With Christmas music in the stores, Halloween slashed at 50-75% off and Thanksgiving in the turkey wings (so to speak LOL) I thought this was a provocative reminder that my holiday preparations do not have to look like a spread from Better Homes and nor does it need to be scrutinized by anyone (especially my mother) except those who I am thankful to spend it with. As you prepare may you also be reminded...
Martha Stewart will not be dining with us this Thanksgiving. I'm
telling you in advance, so don't act surprised. Since Ms. Stewart won't be coming, I've made a few small changes as follows:
Our sidewalk will not be lined with homemade, paper bag luminaries.
After a trial run, it was decided that no matter how cleverly done, rows of flaming lunch sacks do not have the desired welcoming effect.
Once inside, our guests will note that the entry hall is not decorated
with the swags of Indian corn and fall foliage I had planned to make.
Instead, I've gotten the kids involved in the decorating by having them track in colorful autumn leaves from the front yard. The mud was their idea.
The dining table will not be covered with expensive linens, fancy china, or crystal goblets. If possible, we will use dishes that match and everyone will get a fork. Since this IS Thanksgiving, we will refrain from using the plastic Peter Rabbit plate and the Santa napkins from last Christmas.
Our centerpiece will not be the tower of fresh fruit and flowers that I promised. Instead we will be displaying a hedgehog-like decoration
hand-crafted from the finest construction paper. The artist assures me it is a turkey.
We will be dining fashionably late. The children will entertain you
while you wait. I'm sure they will be happy to share every choice
comment I have made regarding Thanksgiving, pilgrims and the turkey
hotline.
Please remember that most of these comments were made at 5:00 a.m. upon discovering that the turkey was still hard enough to cut diamonds. As accompaniment to the children's recital, I will play a recording of tribal drumming. If the children should mention that I don't own a recording of tribal drumming, or that tribal drumming sounds suspiciously like a frozen turkey in a clothes dryer, ignore them. They are lying.
We toyed with the idea of ringing a dainty silver bell to announce the
start of our feast. In the end, we chose to keep our traditional
method. We've also decided against a formal seating arrangement. When
the smoke alarm sounds, please gather around the table and sit where
you like. In the spirit of harmony, we will ask the children to sit at
a separate table.
In a separate room.
Next door.
Now, I know you have all seen pictures of one person carving a turkey
in front of a crowd of appreciative onlookers. This will not be
happening at our dinner. For safety reasons, the turkey will be carved in a private ceremony. I stress "private" meaning: Do not, under any circumstances, enter the kitchen to laugh at me. Do not send small, unsuspecting children to check on my progress. I have an electric knife. The turkey is unarmed. It stands to reason that I will eventually win. When I do, we will eat.
I would like to take this opportunity to remind my young diners that
"passing the rolls" is not a football play. Nor is it a request to
bean your sister in the head with warm tasty bread. Oh, and one
reminder for the adults: For the duration of the meal, and especially
while in the presence of you diners, we will refer to the giblet gravy
by its lesser known name: Cheese Sauce. If a young diner questions you
regarding the origins or type of Cheese Sauce, plead ignorance. Cheese Sauce stains.
Before I forget, there is one last change. Instead of offering a choice among 12 different scrumptious desserts, we will be serving the
traditional pumpkin pie, garnished with whipped cream and small
fingerprints. You will still have a choice; take it or leave it.
Martha Stewart will not be dining with us this Thanksgiving. She
probably won't come next year either.
