Learning to Fly |
• Saturday, July 18, 2009 -
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| I haven't been great at keeping up with the blog lately. There's been so much going on! Lots to blog about and no time to do it. Yesterday was my birthday. I had quite the day. Really, it was just a typical day. Technically, I guess the day started just before midnight. I woke up out of a sound sleep realizing that I had not locked the chicken coop. Danger, Will Robinson, danger! Visions of foxes danced in my head. I jumped up, staggered into the bathroom for my glasses, and stumbled downstairs and outside. I got all the way out to the coop, saw that the door was locked, and remembered that my husband had said he'd take care of it and that's why I didn't do it. Back to bed, only to be awakened at 1 a.m. by my little son. Boyo was crying and hollerin' about his leg. "My leg hurts! My leg hurts! I need some medicine. Now! It hurts, it hurts!" By the time we got a handle on what was going on, found the ibuprophen and got some in him, massaged his legs and got him back to sleep, more than half an hour had passed. Two o'clock rolled around. What is that terrible sound? That piercing shriek? The fog lifted. I found my glasses again, stumbled downstairs again, and took Keeper out to the puppy potty area in the Back Forty of the yard, all the while scanning the shadows for our friends Coyote, Raccoon and Skunk. Then back inside to her crate, and back to bed. The moon was pretty, though. I'm glad I saw it. Three o'clock: Kitty came in to let me know that Big Girl needed me. I'll say! She had a temp of 103, and was nauseous. I gave her the last of the fever med and stayed with her until she fell asleep. Then back to bed. Brrring! It's 6:00. Time to get up and get moving. I had a 7:00 appointment for a mammogram. Yes, on my birthday. Can you think of a better time? Disappointingly, there were no balloons on the mammo machine. On the way home I called DH at work to give him a report. Ended up in a telephone argument. Sweet. Stopped to get some fever meds; it was 5 minutes after opening but the employees wouldn't unlock until the manager got there. He was late. I got home, paid the sitter, checked on Big Girl and gave her more meds. Dealt with the chickens' and guinea pigs' needs for food and water, crated Keeper, and got down to business. I spent from 8:30 until 2:00 working with Kitty trying to complete her astronomy notebook and lapbook, peppered with doing laundry , answering the non-stop phone (which I wouldn't have answered at all except I am pining to hear from the washing-machine repair man), and running from the basement upstairs to wipe Big Girl's brow as she retched, or to take her something to sip, or to just be with her in the moment. I did have to take a few breaks from all this excitement to take the dog out, or to interrupt an argument or to feed someone or somesuch. Princess and Boyo were up and at 'em early, of course. They played nicely but made quite the mess in the family room. The mess is still there, btw. By 2, I was exhausted. I sent Kitty and Princess up to their room to rest with Big Girl while I put Boyo down for his nap. By the time he fell asleep, I nodded off, too, but my nap kept getting interuppted by the phone, the door, the you-name-it. Finally, I got up and began to try to get things done, but couldn't start anything for having to run up to comfort Big Girl. Poor thing. Being sick is so hard on her. When I first got up and went to check on Big Girl, she asked if I had seen Princess. "She was in here but she disappeared." Hmmm, better look for her. It's pretty quiet around here. I checked the den couch, the living room couch, the basement. Checked the yard. Checked the doors to make sure they were locked and she hadn't escaped out the front. Premises secure. I began to get worried, and checked everything again. And again. Still no Princess. I contemplated calling the police, and went up to ask Big Girl when she had last seen Princess. Then a thought occurred to me. I climbed up the ladder to Kitty's bunk, and Princess was asleep on the other side of Kitty. Whew! Crisis averted, Princess safe and sound... asleep. About that time, DH came home. He was thrilled with the state of the kitchen. I believe he used words like "sickening.... doesn't take that much time.... ridiculous..." I responded by taking the dog out to the potty. When I came back in, I put on my apron to begin cleaning up the kitchen, only to hear, "What are you doing? It's your birthday!" Huh? Oh, well, no time to be in the kitchen anyway. Big Girl was retching again. After that, I went out with Princess to take the recyclables. Saw the teen neighbor across the street lovingly polishing his new '70 Ford