Several weeks have passed since I blogged last. I was traveling. I did something totally crazy - I drove my four small children from Virginia to Texas and back again. To get there we went through North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and then Louisiana before reaching Texas. On the way home we went though Arkansas, Missiouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and West Virginia. Both drives were really beautiful. I enjoyed driving through South Carolina, West Virginia and then western Virginia. I had never seen the Appalachian mountains before. It was beautiful. Not at all like the Rocky's, which is what I was expecting to see. I knew the Appalachian's were not nearly as tall, but I didn't expect the trees and the beautiful valleys that I passed through. I was such a treat. I hope to go back there some day. I would love to make that drive in late September or October.

Well, I must get dinner started. There was so much going on and coming up. Be sure you will hear more random thoughts in the future.

pets and the law

I had a truly random thought this morning. I was unloading my dishwashing and thinking of what I'll be fixing for a lunch social today when somehow my mind switched to pets and the law.

When we first moved to Virginia, we checked to see if we are zoned to have chickens. We discovered some interesting things. First, we are not zoned for chickens. Then, we also found out that according to city law, only two types of pets are allowed in our zoned area, dogs and cats. That means people who keep fish, turtles, guinea pigs, hamsters, or birds are all breaking the law. That means the pet stores in the area are selling illegal animals.

Ridiculous, isn't it. Who was dumb enough to write that law? Still, it is the law and I want to follow the law. Can I get a pet fish and feel good in my heart knowing that I'm "breaking" the law by having one? Of course this law is not upheld by law officials. Most of them probably have pet fish. No police officer is going to my neighbor's house and arresting them because they have a fish tank, but still, a part of my conscious tickles because their goldfish are "illegal" pets.

Well, like I said, a random thought and one that I shouldn't worry about. Since my husband and I can't agree on pets, we'll not be getting one anytime soon. They only thing we do agree on is a fish and chickens. So, until we move to our dream home on some land, the pets will wait.

Mountains can grow!

Did you know that mountains grow? There aren't many in eastern Virginia, but one grew in my house. It was the ugly, stinky laundry mountain! Ahh! It took all day to work my way through it and I've still got some on the line outside drying in the last sun rays of the day, but the mountain has been crushed and the baskets are empty... for now.


It has been a hot, muggy day, and I'm glad. I love the way the sun shines and glistens on the pool. Our pool is on it's last summer and I will miss the way it sparkles in the sun shine.


I will be making a trip to visit family soon. My "To Do" list is a mile long and I'll probably end up doing a lot of scrambling on Friday. Even still, my social calendar is full and I'm glad. Tomorrow we are picking up a friend to come over to play. His mom sleeps all day because of her midnight job. His dad doesn't drive and he is going to summer school in the mornings. Can you imagine a more boring way to spend the summer? So, he is coming over tomorrow and we will all swim and the boys will all play X-Box and do all those great things that a kid should do in the summer. On the second Thursday of the month is the church ladies Lunch Bunch. During the summer, because of my pool and my lack of transportation, the Lunch Bunch is at my house. Usually there is just three of us, but I have a feeling this week's will be very busy. It will be fun to have all the ladies over to visit.

Tonight is family night. It really can be fun, when the kids are in a good mood. I'm making a cake for afterwards and I can smell it in the oven. Oooo, nothing like the smell of goodies cooking. It took us about six weeks, but we learned all the apostles' names. When my husband asked what we should memorize next, I suggested a scripture. I'm not sure which one yet, I'll have to find a good one later.


Have a lovely evening.

Bread

Today my boys and I made bread. We had a good time and made a very big mess.

First we measured out the water, then we did the sugar. The sugar was the first mess. I was out of sugar in the sugar container, so I added some from the sugar bag. The bag slipped and I ended up dumping a good amount of sugar onto the counter and down the side of the oven. (I'll be pulling that out and cleaning it soon). Next after that mess was the dried milk. I had my 9 year old work on that. It wasn't going to be hard, pour the dry milk into the measuring cup and pour the cup into the bowl. A lot of dry milk ended up on the floor and table. All was well until we got to the flour and oil. The oil measuring cup got knocked to the floor and oil ended up on the floor. The flour is always a mess and we ended up with some on the floor too, but we had less flour mess than anything else. Get that spoon and mix, mix, mix! Get your hands into it and mix, mix, mix.

After measuring and mixing, we kneaded the dough. It was almost a chant I did to keep them going "Knead that dough, knead that dough!" My nine year old enjoyed it, but didn't knead well. The seven year old didn't like getting his hands messy and didn't have the stregnth to really get into it. He just kind of rolled it around. So, the dough got kneaded and brushed in oil before being put back into the bowl to rise. Guess what happens next. The kids run off to watch a movie and mom is left with the mess.