This morning we went to the school performance of Shakespeare's As You Like It performed by the Aquila theater group and I have to say that we were well entertained and quite impressed with this show even though this is one of my less favorite plays by William. The boys thoroughly enjoyed it and even wanted to stay after the performance for the Q/A of the actors. Can you believe that out of the 250 or so kids sitting in the audience listening to the Q/A session only us and maybe 6 others had read the book before coming to the show? Who knows how many were in the theater that morning who had already left but didn't stay for the Q/A and they hadn't read the book either!No wonder these (mostly high school) kids act the way they do at these performances -- very juvenile, disrespectful and ignorant of what they are seeing.Either way my boys loved the show and even asked pertaining questions of the actors during the Q/A. If you ask any one of my boys what their favorite school subject is, they will usually say Shakespeare. Quite frankly, I think public school is doing a complete injustice by waiting until high school to present this literature, partially because of the behavior that I see from these students at these performances; they just do not appreciate the literary genius that is Shakespeare. I truly have to thank Ambleside Online for putting it into their curriculum otherwise I might also have fallen into the same trap and not started Shakespeare early. This is now the 6th or 7th play we have done of Shakespeare and I am seeing where my boys are picking up bits of Shakespeare's style in his speech, in his vocabulary, in his wording and this time even purposely memorizing favorite parts of the play. My youngest even specifically looked for a copy at the library to read along with when we got to the audio. I hope their love of this never dies and that they continue to appreciate Shakespeare's work.
If you can make it to this performance it was very cleverly done and stayed true to Shakespeare's language yet throwing some artistic twists into scenes and characters that it made this quite a wonderful performance.
Mom: Fine. How was last night? (last night being Halloween)
Me: Fine ~ cautious but still cheerful
Mom: Well, what did you do?
Me: Not a lot. I flubbed up the popcorn balls because I read the recipe wrong but the kids still liked it and we watched a movie.
Mom: You didn't go out? (out meaning trick or treating) ~ now she's cautious but cheerful
Me: No, we stayed in. The kids carved their pumpkins, ate flat popcorn balls and watched a sweet Hallmark movie called Loves Abiding Joy - it is a Christian movie.
Mom: And you didn't take the boys out? (out meaning trick or treating) ~ now in a more questioning tone ignoring the Christian movie bit
Me: Well, no mom. We really don't celebrate Halloween.
~ brief silence
Mom: Well, you carved pumpkins didn't you - that is celebrating Halloween isn't it? (carved meaning into Jack o' Lanterns) ~ now sarcastic
Me: well, yes mom, we carved our pumpkins but we basically only took all the seeds out to cook them because I stuff them with a filling and then we ate them... for dinner... stuffed... that is our tradition. ~ polite
Mom: well, then if all your doing is eating pumpkins and then that is no different than celebrating Thanksgiving! ~ judgmental
Me: well then I guess we celebrated Thanksgiving ~ polite trying to be cheery but failing miserably
Mom: and you didn't let the boys put on costumes? (costumes meaning costumes and out trick or treating)
Me: mom these boys put on costumes every day. Just yesterday I had a jester and a knight doing pre-algebra. I'm not sure a day goes by when they don't wear a costume. Mom, they really didn't want to go out ~ trying to be lighthearted and cheerful
I just had to share how cuuuuutie my mom's tea tray turned out. Dh found these picture frames in the trash -- nothing wrong with them but one needed glass. Then when the kids were decorating for fall they found all the pressed leaves from an excursion we went on last year and I remembered that I wanted to make this tray but at the time I didn't have a frame (figured I'd look for one at a garage sale and then promptly forgot about it until now). Well, the leaf one turned out so cute I thought I would do a tray for my mom's birthday but I thought she would appreciate pictures instead so I had some copied sepia colored and I think it turned out so nice. The best thing about this is my tray only cost $3 for the door handles. Mom's was a little more because of the pictures, the new glass and we bought a little more expensive door handles but still only totaled to $7. Might make a cute Christmas present if you are in the need for an idea and super easy:
After my week long procrastination about going to get groceries I FINALLY went last night. I actually do enjoy shopping -- it is the shopping with kids that about does me in and dh took all the boys to the hardware store so I got to go shop alone -- don't really like doing it by myself either but I don't know who I would want to go with me LOL. ANYHOW my stress-free, without kids, list in hand, ready to enjoy and take my time shopping excursion turned into the most infuriating trip I have ever experienced because......