truck as his parents watched. Went over to say hi, and was there about 5 minutes before DH came out to let me know that Big Girl needed me. I came back home to see about her, and he and the rest of the children stayed and chatted. While I was caring for Big Girl, Keeper was busy. I got downstairs in time to rescue a sock from her teeth, and then to clean up a puddle. By this time, Princess and Boyo were home. Princess pointed out the maze where Keeper had taken a new skein of yarn out of my knitting bag and woven it through three room. I asked Princess and Boyo to take Keeper outside. While they were arguing with me, Keeper gave me another present. It was not gift-wrapped. DH made tacos for dinner. I had gotten some Spanish rice as a side, but he said the tacos were plenty and that nobody eats that junk anyway. Hmm, I eat it... Finally got all the healthy children corralled at the table and sat down to eat. Big Girl intercomed. Could she have some toast? Now? She was starving. I got up and made her toast and took it up. After dinner, we ate cake. Kitty and DH made my special birthday cake, strawberry cake with strawberry frosting. Big Girl felt well enough to come down and sing Happy Birthday and have just a sliver of cake. "Since we just have it once a year..." We cleaned up after dinner and opened presents in the den. I knew DH had not had time to take the children shopping. (Thus I was not surprised when he came in from work hiding a small grocery bag behind his back.) Each of the children presented me with a gift of chocolate, which I needed. I had searched for some desperately yesterday afternoon, and finally found an opened remainder of a chocolate bar hidden in the back of my baking cupboard. No telling how long it had been there. I ate it. It was good. So, the chocolate was a good gift. Then, DH presented me with FOUR tickets to the upcoming Rod Stewart concert! Suh-weet! I'm very excited. We are taking C and K with us; we've all been friends for more than 18 years. And DH said he'd buy me a concert t-shirt. I haven't been to a concert in 20 years. Back in the day, I loved to go to concerts, and I loved to listen to Rod Stewart. I didn't even know he's still performing. After that, it was bedtime. Kitty cried because she couldn't understand why we needed to go to bed instead of watching the end of "The Apple Dumpling Gang." After all, it was only 9:00. DH got annoyed with her. It was a tender moment. Finally, we got every one moving up to bed. Everyone was in pj's, the girls had lights out and DH was telling the bedtime story. I hadn't gotten ready for bed yet - that 'only one bathroom and 4 people in it' thing. I was just starting to get ready for bed when Boyo decided he wanted to use the potty. He's still figuring out the potty v. diaper thing. We have a powder room on the main floor and that's the only one he will use. So, I walked with him down there and he did his best, but was convinced nothing had happened. When he hopped off, I could see that he had been productive and sat him back on the potty to get him cleaned up. After I dropped the tissue in the potty, my hair fell into my eyes. I tucked it behind my ears only to notice that my hand hadn't been quite clean. Eew-stinkin'gross! Literally. DH was doing his physical therapy by this time, so I took Boyo up to the changing table, finished cleaning him up and dressed him. Then I Took. A. Shower. At ten o'clock at night. I crawled into bed with wet hair and fell asleep. Big Girl woke me at 11 to help her retch. And the cycle continues. Really, this was just a typical day. "It's part of it," as my dad would say. And I wouldn't trade a minute of it. Except maybe for the part about my son on the potty resulting in me in the shower... |
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• Thursday, July 9, 2009 -
What a Blessing!
| I went to see The New Boy tonight. Mother and son are doing well. I will let her post all the details, but he is a handsome feller. He and Mama - and Dad, for that matter - are all doing GREAT! Here is his photo:  He is MUCH better lookin' than my limited photo skills could show. |
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• Saturday, May 9, 2009 -
the puppy
| Yesterday we went out to meet our puppy. We've waited a long time to get a dog, carefully choosing a breed, then a breeder; readying our house; working on our habits (puppies eat shoes and toys left on the floor, you know). She's really tiny, at just over a week old; we'll bring her home in two months. Here she is with DH; you can see how little she is:  Big Girl is holding her here:  And here is her close-up:  Isn't she a cutie? |
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• Wednesday, April 8, 2009 -
Raising chickens.
