Hi, blog!

Almost forgot I had this little place. Don't get much computer time these days, so I mostly use it to check my e-mail and Facebook, and sometimes the weather and news.

Squirt and I started ADHD medication a few weeks ago and we're doing pretty well with it. I have lost 18 of the 53 pounds I need to lose to be within my "healthy" range. We are redoing all three children's rooms and just finished (mostly) organizing our new schoolroom, which is in a larger room in our basement. It is hard work, not to mention expensive, but we are hoping the long-overdue update will give everyone more room for their guitars, Legos and ballet practice.

I am not doing well in my new assignment in the church children's program. Lots of drama. Because I'm in charge of my age group, I'm about to have to flex my leader muscles and put another teacher in her place, and though it's absolutely necessary, I dread the confrontation. Still, I have an obligation to put my girls first, so I have to do some hard things.

Lots more going on, and maybe I won't wait so long to pop by my blog again.

If you're so led...

...please pray for a couple of members of our church family, Jon and Steve, and their families.

UnderStandUp! International Ministries is sponsoring a benefit concert tonight at Copeland Hall in Bowdon featuring Everthird and Echoing Angels. Proceeds will help efforts to dig wells in Kenya. Tickets are only $12 and the music will be incredible, so come on out!

My brown-eyed boy

He had a crush on me, the sweet brown-eyed boy in high school. He asked my mom how he could get me to like him. I was immature, awkward, plain, but he saw something in me. I hurt him every chance I could by dating his blue-eyed, blond Apollo of a cousin. Apollo liked to date me in between real girlfriends and toss me aside when something better came along. Kyle was always there. It was too easy. He never asked for more than my friendship, but he never even got very much of that.

Another pair of brown eyes was my downfall a few years later, but behind those eyes was cruelty, control and pure meanness. I fell immediately and hard for this one, and he made me pay dearly for the friendship I had wasted with my original brown-eyed boy. Never very confident in my looks, my personality or my worth, I now had every flaw highlighted, sharpened to a fine point and driven excruciatingly back into my heart and soul. For three years I destroyed myself to be better, nicer, smarter, thinner, blonder, prettier and sexier while he dangled an engagement ring in front of my nose like a carrot in front of a mule.

My Geddy, my hero, rescued me from that dismal pit of a relationship. He was my friend, like Kyle, and he restored me simply by being there. We had been friends for years when parallel jobs put us in constant touch. I woke up one morning and realized I could not imagine my life without him, and I wasn't going to waste a second chance to be with someone who cherished me in a way that was balm to my soul. We were married 10 months later, and Kyle was there, as always, to serenade us with "In My Life."My precious, faithful friend whom I took for granted all those years, who was content to gather the few crumbs I tossed him, sang at my wedding. And I didn't bother to keep in touch afterward.

I am hopeful that someday, somewhere, I will be able to tell Kyle that I'm sorry I didn't appreciate him more. I don't regret we were never a couple but he taught me more about real love and friendship than I have known outside of my 16-plus-year marriage. I couldn't fully understand what it meant to me then and I am ashamed I squandered a chance to reciprocate, to be to him the kind of friend he was to me. I wish I could tell him that I am blissfully happy with my forever love, and that I feel worthy of receiving his love partly because I caught a glimpse of it in his sweet brown eyes so long ago.

Facebooking frenzy

I've been cheating on Blogger with Facebook. It's a great way to keep up with old friends and my scattered relatives, and I am really enjoying it. I do miss blogging, though, so here I am.

Mostly, we've been working on getting our feet back under us. I had a hysterectomy July 29 and my recovery has been very slow. Exactly a week after my surgery, before I had been cleared to drive, Geddy had a kidney stone and my brother Bubby had to drive him to the ER at midnight. By the weekend, he and I both had 'flu and I had thrush. About the time we were feeling better, a stomach virus snaked through the family.