THEY HAD CHRISTMAS MUSIC PLAYING!!!!!!!
I was so mad -- like I need to be reminded that it is coming BEFORE Halloween! Like I need to hear Deck the Halls knowing that my halls are still stuffed with work that has to be finished before Christmas; like I need to reminded that the Sugar Plums this year are costing me more and the Making A List & Checking it Twice hasn't even started. ARGH! I came home so piping mad that dh was willing to call the store manager but I calmed down. It still makes me mad though. So the stress begins
Our family really doesn't celebrate Halloween. In the past, we have done multiple things to try and honor G-d on this night such as serving others, trick-or-treating for UNICEF, and even going to our annual church "harvest" festival dressed in Biblical costumes, all which were fun at the time but seem empty today. My heart hurts for the world and what it sees as harmless fun and okay. This year the kids and I have decided to stay home and avoid it all; partially because of my own convictions but partially because our church has decided to make this night a "fund raising" event for their missions groups. I'm appalled that they have turned an opportunity to reach out to the unsaved into a means of making money. It sickens my heart. My kids don't really have the desire to go to a different church event with people and kids they don't know just for a bit of candy so we have decided to just stay home and watch a movie (Wizard of Oz or something fun), make popcorn balls and maybe some caramel apples but no harvest festivals or costumes this year. It is tradition that I make two stuffed pumpkins to eat - one a bit spicy and the other like an apple dessert so we will also carve those and I thought I would throw these lovely pumpkin devotionals into the night as well:
I have one of those table top chalkboards that the chalk just doesn't seem to work on it anymore. You know when the chalk seems to be writing on wax or something? It is so frustrating. Well, I googled how to restore it and found this remedy using WD-40 that I was leery about but guess what? It worked though not entirely perfect, it is much better than it was and here are a million other uses for the stuff -- who knew?:
1) Protects silver from tarnishing.
2) Removes road tar and grime from cars.
3) Cleans and lubricates guitar strings.
4) Gives floors that 'just-waxed' sheen without making it slippery.
5) Keeps flies off cows.
6) Restores and cleans chalkboards.
7) Removes lipstick stains.
8) Loosens stubborn zippers.
9) Untangles jewelry chains.
10) Removes stains from stainless steel sinks.
11) Removes dirt and grime from the barbecue grill.
12) Keeps ceramic/terra cotta garden pots from oxidizing.
13) Removes tomato stains from clothing.
14) Keeps glass shower doors free of water spots.
15) Camouflages scratches in ceramic and marble floors.
16) Keeps scissors working smoothly.
17) Lubricates noisy door hinges on vehicles and doors in homes
18) It removes black scuff marks from the kitchen floor! Use WD- 40 for those nasty tar and scuff marks on flooring. It doesn't seem to harm the finish and you won't have to scrub nearly as hard to get them off. Just remember to open some windows if you have a lot of marks.
19) Bug guts will eat away the finish on your car if not removed quickly! Use WD-40!
20) Gives a child's play gym slide a shine for a super fast slide.
21) Lubricates gear shift and mower deck lever for ease of handling on riding mowers.
22) Rids kids rocking chairs and swings of squeaky noises.
23) Lubricates tracks in sticking home windows and makes them easier to open.
24) Spraying an umbrella stem makes it easier to open and close.
25) Restores and cleans padded leather dashboards in vehicles, as well as vinyl bumpers.
26) Restores and cleans roof racks on vehicles.
27) Lubricates and stops squeaks in electric fans.
28) Lubricates wheel sprockets on tricycles, wagons, and bicycles for easy handling.
29) Lubricates fan belts on washers and dryers and keeps them running smoothly.
30) Keeps rust from forming on saws and saw blades, and other tools.
31) Removes splattered grease on stove.
32) Keeps bathroom mirror from fogging.
33) Lubricates prosthetic limbs.
34) Keeps pigeons off the balcony (they hate the smell).
35) Removes all traces of duct tape.