Do you remember that little story of the mother hen who makes the bread? That is what today is like. Who will help me make the bread? I will, I will! (Bread and mess is made.) Who will help me clean the mess? (hear nothing but silence and crickets chirping?) Who will help me eat this bread? I will, I will!

The bread turned out very good and was very tasty. We are having the missionaries from our church over tonight for dinner. I don't know what I'm going to feed them as a meal, but we will have fresh, homemade bread for dinner. Some butter and honey with it and, mmm! It will be good.

The recipie was actually pretty easy and I would be willing to try it again. I'm not sure about the helpers, though.... Actually, I want them to do it again. It is a good lesson on reading instructions and reading measurements. Next time, though, no running off when clean up time comes. My lesson is learned.

Happy 4th of July

It is such a wonderful day. I love Independence Day. I love what we celebrate and I am grateful to celebrate such a holiday. Thanks to the founding fathers for their inspiration and determination in forming this country. I'm lucky enough to live in Virginia and not too far away from Jamestown, where early Americans came to live and worship. Thanks to the good soldiers who defend this blessed nation.

We have some traditions in our family for the 4th.
First we start the morning with the "Fireman's Breakfast". This started for my husband in his youth. In his tiny town, on the 4th, the firemen in the town get up very early, head out to the town park and start the grills. They cook up eggs, bacon, pancakes, and sausage. When breakfast is cooked, the sirens at the firehouse are blown, calling all in town to the park for breakfast. You gather your family, and stand in line in the early morning Arizona heat. Laughter and chatter abound as friends greet each other. The firemen pile up your plate with food and you find a spot at one of the long picnic tables. Then you feast upon a wonderful breakfast. Well, we can't be there in his little home town, but we have taken the tradition to our own. We cook all the fixings in our house and enjoy the good food.

After breakfast and clean up is play time. Do what you want time. I cross stitched this morning. I'm working on a Christmas stocking for my youngest. My husband started his smoker and is smoking two chickens in the backyard. I vacuumed the pool and before lunch, dear hubby and the kids all jumped in and took a swim. We ate a light lunch and then hubby went up for a nap. The boys played X-Box and my sweet three year old daughter has been playing with her girls. They are here Polly Pocket princess dolls. They have been having quite the adventure today.

Soon, friends will start to arrive for our annual BBQ and pool party. We are going to swim, cook, eat and have fun. When it starts to get dark, we'll head out to see the fireworks. There are two places to go, the ocean front and a large park on a hill, which is unfortunatly named Mt. Trashmore. It should be a great afternoon and evening. I've made cookies, a shoe fly pie, jell-o, and macaroni salad.

The only thing I need to remember is the sun block. I got a nasty sunburn a few days ago and don't want to add to it. Happy and safe Fourth of July! God Bless America!

More joy

It was such a pretty day here. The sun was shining, but it wasn't too hot or sticky. My husband took the older boys with him when he went to church so I had about 2 hours with just the little ones to get ready. The baby was tired and I sat and held him until he fell asleep. It didn't take long. There is really nothing sweeter than holding a sleeping baby. I admit, sometimes it is a nuisance when you have a lot to do and the baby won't sleep unless you hold them, but most of the time, I have tried hard to treasure holding my sleeping babies. It doesn't last long. It has been a long time since I held my nine year old in my lap while he slept. I love to take pictures of sleeping babies too. They sleep in the funniest ways sometimes.

Other joys:
I love my clothes line. I've only had it for about six weeks, but I love to go out and hang clothes. It is relaxing and I like the way sheets move in a breeze. It looks peaceful.

Sitting together as a family, eating brownies. Sweet brownies, chocolate around the children's mouth and sharing a treat while talking together.

Having my hair "fixed" by my three year old daughter. My hair is long and wavy. She likes to wet it down with a spray bottle and brush it. It makes my hair very frizzy, but who cares? I'm not trying to impress anyone, but we have fun as she fixes my hair.

Braids. I love braids, but my daughter does not so much. She is patient with me and lets me braid her hair sometimes, like today.

Growing up in hot Texas, I lived summers with fans going all the time. Every room had a fan it it. I love the feel of fans blowing cool air on me. From early spring to late fall, I love to sleep with a fan on. Only in the cold winter do I not use a fan.

Well, I think that is all for today's joys. There are so many more, but there isn't time or room to list all of them everyday.