The Hat Trick started the school year without me but they have done well. Our first six-week term ends Friday. Larry (now known as Squirt) is winding down with Teaching Textbooks Pre-Algebra and working on Georgia history and vocabulary. Curly Sue (Squish) just started Saxon 5/4 and is working in spelling, vocabulary and grammar workbooks. Moe (Squonk) is flying through Horizons math, vocabulary, spelling and grammar books. We are working in Mystery of History and Bob Jones Science 5 all together, and I'm pretty pleased with the progress we've made so far.

Next term, we add in Latin Road to English Grammar for Emory, Spanish and French for everybody, and literature. We might travel as a family to Nicaragua next spring and we want to know a little Spanish, and Squish wants to write our Haitian sponsored child Nervelie a letter in her native French.

Squish turns 10 a week from Friday and we are planning a sleepover with some of her friends. She wants it to be a spa party, so there may be some painting of fingers and toes and possibly a foot spa involved. I found cute bags and goodies at the Dollar Tree to pass out as favors and now we're working on getting word to her friends. I think a midnight Silly String war and the sing-along version of "Mamma Mia" might also be in the plan.

I am going to ENJOY my week off!

On being old

My dad was in a car wreck when he was 10. He was thrown from a Jeep, which rolled over his head and fractured his skull behind the left ear. A yellowed scrapbook filled with wreck stories is one of his prized possessions.

I already knew the story, of course. Today, Larry and my dad were comparing notes on painful shots like cortisone and Rocephin when Larry heard about the wreck for the first time.

"They had just invented...(pause)...what's that stuff? Yeah, penicillin."

I burst out laughing at the pause but Daddy, unfazed, continued to tell Larry how he had to have the refrigerated antibiotic through pencil-sized needles every four hours but that it probably saved his life.

I was hysterical by this time, but I managed to choke out the answer to my mom's inevitable question.

"I thought he was going to say they had just invented FIRE!"

More than Mexican

The Hat Trick and I got to have lunch at one of our favorite restaurants with one of our favorite people today. Around the corner from the newspaper where Geddy and I once worked is LaFiesta, home of the bestest Mexican food ever. From the newspaper office, our dear friend Angela edits Newnan-Coweta Magazine, so she was able to meet us for lunch.

As usual on the rare occasions we get to see her, our visit was way too short. She's practically a member of our family -- she was at the births of all three children, who call her "Auntie." She filled me in on my old work crowd, which reminded me that as of December, I have been at home longer than I worked there.

Some of her updates gave me a little pang, thinking of the fun we used to have and how great it was to feel in the loop. Others reminded me with a jolt how stressful parts of the job of a journalist can be, and validated my claim that I would never be able to do my old work and raise my family. (Some people can, just not me!)

It's always nice to have another perspective, especially from someone I dearly love, gently reminding me what a privilege it is to be at home with my not-such-babies. Being at home, especially when we've taken on the responsiblity of The Hat Trick's education as well, certainly isn't easy. But as I shared some kid funnies and boasted a bit (who wouldn't, if they had my great kiddos?), my zest for mothering and teaching got a great boost.

If homeschooling and at-home motherhood is difficult at times, getting too bogged down in day-to-day duties and worries is way too easy. Today, it was fantastic to share my enthusiasm for my current job with a captive audience.

Oh, and the chips and salsa were great, too!

Crime or sleep?

I am a crime show/movie/book/article junkie.

There. I wrote it.

I also haven't slept well since about October, and it's starting to be a problem.

I've tried melatonin, Ambien and now Lunesta. Some help, not much.

My friend Laura made a startling suggestion yesterday: Give up my crime shows/movies/books/articles for awhile and see if I don't start sleeping again. It worked for her.

What?!? Give up my NCIS, my Dirty Harry, my First 48? My Erik Larson and Jack the Ripper? My Crime Library? Oh, not my Criminal Minds! And geez, it's the 50th anniversary of the Clutter family murders in November, you can't expect me not to be glued to In Cold Blood (hey...maybe they'll show the American Justice episode!).

But having just seen the doctor and professing to be desperate for sleep, I am, in fact, going on a cold turkey detox program starting this weekend. I'm finishing the Dirty Harry movies (three to go!) and will be allowed to watch Harper's Island until it concludes in July, and because Kenneth Branagh is a SERIOUS actor I will be allowed to watch the third episode of Wallander.