36) Folks even spray it on their arms, hands, and knees to relieve arthritis pain.
37) Florida's favorite use is: "cleans and removes love bugs from grills and bumpers."
38) The favorite use in the state of New York WD-40 protects the Statue of Liberty from the elements.
39) WD-40 attracts fish. Spray a LITTLE on live bait or lures and you will be catching the big one in no time. Also, it's a lot cheaper than the chemical attractants that are made for just that purpose. Keep in mind though, using some chemical laced baits or lures for fishing are not allowed in some states.
40) Use it for fire ant bites. It takes the sting away immediately and stops the itch.
41) WD-40 is great for removing crayon from walls. Spray on the mark and wipe with a clean rag.
42) Also, if you've discovered that your teenage daughter has washed and dried a tube of lipstick with a load of laundry, saturate the lipstick spots with WD-40 and re-wash. Presto! Lipstick is gone!
43) If you sprayed WD-40 on the distributor cap, it would displace the moisture and allow the car to start.
44) Keep a can of WD-40 in the kitchen; it is good for oven burns or any other type of burn. It takes the burned feeling away and heals with NO scarring.
The basic ingredient is FISH OIL.
Note: IF WD-40 doesn't fix it - in true southern style - get out the duct tape! LOL
Boy, what a whirlwind we have been in but I thought I would update you.
We finally had our Rosh Hashanah meal on Friday night and it was nice but didn't go at all as planned (starting to think that maybe I should stop planning anything due to dh's crazy job and even crazier schedule LOL). Dh had gone early that morning to BIL's to build the stilts for the boys beds and he thought he would be back by 3pm finished. Well, BIL got very elaborate and they weren't even slightly ready at 6p and dh was completely frustrated. His brother just belittles him so much and my dh buys into it so he comes home feeling defeated - big brothers can be really mean. I was expecting dh home for a nice evening so I had started preparing our Rosh Hashanah meal since this was the first evening that he had off but my girlfriend stopped by to drop off some things that they had forgotten for the pool table. That ended up being a longer visit than expected and so I was rushed to prepare the meal and then it didn't seem right not to invite the BIL since it was dinner time and he was here and he had been working all day on our stuff but I already know that he doesn't understand why we celebrate the feast days so I wasn't at all comfortable doing the prayers and everything that I planned for the meal (mostly because I feel like I should be able to explain it all and G-d has already shown me that I don't need to understand it completely to do it but BIL would need an explanation). I am kinda grateful that we ended up not because at one point my BIL makes the comment (to my oldest son mind you), "so y'all are Old Testament folks and you don't believe in the New Testament" -- I just hate having to justify EVERYTHING we do! Luckily that didn't turn into a confrontation, my oldest son explained enough and I am still trying to blow the comment off. Thankfully a girlfriend reminded me that, "Our celebrations of the feasts and Shabbot are not supposed to look like everyone else [I believe]. This is something personal between us and God. We, too, can fall into legalism/traditions of man when we mimic too closely the Jews or others keeping the feast/sabbaths. Know that He is pleased with what you are doing. You are remembering His Feasts and honoring His Sabbaths!" It is so nice to have like minded friends.
The meal was nice even though I have discovered that my oven is no longer closing properly so my whole wheat challah had a very hard crust. I wanted to have a whole fish this year (the fish with a head represents that we should be as a head, and not a tail in the new year) but the only whole fish I could find were lots of whole Tilapia's which were VERY bony and their spines did not pull out nice (possibly because my oven is cooking so badly). I tried to make the most of it but my dh HATES picking out bones and my kids get extremely frustrated with it so that wasn't nice at the table listening to everyone complain however the fish tasted fine (funny story - I didn't know how to cook the Tilapia's and the Fish cookbook I had didn't give a recipe and recommended NOT buying or cooking this fish because it supposedly tasted like mud!!! ours didn't but my expectations for the evening were pretty much shot at that point). We also had orange glazed carrots & beets, saffron rice and zucchini with of course apples & honey. I ran out time to make a honey cake so ended up making an upside down apple cake instead -- BIL hates cooked apples and because it was a change to the menu I had no ice cream to go with the apple upside down cake (though having ice cream would have not made it kosher so I guess it turned out all good. BIL had left over German Chocolate bday cake ).
