I'm sure most of you don't watch American Idol, but with teenagers in the house, we do.  And we actually enjoy it.  Simon is mean, but he's almost always right.  Paula is a flake.  And Randy.  Randy Jackson is doing his part to bring the English language to new lows.  Last night after one particularly good performance, he said, "So dog, you know I've always been a fan, but tonight, tonight you got the massive yo factor going, know what I mean?"  He's speaking in tongues and we need an interpreter.

Be thankful ~

Karen

This morning after Sunday School, another homeschooling mom came up to me and said, "I need help!  I am so frustrated with *Belle* - she just doesn't 'get' her schoolwork, and I know she should, and I wind up yelling and she winds up crying. . . what do I do?  I don't want it to be so frustrating for either of us."  So my suggestion was to put the books away entirely for a week.  Just do fun things together.  Make bread, go to the park or a movie, go to the zoo, just do something fun every day, and concentrate on enjoying being together.  I told her that, in God's eyes, her relationship with her daughter was much more important than any amount of schoolwork.  She seemed amazed that I'd been through this same thing myself (why do people always think other people are perfect?), and I assured her that most moms go through it in some form or another at one time or another.  So when things get difficult, remember that others have gone before you and have lived to tell about it, and never think you're the only one.

Be thankful ~

Karen

OK, maybe the worms are not quite ready to come out.   The kids had three inches of snow at school, andit was only in the thirties with a driving rain here that hasn't let up since last night.  But in the spirit of the "glad game," the heavy rain is helping us find the leak in our roof.  It's been plaguing us since we moved here.  The boys have reflashed, reshingled, and smeared some kind of black goop all over the place up there - where the roof meets the chimney - all to no avail.  At one point we had a 4x6 foot hole in the wall above the woodstove, and another smaller one in the ceiling above that.  It stayed that way for several months until we thought we had it fixed.  We no sooner re-sheetrocked than we had another driving rain and the wet spot reappeared.  Roof leaks can be pretty sneaky.  Sometimes you think you know where it "has" to be coming in, and it turns out to be someplace completely different.  I think the skylights in the sunroom (adjacent to the living room) might be involved, but since I'm no expert, I'm keeping my opinion to myself.  I'll let you know when we have a definitive answer.

Be thankful ~

Karen

It is eighty-something degrees out, and we have all the windows open.  The breeze is blowing, the dogs are lying around like it's August, and the tin covering the woodpile is flapping.  I LOVE this weather!  I am such a summer person!  Yesterday I was talking to Deb on the phone, out on the deck pulling the old dead plants out of all the planters.  Warm weather just makes me want to get my hands in the dirt.  What does that say about me?

We finally got Abbie's room painted and the trim done.  She is all moved back in and very happy with it.  I'm just happy it's done.  If I could get her to take a picture, I'd post it here.  I'll try.  So today we have done school, cleaned the house, and now we're all eating apples and peanut butter.  Not the Peter Pan kind.  I wonder how they'll know when it's safe to make peanut butter at the offending plant?  Should we all permanently switch to Skippy?  Right now we're eating Skippy Natural because that's all they had on the store shelves when I went looking, but Peter Pan really is my favorite.  I've been told it's because PP has more sugar than the other brands.  So much for healthy eating.

On an answered prayer note - last August when Mike first went to his current university, he lost his wallet on the first day of classes.  It was pretty stressful because his wallet contained his military ID, which has his full name and SS number, PLUS Ben's full name and SS number.  We have prayed since then that an honest person would find it.  So this morning (yes, 7 months later) Mike got a message on his facebook from the guy who found it that very same day!  He called a phone number in the wallet, and the person said she would contact Mike, but he had changed his cell phone number two weeks prior, so the guy has had it all this time, and just now thought to look for Mike on facebook (he goes to the same univ.)  So that is a BIG prayer answered!  Good job, God!