| When we were just thinking about chickens, here is what we ultimately did. We decided that raising chicks one summer was a great HS project, and we found someone who lives in the country and raises chickens for eggs, and that person agreed to take our chickens off our hands after we raised them from chicks. Having that safety net instead of jumping into a years-long commitment was a huge help. We spent the winter reading up on chicks, and learning about chickens, etc. (We got an egg and an incubator and that is a long, sad chapter in our chicken raising experience.) Anyway, just before spring, we prepared ourselves by getting the light, feed, feeder and waterer, etc. Then, when spring arrived, we went to the feed store and picked out 4 chickens - one per child. For a couple of weeks they lived in the house. First, we kept them in an old washtub. Why? Because that's how my granny did it, dadgum it.   When they outgrew that, we kept them in a grid cage that houses our Guinea pigs. We kept them really warm and then began to harden them off when they fledged, as well as giving them some supervised outdoor play time. We did have to put an old window screen on the top at one point because they began to jump out. We put little twigs in for them to practice roosting on. Yes, this is in our family room, by the way.  When the weather was warm, we lifted the grid and set it on the grass, put the birds in it, covered it with a screen and an old rug on part of the top for shade. This was kind of like 'hardening them off.'  When the time was approaching for them to move outside, I got ready. I got an old doghouse off Craigslist, put a door and a latch on it, drilled a couple of ventilation holes at the top and painted it to match our house. Then I built a small run. It was 10 feet long, 4 feet tall and 4 feet wide. This was an easy project that anyone can do. Here it is with my daughter helping.  I built the panels using small pvc tubing and connectors that I got from the plumbing supply at the hardware. I used a hacksaw to cut them to length. Basically, there were three sides that connected. No top, bottom or end. I wrapped chicken wire around the three sides and attached it with zip ties. Then I built a panel for the top, and one for the end. I wired them in a similar manner and then hinged them to the run with zip ties. The end panel was a chicken entrance; the top was for my convenience. This was our temporary chicken tractor. I attached a sheet to one end for shade, and put a light tree branch inside. I kept the feed and water in there. We moved it around the yard, moving it 2x per week. My kids spend lots of time with the birds, reading to them, drawing them, etc. Here are some photos of that...   (by the way, this run was in no way predator proof) At night, I put the birds in the doghouse and shut the door, and let them out again in the morning. We named the birds, became very involved with them because we were outside in the back yard all the time. Even our baby was involved in caring for the chickens!   Once we were caught unawares and a summer storm drenched the birds early one evening. We wanted to make sure they were dry before we locked them in the doghouse for the night...  When the weather turned cold, Joseph came to pick them up as agreed upon, and we were chickenless all winter. Guess what happened? We missed chickens! We ordered more chicks. We planned to build a chicken tractor right away, but then we moved, so we kept them in the same set up as before, and then as the weather turned cold, DH built a lovely coop. We made some modifications to materials for our climate and budget. We have had some issues, such as one of the hens being a rooster and having to be rehomed, and regular predator visitors (fox, hawk...). Here is a photo of a juvenile Cooper's hawk that discovered our run last summer.  He landed on the top of it and jumped up and down on it, trying to get our hens. He was not in the least intimidated by me. You can see where he caved in the top of the run; the chicken wire is all bent. If I hadn't been home, we would have lost Ethyl and maybe the others.  We love having chickens; it's so much fun and very rewarding. |
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• Friday, March 27, 2009 -
The new basement