In the end these were all minor difficulties that I just needed to get over and it turned out nice just not at all like I had hoped but it still honored G-d. The cool thing was that the next day at Flamenco my 2ds was talking to a family who celebrate the Jewish feasts (I don't know if they are Jewish or not) and the mom wants to meet me (I haven't done that yet) and she even explained a few more things to my ds who was even more excited that we had done it so G-d confirmed that even though "I" felt like I did a "half" job it was still good that I did it and we honored G-d.
LOL now on to the next event which btw is also delayed-- but what's new?
Boil the water first, then measure and add sugar, at the rate of 1/4 cup of sugar to 1 cup of water.
Let cool and store excess in refrigerator until ready to use.
Do not add food coloring, honey (which ferments), or artificial sweetener, which has no nutritional value.
You will need to clean your feeder about once a week. According to the National Audubon Society, this should be done by rinsing with one part white vinegar to four parts water. If the feeder is dirty, try adding a few grains of dry rice to the vinegar solution to help scrub it clean. Follow the vinegar wash by rinsing three times with clear, warm water before refilling with sugar solution.
We are so hooked on this game show that when I found a board game version at my local Big Lots I just couldn't pass it up. This board game came with its own little stand-up gameboard, money, dice, clickers and questions with answers but we have dumped the questions until AFTER the Bible Bee. Instead we are using the massive amount of Bible Knowledge category questions that the kids will need to know for the Bee (not to mention reviewing their Bible Memory verses). It has truly been an excellent way to review and learn these questions. I really am glad that this time I didn't skimp and do it myself because 1) the "bought" version saved me loads of time 2) the "bought" version will last longer and is easier to store than the poster board idea I had going & 3) we could start right away.
That's not to say that the homemade cardboard version would be bad because 1) it would have bigger letters so easier to read & 2) it would have saved me $10 bucks because index cards and envelopes cut in half for pockets, I already have around here. I may still make the homemade version but I definitely see the HUGE potential this will be in our school this coming year. I plan to use this on a weekly basis to review what was learned through the week. Everything from spelling, math, history to art appreciation can be questioned and reviewed. This is also a great tool for open book study where an answer is given and the first one to find the correct question wins (LOL that sounded backwards). Can you tell how excited I am? I may even have the kids come up with categories and questions of their own because played proper we will be learning or reviewing 61 facts or key points each game (being the game host I cheat a little and repeat some questions again just to see if they were listening). It was a blast! P.S. There are quite a few power point versions and templates online that you can use but 1) I need to learn how to use power point and 2) I think I spend enough time on the computer so it is nice to play a game somewhere away from my desk. Here are a few links to help you get started with your own versions (& save $10 bucks):
Last weekend we found not one but TWO Salton 5 cup yogurt makers at a garage sale for $5 bucks. Now yogurt is something we go through A LOT of. When I am out of sour cream I use yogurt. When we are out of pancake syrup we use yogurt. When we are out of milk we use yogurt. Yogurt is a staple at our house and if I could afford it I would buy goat's milk yogurt because that is the BEST. Sorry a bit distracted - back to the yogurt maker. Now I know that there are simpler ways then buying a machine and one can even use ones own crock pot to make the creamy tangy stuff but five bucks -- who could go wrong with five bucks? and since the kids can do it on their own in this machine then easier for me. 1ds12y read the directions before me, cleaned both machines and was just hopping to get started so last night we put the whole sha-bang to work and you know what? It worked! We had delicious yogurt this morning without fillers and preservatives (we always sweeten our own so they know nothing about the kiwi gava go-go bean flavored stuff).