Be thankful ~

Karen

A few weeks ago Abbie decided she wanted to paint her bedroom.  When we moved into this house, all three girls were in that room, and they painted it pink.  Like Mary Kay.  With these big black circle things that looked like giant hoop earrings scattered randomly around the room.  And black trim on the closet doors.  It was an interesting idea but didn't quite work out in reality.  It was hideous.  So we've lived with it for 2 1/2 years and Abbie had finally had enough.  She had her heart set on yellow, but not pastel.  No, this girl wants COLOR.  So off we go to Lowe's to look at paint chips.  She hems and haws, and finally settles on a COLOR she likes.  We have two gallons of her COLOR mixed, and another one, much darker, sort of a very deep rust, for painting the two bookcases that have been unfinished for 2 years.  Last night Ben put a few screws in the ceiling (the sheetrock was put up with nails - very dumb - and was sagging just slightly), mudded everything, and this morning the girls sanded everything.  They primed all the ugly black stuff and primed the bookcases.  Then came the moment of truth.  They put some COLOR on the walls, and the entire county heard Abbie scream, "It's CHEESE!!!!   It looks like CHEEEEEEESE!!!!"  No kidding, it is the color of cheese powder in macaroni and cheese.  Awful doesn't cover it.  Atrocious comes closer, but there's no describing the horribleness of this paint.  So we stopped.  And did what any group of females does in a panic - we called DAD, the guru of all things paint.  After much discussion, we decided to go pick a different color, eat the cheese-puff orange, and let Dad help us paint tomorrow.  Dad even offered to pay for the new paint - what a hero!  We now have a lovely yellow-with-just-a-touch-of-orange that won't alarm the neighbors.  I'll post pictures when we're finished.

Be thankful ~

Karen

Yesterday morning, Abbie got out of bed and was holding her left jaw/neck.  She said she had sharp pain just below her ear, just behind her jawbone.  It was there all day, and I thought it might be some kind of lymph node reaction to all her colds this year, so I called the dr. and made her an appointment.  This morning she said it wasn't as sharp as yesterday, but now her entire lower jaw, both sides, hurts to the touch, as well as the same spot as yesterday.  I thought she looked just a tad swollen, but couldn't be sure.  So we go to the dr., and he thinks she slept on it wrong, so that it irritated some muscle in her jaw and it's inflamed now.  I think that sounds crazy, but we're going to do what he says and keep her on ibuprofen for a few days.  But if the swelling is worse tomorrow, I'm calling him again.  Now I'm no medical professional, but I've found over the years that my instincts are almost always right, and my instincts are telling me this is not a sore muscle that she slept on wrong.  Abbie says she hates her body because she always gets things that no one can figure out.  She says she's a medical freak.  I say she's extremely healthy and stinkin' beautiful, and that everybody has something weird once in a while.  She also has plantar fasciitis in her left foot (from wearing those adorable Chucks that have no arch support whatsoever), so she's now wearing arch supports in all her shoes.  So to cheer Abbie up, would you leave us a comment and tell us about some weird medical thing that you have or have had?  Just so she knows she's not a freak.  Thanks!

Be thankful ~

Karen

Boy, do I have a story to tell.  This past Saturday, Abbie and I went into DC to get Leah from the CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) at the Omni Hotel in the Woodley Park section.  Since I hate driving (and parking) in DC, we decided to take the metro in, and the Woodley Park station is half a block from the hotel.  This would be easy.  Ummm, no.

We got there, found Leah, and started for the metro station with the two girls carrying Leah's huge duffle bag between them, while I carried her book bag, purse, violin, and my purse.  This station is waaaaaay underground, and the escalator is the longest one I've ever seen (though Ben says there's one longer in Atlanta).  Here it is:

We had to wait for a break in the crowd to take the above picture.  The girls were in front of me on the escalator with the duffle, and Leah had on these really cute little black lace soft-soled shoes.  As we approached the end of the escalator, Leah tried to get a better grip on the duffle, put too much weight on the heels of her feet, and one of her shoes got sucked into the escalator. 

There were literally hundreds of people behind us and the whole thing stopped!  Leah stopped, dropped the duffle, and yelled, "Oh crap!  My shoe!"  So here we were, dropping all our stuff, trying to get out of the way of many hundreds of people, pulling at the shoe.  We quickly realized it wasn't coming out, so we stood to the side, while half of DC walked by saying, "Oh, that ****s."  No kidding, we heard that more than any other comment, though there were a few that said, "Oh, I'm so sorry!" Like they could do anything!  One guy came back to ask if he could take a picture for his friends.  Here are Abbie and Leah, shortly after we decided we'd better get help, and sent a station manager to call a technician:

Doesn't she look sad?  She said, "This is the story of my life.  Stupid things that happen to me, and playing music in random places."