| After suddenly purchasing our 'fixer upper' and then spending more than 6 months trying to decide what project to tackle first, we decided on the basement. It would have the greatest impact and there was a need (structural issues with the house). However, it was more than we could tackle - it would have taken us years to complete just the basic portion of the job, and there were parts (such as lifting the house off the foundation and adjusting the beams) that simply were beyond our abilities. We hired a contractor and got started. They began around January 15, and the final touches were put on this last Wednesday night. Here are the before and after pictures. First, the stairs going into the basement:  How's that for a dark and gloomy entrance into a pit? The stairs were steep and narrow; they were dark. Don't miss the wonderful wallpaper and the elegant carpet! Here is the after:  Mark and crew removed the walls entirely, built new stairs that are not so steep, opened up the wall on one side, and added lights and an open railing. I think it's a little more inviting. Now, the main room. This will be our family room and play room. Here it was before:     and after    It's light and bright down there now - the photos don't show it so well, but we don't even need to turn the lights on in the day time. Here are the before and afters of the school room:   That door is the door to the laundry room. You can see a little light to the left; that's the reading nook under the stairs. Here is a photo of the reading nook:  I don't have any before photos of the laundry room, unfortunately, but it was just bare concrete walls, and a vinyl tile floor, with many of the tiles missing. The washer and dryer were crammed up next to the boiler, and the laundry sink was in the corner behind the boiler; it was hard to do laundry without risking being burned. Here is the new laundry room. The cabinet area will double as the science / art / messy school area:  That wall to the left is the new closet that encloses the boiler and other mechanicals. The room is so much more spacious than it was.  And finally the bathroom. It was so tiny that one couldn't use the toilet without bumping one's knees on the shower. As well, none of the fixtures worked except the sink, and the room smelled. Here it is before:  And after; we enlarged it about two feet in each of two directions:    Our basement is so much nicer. We have been truly blessed to be able to do this, and by the whole experience as well. |
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• Monday, February 23, 2009 -
Just the facts
| On February 4, my father had an angiogram. My father had had tests in Small City that confirmed his need for the procedure. He and Mother decided to have the procedure performed in Big City, and had Daddy's records forwarded there. In the pre-op consult with the cardiologist, they found out that Daddy has a spot on his lung, and has some kidney damage. He had the procedure on the 4th, and found that he did have some blockage that could be treated with medication. However, the lung thing was a concern. On February 6, he had a biopsy. The result was non-small cell squamous carcinoma. On February 7, Daddy had an MRI and a CT scan; on February 8 he had a PET scan. Monday, February 16, my parents and my sister met with the pulmonologist. He told my family that Daddy has pulmonary fibrosis. He also said there is a second malignant tumor in the lung; the first tumor has grown significantly; and there is a tumor in the brain. He suggested no chemotherapy but recommended getting immediate treatment (radiation) for the brain tumor. I flew out the morning of February 19 and was able to be with my family during my father's oncology appointment. He had, as he put it, a difference of opinion with the pulmonologist. He started off by telling us that there is no tumor in Daddy's brain; it is a scar on the dura and not of a concern. Whew! What a relief! Then he went on to tell us that there are indeed two malignant tumors in Daddy's lungs, and one lymph node in the area where the disease has metastasized. He also refuted the cardiologist and said that the medication would not help Daddy's heart. He told us that it is probable that either radiation or chemotherapy will kill Daddy, and that it would most definitely make him suffer horribly. Still, he recommended chemotherapy, and not just because - again in his words - that is what his business is. His final recommendation to my father was basically to just go home and die. We had a lunch appointment with Daddy's life-long friend Jim; he was waiting to hear. While we were at lunch, someone who is familiar with Daddy's case called my sister and recommended another therapy which, if Daddy is a candidate, will destroy the cancer at a cellular level. It is a very accurate radation treatment. We investigated the treatment that night, and the next day made an appointment. They will find out on Wednesday if Daddy is a candidate for this treatment. If he is, the cancer will likely be gone by the middle of next week. The oncologist felt that Daddy's prognosis with the cancer is 3 to 6 months. If the cancer is destroyed, the oncologist - WHO IS NOT GOD - feels that the pulmonary fibrosis will kill him within a hear. Right now Daddy feels good, and he looks good. The cough is awful, but it is not debilitating. We are just waiting on Wednesday, and praying. |
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• Wednesday, December 17, 2008 -
caught on film!