It actually was not at all monumental and proclaimed, "It tastes like yogurt". ~ what? like it was supposed to taste like angel food cake??? 1ds12y had quite the culinary experiment making a variety of flavors. I of course am still looking for the creamiest tastiest yogurt that I had some 20 years ago in Germany with my raw oatmeal (I loved raw oatmeal but always thought it was just a quirk of my own and had no idea that other cultures preferred their oatmeal uncooked. Since then RAW eating has taken on a mind of its own and everyone eating raw seems to know about my fetish). The bed and breakfast I stayed at in Germany, served it with a selection of cold cuts and cheese and I will always remember that as being a bit odd for breakfast. however my search for the yogurt continues. I have come close with goats milk but not quite so we also tried Creme Bulgare which is the same yogurt process made with straight creme instead of only milk. This too was delicious and so easy my child has declared himself the yogurt making expert though he thought that the coffee flavored one sounded a bit odd - I concurred. I may even get the gumption to put some to drain in a cheese cloth and make labneh (strained yogurt that is similar to cream cheese). It has been the best $5 bucks I've spent in a long time (okay the 2nd best because the $5 yard sale hammock was better - its all a win win situation). Now I need a cow to keep us in cream and milk so we can make lots of YOGURT either that or a goat LOL.
YOGURT FLAVORS:
CHOCOLATE - ds used chocolate syrup, hot chocolate mix and a touch of powdered cocoa for taste LOL
MULBERRY - used only the mulberry syrup that was canned back in May. It needed no other sweetener
VANILLA - vanilla and honey
APPLE CINNAMON - used applesauce, cinnamon & honey
CREME BULGARE was too delicious on its own to add anything but it would be decadent with any of the above
I have mixed emotions today and it is fitting that in this Jewish month of Elul where prayers for forgiveness are to be said that I personally will need to dig deep for the sadness I feel. You see today,Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, the only man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, the flight I worked the day after this horrific event, the flight in which 270 people died, of which were 16 of my fellow coworkers -- this man was allowed by Scottish officials to return to Libya on compassionate grounds because he is dying of prostate cancer. Obama warned Libya not to give this man a hero's welcome yet he returned to cheering crowds. I just don't know. Some say that the man is innocent claiming it was Iran behind the bombing yet Libyan terrorist groups were hard at work in 1988 and it was a difficult time to be a flight attendant. One broadcast stated that Abdel only served 11 DAYS for each person who died yet he claims even now that he is innocent. My soul hurts. I must find it in my heart to forgive. Scottish residences will also need to forgive the 30,000 pound price tag (that is $49,524 in US dollars!!!) because the RAF had no suitable helicopters to transport him. And he too will need to ask for repentance & forgiveness, soon I take it because his doctors have given him only 3 months to live. I don't wish him dead. I wish for the truth to be known and I wish for the evil in the world to go away. The crew that I remember and loved deserved more than this and I'm sure their families wish they could have had 3 months more with them. How saddened G-d must feel about the atrocities of this world. I pray I can find it in my heart to let this go and forgive.