My sponsor -- I mean husband -- will monitor me. I like him pretty well because he says I can still watch Ghost Hunters. ;o) I have to delete all my crime show timers from the DVR and get rid of the episodes already recorded.

Laura, you'd better be right!

Phineas and Ferb

One of the many reasons this show cracks me up:

Doofenshmirtz: "I told him his macaroni and cheese was too cheesy and not macaroni-y enough. I just insulted a whale's macaroni and cheese recipe -- how much more diabolical can you be?"

Mr. Good -- I mean Monkey -- Wrench

Friday was lovely and cool and we made it to the Birmingham Zoo at opening. Lots of cool animals. And on the way in, we passed a cute downtown area where we thought we'd stop post-zoo.

After a brief tour, we decided to head elsewhere but our car wouldn't start, necessitating a tow. Happily our Volvo roadside assistance actually did assist. The system wouldn't recognize our coded keys, so we were unable to get the steering wheel unlocked, forcing the tow-er to drag our car onto the truck, which was extremely stressful.

Again happily, a Volvo dealer was just a few miles away. Repairs (replacing the starter and recoding the keys) took a couple of hours and then we got lost on the way to the hotel, but we still made it to the Barons game in time to get a free cap -- hooray!

We spent some time in the hotel bar eating glorified chips and dip and cheese that tasted like a goat pasture smells. We watched people come and go, paid triple for our drinks because of the "ambiance" and eventually concluded no matter how you dress them up, people and hotels are just that.

We slept well and late on our ultra-plush bed, then headed out to the Vulcan statue. Despite my terror of heights, I managed to get off the elevator and stand for a full 45 seconds on the mesh at the statue's lookout. I was a little bummed to miss out on the Sloss furnaces -- the remants of a beer festival nulled the usual tours. I had wanted to visit the reportedly haunted areas. (What can I say? I was feeling particularly brave that day.)

Oddly enough, I wasn't a bit disappointed in our anniversary trip. Geddy and I chuckled and snarked our way through and had a really great time. It was a perfect getaway for two smart-aleck part-time misanthropes who plan on growing old together.

Anniversary plans

Friday is Geddy's and my 16th wedding anniversary. We're going to Birmingham, where we plan to visit the zoo and attend a Barons game. G booked a nice hotel suite -- I think at a Marriott -- as well.

Wednesday is his birthday, so we are taking him to The Grillage, a locally owned restaurant similar to Moe's Southwest Grill (only better!). I have a small gift for him which I will not reveal because he sometimes reads my blog, but he already knows he wants a drum head that he will have to pick out himself.

I am re-reading In Cold Blood and planning for our year-end homeschool group cookout today. The littles are at Youth Police Academy and Larry and I are just hanging around the house. He's making battle plans on the phone with one of his friends who recently had a birthday and received a BB gun. (The same friend had a birthday party at Jumpin' Joey's yesterday, and I played in the inflatables with the kiddos. The slides were awesome!)

The rest of the week should be generally quiet, but I did register for a web seminar for an online school called St. Mark's Academy, which we are considering for Larry's high school years. It's a little pricey but not much more than a good high school curriculum or correspondence course, or even the local classical co-op. We'll see, either way. I just can't believe this will be his last middle school year. Come to think of it, I have a hard time wrapping my mind around being married 16 years, too!

Winding down

Curly Sue's recital was Saturday and she did very well. She was a Raggedy Ann doll in ballet and a Hot Wheels car in jazz. She had two performances and I was backstage for both, helping with costumes and makeup and general peacekeeping. All went well except that someone boneheadedly set the AC in the low 60s and froze up the unit, so it was bone-meltingly hot and smelled of sweaty feet all six or eight hours we were back there.

Oh, and she has been promoted into Ballet 3 and starts pre-pointe classes next year. Hooray!