So the waiting began.  After about 20 minutes, Leah was bored so she decided to serenade us all.  One guy came by and threw a dollar in her violin case!

We wound up waiting an hour and a half.  So you know what happens when you get tired and bored?  Everything gets funny.  And Abbie starts taking pictures of really dumb things.  She was the one who noticed the trash can nearby:

Now, this may not seem very funny, but look closely at one of the things that's not permitted:

So at least we know it's ok to put seeing-eye animals in the trash, but no others.  Only in DC.

Be thankful ~

Karen

I have got the most mouthwatering aroma wafting through my house.  There are two chickens, rubbed with my special mix of spices, roasting away in my oven.  I love making these things - they  make the whole place smell awesome!  If I ever need to sell my house, I'll put chickens in the oven, not bread!

Pete keeps coming over here and laying his head in my lap, which usually means, "I need to go out."  So I've gotten up twice to let him out, and he just stands there looking around or eats bark.  I don't know why I expect him to have gained some form of intelligence since yesterday.  Maybe I'm just hopeful. 

And finally, I am trying to plan the next school year.  I would like Elijah to become a little more independent, so I am looking at School of Tomorrow paces for a few subjects, but not all.  He will be in 9th grade, but I'm not stuck on that grade level for every subject.  He will be doing pre-algebra, and I'm thinking about the 8th grade paces.  I'm also considering the 8th grade science, just because I think it will interest him.  If you have experience with any of SOT's stuff, I'd love to hear your opinions, either good or bad.

So in my quest to write every day, I will fill this space with the empty drivel that comprised my morning.  I realized there were little mildew spots growing on my bathroom ceiling, so I bleached the whole room, floor to ceiling this morning.  It smells really good in there now!  Also did four loads of laundry, cleaned the dog's crate, went to the bank and WallyWorld, took Pete for a two-mile walk and am getting ready to leave for Leah's school.  Her first symphony concert as a first violinist is tonight, so we're all going.  It's a hefty drive and will be a late night, but it's important to her, and we'll get to see Mike before he heads to Mexico on Thursday (he and his small group Bible study buddies are going to frame a church over spring break in a small village in northern Mexico).

Abbie has been doing some shopping lately from a catalog we get in the mail - Delia's.  She loves the T-shirts they have, at least most of them.  They've recently started carrying T-shirts with the Little Miss characters on them - you know the ones from the Little Miss books?  Like Little Miss Fun and Little Miss Dizzy?  We loved those books when the kids were young, so Abbie's having fun with the shirts now.

One last piece of useless information:  sometime in the night, a large log rolled off the top of the woodpile, where it was supposed to be holding the tarp in place.  It rolled halfway down the backyard and stopped there.  So this morning when I took Pete out, he, being the really dumb puppy that he is, freaked out.  He growled, barked, ran back into the garage, tried to sneak around it and then jumped and ran away, and barked some more.  It was the funniest but dumbest thing I've ever seen - this 50 pound bulldog scared out of his wits (what wits?) by a piece of wood.  At least he's good for comic relief.

Be thankful ~

Karen

Just in case you didn't know, and I didn't, there is a recall right now for Peter Pan Peanut Butter, and some Great Value PB sold at Walmart - it may be contaminated with salmonella.  If the product code on the lid starts with 2111, throw it out.  You can read about it here.  So go check your peanut butter!

Be thankful ~

Karen

We woke up this morning to snow and ice.  Not much snow, but lots of ice.  But some good has come of it.  We had a green hula hoop stuck way up in a tree from last July 4th's party, and the branch it was hanging on broke, so I no longer have my conversation piece hanging way up above the back yard.  See, we can be thankful for the little things! 