Pan Am Flight 103 Crew
Avonye, Nichole Elizabeth, flight attendant, 44 years, born 05.05.44, Croissy-Sur-Seine, France, French
Avritt, Jerry Don, flight engineer, 46 years, born 30.07.42, Westminster, California, American
Berti, Noelle Lydie, flight attendant, 40 years, born 24.12.47, Paris, France, American
Engstrom, Siv Ulla, flight attendant, 51 years, born 21.09.37, Berkshire, England, Swedish
Franklin, Stacie Denise, flight attendant, 20 years, born 16.02.68, San Diego, California, American
Garrett, Paul Isaac, flight attendant, 41 years, born 16.11.47, Napa, California, American
Kuehne, Elke Etha, flight attendant, 43 years, born 17.03.45, Hanover, Germany, German
Larracoechea, Maria Nieves, flight attendant, 39 years, born 03.03.49, Madrid, Spain, Spanish
MacQuarrie, James Bruce, captain, 55 years, born 30.09.33, Kensington, New Hampshire, American
McAlolooy, Lilibeth Tobila, flight attendant, 27 years, born 02.11.61, Kelsterback, Germany, American
Murphy, Mary Geraldine, purser, 51 years, born 14.05.37, Middlesex, England, British
Reina, Jocelyn, flight attendant, 26 years, born 26.05.62, Isleworth, England, American
Royal, Myra Josephine, flight attendant, 30 years, born 20.12.58, London, England, American
Skabo, Irja Syhnove, flight attendant, 38 years, born 03.07.50, Oslo, Norway, American
Velimirovich, Milutin, chief purser, 35 years, born 14.10.53, Middlesex, England, American
Wagner, Raymond Ronald, first officer, 52 years, born 18.01.36, Pennington, New Jersey, American
2 cups of water 1 cups of vinegar 2/3 cups of any hair conditioner
Mix in spray bottle and stir. Don’t shake, this will cause foaming. Spray on a cloth rag until slightly damp and throw into the dryer with your load of clothes. This can also be used as a liquid fabric softener in the rinse cycle.
I ran across this over at The Grocery Cart and thought it might be a good idea to try since I am drying more on the clothesline these days. I like the crunch that sun dried clothes have but lately they are a bit on the hard side so we will see how well this works. I usually don't buy fabric softener because I can't stand the smell but I can control the smell with this homemade one and the cost.
an American jazz and country guitarist, songwriter and inventor. He was a pioneer in the development of the solid-body electric guitar which "made the sound of rock and roll possible". He is credited along with his wife Mary Ford, with many recording innovations, including overdubbing (also known as sound on sound), delay effects such as tape delay, phasing effects, and multitrack recording. His music will be missed.
Yesterday we moved another truck of sand and weed-eated the area that has overgrown around the boulders. We have one last truck load of sand and then that half of the yard is done with the sand moving. Dh finally agreed with me that we need to pull the apple tree that is sick so I am hoping the boys will do that this afternoon but I think we are all just dragging. It is already noon and I really haven't started my day and neither have the kids (one still in pj's and it isn't me LOL). Nobody wants to cook or clean or study or dig and we are even too tired to nap. My coffee isn't kicking in and my house is a wreck. I reaaalllly don't want to go grocery shop with the boys but it is nearing desperate in the food department.
Somebody please send me some motivation or maybe it is energy I need because even though I'm tired, it isn't tired like that -- I'm just tired of being the pusher, motivator, cheerleader, drill Sergeant, only one DOING because the boys aren't right there along side me, encouraging me or one another and I just don't wanna DO anything. And unfortunately, doing nothing isn't an option today. The wreck I have made of the house has to get done. The yard has to get done. The groceries have to be bought or else vacation time in a couple of weeks will come and go without us doing anything fun. Anybody have a motivation pill I can take?
I tried to get the boys to help me get going again on the continued Passover cleaning but all we succeeded in doing is picking up the house and clearing the hallway of the piles that came out of my bedroom which will help since we are getting ready to empty their rooms next. I gave up trying to have them help me bless the house and had them sit down and do a bit of school instead. That is good too but it also means I personally can't get anything done.
Luckily we still have casseroles in the freezer from the OMC session so I get that going and dh walks in the door from work. He wants to fill another load of sand in the truck and go pick up the cleaned pistons for the soccer trophies (he uses broken pistons because that is the name of our team -- they turn out really nice but bil had them cleaned at his work so he had to pick them up).
While he is loading sand he finds not one, or two but FOUR Jerusalem crickets which is always exciting for our family because for the last 3 years we have been mailing the live bugs to an entomologist in Calif. that mates and studies these humongous creatures. We are getting to be experts on the silly bugs ourselves.
Bugs are in containers ready to ship and then we find a queen in an ant colony so another whirl of activity to get the ant farm going. Kinda cool - they even had underground aphid farm that they were caring for. We will see how they do. Tonight they are settled into the ant farm and it is just fascinating to watch them work.