Our summer plans have changed a bit. Larry has decided he wants to go on the youth campout at Fall Creek Falls this summer instead of Lego Mindstorm camp, and Moe decided that Youth Police Academy is enough structured summer days and doesn't want to do the bug camp. Apparently, that leaves more time to play war with the neighborhood kiddos, and I'm absolutely fine with that! Curly Sue's dance camp is in July beginning just after noon, so that will work out well for us, too.

This is our last official week of school, though Larry will work most days on a lesson or two in Teaching Textbooks Pre-Algebra so he can start algebra early in the school year. I am waffling between starting school in July or August, and so far August is winning because we enjoyed a longer summer so much last year.

Larry has expressed great interest in police work and archaeology, and my brother Bubby happens to have majored in history and minored in criminal justice, in addition to serving as a police officer for 10 years. Bubby is excited that Larry is excited, and they have lots to talk about now. Next year, when Larry turns 14, he will be eligible to join the Police Explorers. It helps that the city police chief is Larry's small group leader at church and that another officer leads Moe's small group, and he admires them both very much.

Bubby told me about an archaeology Bible he found, which will fit in nicely with Larry's study of Mystery of History next year. It will give him extra research opportunities while allowing us to study history/Bible with all three children at once. Larry will continue in TT math and Apologia General Science, as well as start the Latin Road to English Grammar. He will continue to read literature and write essays regularly but we are allowing him a period of independent study time each day as well, when he can pursue computer programming, architecture, meteorology and anything else educational -- his choice.

The one thing new I've bought for the littles is a book on teaching math by Marilyn Burns, who wrote Math for Smarty Pants and the I Hate Mathematics Book, among others. She includes overviews and lots of math games, which will fit in perfectly with our math notebooking we started last year. We still have Horizons workbooks for hectic days. We have Sequential Spelling, many specialized science books and leftovers from last year's k12 -- I just have to put my resources together in some kind of plan that addresses our needs. (Another reason to start in August instead of July.) We will fill in with literature; what we don't have can easily be found at the library, and I have downloaded many free unit studies from CurrClick as well.

I am looking forward to the new school year, but even more to the end of this one.

Never underestimate the power of a good night's sleep

I say this because I haven't had one in...oh, several months. I'd been recommended melatonin by my doctor and it worked for a few weeks but lately, not at all.

Yesterday, he prescribed Ambien and for the first time in longer than I can remember, I awoke rested. The doctor says a few weeks' worth should reset my sleep schedule (oh, joy!) and then I won't need it any longer.

Meanwhile, I am working on eating better, taking vitamins and getting some exercise. I am way too heavy right now, and I've joined Sparkpeople. It's free and the support is phenomenal. I especially enjoy the nutrition and exercise tracker features.

We have about three weeks left in school and most of our stuff in place for next year. I likely will not start school until the first week of August, though we usually start the first Monday after July 4. We enjoyed our long summer last year and have several plans in place for this year's break.

Curly Sue and Moe are registered for the city's youth police academy, which they greatly enjoyed last year. Curly Sue will be going to dance camp and the boys want to do day camps at the college. Larry wants to register for the Lego Mindstorm robotics camp and Moe for the Bugs for Breakfast insect camp.

The local recreation department is bringing in a college track star to do a day camp and I think the children would love that as well, but they don't seem too interested. Oh, well...they'll have plenty to do anyway!

Off to stretch my well-rested muscles.

Happy early Mother's Day!

We just returned from a glorious week at Orange Beach, Alabama. We weren't able to see the Blue Angels this time around but we did visit the Naval Air Museum and Fort Barrancus. We were slightly hindered by my sore foot and Curly Sue's ear infection (we rarely make it through an entire vacation without visiting at least one fine urgent care facility).

During our trip, we dined at LuLu's, where my sweet family bought an autographed copy of Crazy Sista Cooking for me. My Webkinz-crazy kiddos chose a bullfrog for me as well. Ain't he cute? Happy Mother's Day to me!

Changing names for changing times

Larry turned 13 this morning at 10:52 a.m. In honor of this day, I hereby change his name to The Teenager. I briefly considered changing my name to a four-letter word and daring my kiddos to swear, but I resisted and overcame.