So, Monday morning Big Girl had the last of her baby teeth removed. It was hard on this mama to think of that. The procedure was hard on Big Girl - these were molars and the roots hadn't begun to recede. The dentist had a difficult time getting the teeth out. Anyway, Monday night I decided to try it again. Hubbie took all the children into one room to read bedtime books, and then to tell 'the story in the dark.' As they were telling the story, I burst in the room in full toothfairy garb. Kitty Cat instantly said, "Mama!" in that way she has when she thinks I am being silly. I said, "Oh! I thought everyone was asleep!" I went straight over to Big Girl's bed, waved the money, and put it under her pillow. When I turned around, Hubbie snapped a photo.
Not a very flattering photo, I must say. I'm considering sending him to photography school... but I digress... I left the room, finished my bedtime routine which included getting back into my regular jammies. I returned into the girls' room to say good night. They were all grinning and telling me they had just seen the tooth fairy. I said, "Oh, really? I'm sorry I missed that." Kitty Cat says, "You wanna see a picture?" We laughed and I headed off to bed. I'm sure you can imagine my reaction the next day when Big Girl and Kitty Cat were telling Grammie all about seeing the tooth fairy and Kitty Cat said, with an expression of genuine astoundedness on her face, "It was amazing how much she looked like Mama!" I'm hoping she's pulling my leg... |
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• Wednesday, December 10, 2008 -
caroling photos
Here are some photos from our 16th annual caroling party. When we began, we were just four dating couples. Over the years we married and had children. We've grown from eight people to twenty! We're thinking it will be fun when our grandchildren join us some day... Here are the children:
And here is a shot of all of us: |
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• Wednesday, December 10, 2008 -
St. Nicholas' Day
We had such a nice St. Nick's day this year. I made the 'Santa cookies' and we decorated them. The cookie cutter we use comes from here (it's the small one) and is such a simple design that it is very low stress to decorate. Using these decorators, it was easy even for Boyo to decorate. So, the cookies started out looking like this: to looking like this:
The children had a great time decorating.
After we decorated (and ate)cookies and made our 'Santa plate,' we adjourned to the living room, lit our Advent candles, and read "The Secret of Saint Nicholas" by Mary Anne Kamols. This book gently addresses the truth of Saint Nicholas. We had quite a nice discussion of how Saint Nicholas became Santa Claus, and our discussion of course included Clement Moore's famous poem and how commercial advertising cemented the Santa Claus image in the minds of Americans. Early the next morning the children came down to the living room to open their stockings.
You can see the 'snowy footprints' on the carpet, and the empty plate. My husband and I enjoyed the last of the cookies while he used a stencil and some powdered sugar to create the footprints. We use powdered sugar instead of flour because someone always wants to taste North Pole snow... The stockings contain pretty much the same thing every year: chocolate coins, because that's what Saint Nicholas left; non-pareils, because they remind us of happy family times; toothbrushes, because those were in my husband's stockings when he was a child; scented soap, because that's our tradition; a flashlight, because Jesus is the Light of the World; and a lump of coal candy. This year, as a reminder of the vast differences between the real Saint Nicholas and today's Santa Claus, I got glass bottles of 'real' coke (sugar instead of hfcs) for us to enjoy. We had a wonderful Saint Nicholas Day! |
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Ramblings on my Christian walk and my career as a wife and a home-discipling mother... 
We are Set Free Academy, claiming Isaiah 42:6-8 as our Scripture.Our Eclectic Home Education Recipe*Mystery of History Volume 1 *Apologia Elementary Science *Math U See *ARTistic Pursuits *Queen Language Lessons *Cantering the Country geography *PowerGlide Spanish all mixed up with a little Charlotte Mason and frosted with carschooling and outside lessons. ON THE NIGHTSTANDI'm currently removing the dangerous tower of books from my nightstand before I end up like Flat Stanley. Check back for book recommendations later. Recent Posts• sometimes I just don't know what to say• A Day in the Life • What a Blessing! • the puppy • Raising chickens. • The new basement • Just the facts • caught on film! • caroling photos • St. Nicholas' Day This Space is Reserved for Future Slide Shows So is This Space 
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