Okay so dh leaves with truck load of sand to go dump and an hour later I get a call to come pull him and his truck out of the sand because he is STUCK lol!!! I un-stick him -- boy that is nerve racking driving in sand, with chains, in the dark. Boys go to bed waaay late -- after 11p so I hope all this excitement doesn't mess up tomorrow too.
What a crazy day! but at least we did a little school and can tell you a bit ants, J. crickets and Vermont but no idea what the boys know LOL
Friday was the spontaneous garage sale in the morning. We cleaned up, had lunch and then the boys asked if papa would leave his truck here so they could surprise him by starting the backyard renovation by filling the truck with the sand we are removing (NOTE:This has been an on going remodel that has been going on for the last few summers that we hope to have done THIS YEAR.The boys are motivated by the fact that once this sand is moved that we can then start building their playhouse/fort/pirate ship). While I bake cookies the boys fill 20 wheel barrels of sand into the little truck and they made a HUGE dent in the area that we are moving. After work, Dh goes and dumps the sand.
Saturday we drop off 2ds at Flamenco with our cookies for their open house. I come back home with the other boys to meet Aunt Flo in the driveway. She is quite upset that we weren't home when she arrived. I tell her I am quite sorry that I had no idea she was coming and give her a tall glass of something cold to drink, a pill and tell her to go lie down. The boys work on picking up the house. We fix lunch and then go pick up 2ds but on the way we were listening to a Diane Waring tape about history of the world. She said something about recently reading that there was a possibility that King Tut would have been the Pharaoh after the Exodus and the parting of the Red Sea. Well curious minds want to know if that could possibly be and we spend the next 2.5 hours "researching" and come to the conclusion that nobody will ever really know for certain which Pharaoh it was unless we find more proof somewhere (and we have our own theories of which Pharaoh it is after our deep-sea unit study on Egypt a few years ago but it certainly wasn't Tut). HOWEVER, the very intriguing thing we did read was that the Israelites possibly crossed the Red Sea 3 days after Passover which would make the crossing of the Red Sea on the Feast of First Fruits (which btw is what most Christians refer to as Resurrection Sunday) and that just blew me away with the significance and the parallels to Christ's death - how the temple curtain torn/the red sea parted, how they escaped the Pharaoh/how Jesus escaped death, how the Red Sea covered the Pharaoh’s army/how Jesus' blood covers our sins --- and so then I spent the next bit trying to find out if it was true or not. It makes sense to me but I had never related the two events in that way. While I was on my own little bunny trail, dh called & said they were going to let him work some overtime so he would come home for dinner and then go back to work. The boys asked if they could fill up his truck with sand again while he was at work and I entertained Aunt Flo.
Sunday DH was off. We had planned on going to church but I guess the battery went out on our clock in the kitchen and nobody noticed the time anywhere else in our house because when we got in the car, we were already 35 minutes late for services so we turned the car around and came home. The boys wanted to work some more on sand and dh thinking they would give up in the heat and with all the work said sure. Those boys filled the truck FOUR times today -- that is more than 60 wheel barrels. I cleaned up some flower beds while we listened to Dave Ramsey online (I wish I wouldn't have missed his town hall for hope broadcast last Thur. & that was what I was looking for). We go to AWANA that evening, showers and a movie because my boys deserved it for all their hard work.
Aunt Flo wants some leftover birthday cake so I will go entertain her and go to bed.
Malachi 3:3 says: 'He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.'
This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.
That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining Silver.
As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: 'He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.'She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time.The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, 'How do you know when the silver is fully refined?'He smiled at her and answered, 'Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it.'
If you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that G-d has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you. I so needed to hear this today.
Conversations with myself about the triumphs and tribulations of being a Mama Bear to 3 baby bears, a helpmeet, a CM AO Hs teacher, a Flybaby, a daughter of Eve and a princess to the King.
This morning we went to the school performance of Shakespeare's As You Like It performed by the 