Yesterday I wrote a "dart" to the campus newspaper where Mike and Leah are students.  The paper publishes "pats" (thanking someone for some small thing that helped make your day a little brighter) and "darts" (fussing at someone for something that added to your stress for the day).  So I wrote my dart to the administration officials who decided to cancel classes for MLK Jr. Day, but not for Presidents' Day.  Now, I am not a racist by any means.  I don't want ANYONE given preferencial treatment based on the color of their skin.  According to MLK Jr., people should be judged "not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."  But this seems like preferential treatment in favor of a man BECAUSE he was black.  Is that what he would have wanted?

Be thankful ~

Karen

OK, folks, it's getting worse.  Today I took Abbie to work and when I came home, I left the lights on in the Acura (not intentionally).  So when I went out three hours later to go pick her up, it, of course, was dead.  As a hammer.  Lucky for me, dear Ben knows what an airhead I am, and keeps spare vehicles around just in case.  So I hopped in the Honda (with the expired inspection sticker) and went to get Abbie.  But let's backtrack just a bit.  It is very cold here in Northern Virginia, and we are running the woodstove and heat simultaneously trying to stay warm.  All this heat is really drying out my skin, so I had the bright idea of putting a big pot of water on the stove to boil, to add some humidity to the air.  It came to a boil, I turned it down to medium high, and did the abominable.  I walked away.  God have mercy on my wicked self!  So when we left to get Abbie, there sat the pot on the stove, simmering merrily and humidifying away.  When we got home an hour later, there were about 3 inches of water left.  I sat right down on the kitchen floor and almost cried.  I mean, I am seriously going to do some damage here!  Is there a drug I can take?  An herb?  Somebody please pray for my brain!  And pray for the safety of my family!

Be thankful ~

Karen

Here are Abbie and Elijah getting ready to be lifted off the back of the boat by a parasail:

And here they are WAY, WAY up yonder:

Here's Elijah working with the dolphin trainer, shaking hands/fins with one of the dolphins:

And finally, little miss popular on her birthday.  She was talking to a friend on one phone and her sister on the other:

Only a teenager could do this!

Be thankful ~

Karen

It's a sad day in Virginia.  Pete is getting neutered today.  Good thing he's dumb enough to not know what's going on till it's over.  He was wagging his tail and licking the vet assistant's face when I left him. 

On the other hand, it's a happy day because we are Colts fans and as most of you already know, the Colts won last night. 

On the other hand, it's a sad day because my oldest son turned 22 yesterday.  That means I have two children in their 20's.  Gack!!!! 

On the other hand, it's a happy day because the sun is shining, and though it's only 15 degrees (at 9 am), we will shampoo carpets today and that makes me VERY happy! 

On the other hand, it's a sad day, because Ben left this morning to spend the week in San Diego on some bogus business trip, and will get to walk around in the warm sunshine in jeans and a t-shirt with no biting wind whipping down his neck.  I'm so jealous!

So let the fun begin.  I'm going to move all the furniture, wipe all the baseboards, clean the ceiling fan (woodstoves make an incredible amount of dust), pre-treat stains and shampoo carpets.  Pick up Pete this afternoon, take Abbie to the basketball game at the church school, make dinner and try to do some school in there somewhere.  Hope you have a great day!

Be thankful ~

Karen

Let me give you the background:  our van had an antifreeze leak a few months ago which took some fiddling to fix completely.  In the meantime, Ben was putting mostly water in the cooling system so we wouldn't be pouring expensive antifreeze out on the ground.  Then winter was upon us and the antifreeze/water mix never got fixed, so it's less than 50/50.  Hence, we are slightly worried that, with all this cold weather, it might freeze.  So on Tuesday Ben told me to check the fluid level the next day, then start the van and just let it run until it got good and hot.  So yesterday at 1 pm, I check the fluid and started the van.  Then my big mistake - I walked away.  Actually came inside.  And never gave it another thought until we were driving home from church last night at 9 pm, when, sitting at a traffic light, I gasped and yelled, "Oh NO!  Oh NO!  Oh you guys - I started the van and NEVER SHUT IT OFFFFFFFF!!!!!!!"  And in the middle of my mental heart attack, Elijah said, "I shut it off, Mom."  I wanted to pull over and have a breakdown right there on the dark highway, but couldn't stop laughing.  My memory has gotten so bad that I think it's getting dangerous.  How do women LIVE through menopause??  How do their families survive?  Somebody help me!

Be thankful ~

Karen