Yesterday was an extremely trying day. I am in Limboland, stuck between not quite feeling well enough to do all I need to and not quite feeling ill enough to take to my bed until next week. My parents kindly brought home the children early yesterday afternoon and Moe was crying out with terrible stomach pains. He's had a sore stomach off and on for a few days and I knew he wasn't "stove up."

After seeing his flushed face and panicked expression, I decided to take him to the ER. The triage nurse was almost certain he had appendicitis, but the pain had faded by the time he was seen by a doctor, who thought it might be a kidney stone (unusual in a child, but not unheard-of). He needed to have a CT scan but that hospital's was down, so we were discharged and sent a couple of towns over to another hospital for the scan.

Thankfully, it was neither appendicitis nor a kidney stone but something called mesenteric adenitis, a fancy word for inflamed lymph nodes in his stomach. Rest and regular ibuprofen should do the trick. The doctors think it was caused by a virus, most likely the Influenza A he had two weeks ago. There is a slight possibility it was caused by celiac disease or cumulative dairy allergy, so if it persists we'll have to take him for further testing, but for now he'll have to be on total rest for a week.

Any ideas on how to tell an active 8-year-old he won't be able to hunt eggs with his cousins Sunday afternoon?

Comfort

I have been ill with a cough/fever/sore throat for a couple of days, and yesterday I felt so sick I asked my parents to take the children for the afternoon so I could rest. It turned into an overnight trip at my parents' request.

Late in the afternoon, I got a call from Larry.

"Hi, Mom. I was just calling to see how everything's going and to see if I can do anything for you. And to tell you I love you and hope you feel better."

My boy who turns 13 tomorrow, just checking on his Mama.

Geddy had a meeting but called to say he was bringing home dinner. When he came in, he handed me a bag from Burger King containing my very favorite fast-food dessert, Hershey's Sundae Pie. He had brought me the chicken fries I'd asked for as well, but the slice of pie was an unsolicited love offering.

Curly Sue and Moe called later to tell us goodnight. Moe, barely 8, had written a near-perfect essay on Ben Franklin while Curly Sue had researched and started a paper on Abigail Adams. I knew I didn't have to worry about them not doing their schoolwork for Nannie and Paw-Paw, and Nannie said they actually did more than they were supposed to do.

Mercy, my sweet family makes it very difficult for me to stay sick!

For Misty

Misty, my longish-distance friend, is a fellow homeschooling mom who is tons of fun and loves 80s music. I was thinking about her as I watched the VH1 100 One-Hit Wonders from the 80s countdown. (A bunch of them had more than one hit, but I digress.)

Misty has five children, including a baby and a special-needs teen. Right now her husband is battling a newly diagnosed chronic illness and her baby was just diagnosed with mono. Now, I know tons of folks are going through tough times right now, but this is one of those break-your-mama's-back moments and if your prayer card isn't too full, please keep them in mind.

Whip it, Misty! Whip it good!

School update

I haven't written about school for awhile. To recap, we tried hard to make Georgia Virtual Academy work for us first semester but couldn't manage it. We parted ways amicably, us with a better sense of where our learning gaps lay.

Right now, we are working on getting familiar with the bigger picture of mathematics. Larry is continuing with Teaching Textbooks Pre-Algebra, which right now is review for him. He and I are reading Romping Through Mathematics together and making pages for his math notebook -- we're learning about square and cube roots at the moment. He is finishing up in Vocabulary from Classical Roots B, after which we will (finally!) get started in The Latin Road to English Grammar and Wordly Wise 7.

Using literature from Sonlight 6, he is working on perfecting the five-paragraph essay. He chooses an aspect of each novel -- for instance, characterization in Young Fu of the Upper Yangtzee -- and writes a draft, which we go over together and then revise for a final markup.

The littles are using several workbooks each. Horizons Math, Wordly Wise, k12 Spelling, Exercises in English and Vocabulary Workshop should be finished within the next month. Then, we will start working in Sequential Spelling, more Wordly Wise and more Horizons Math. I plan to purchase Teaching Textbooks 4 to use in tandem next year. We are keeping math notebooks for the littles, too, using books about math to learn new concepts and writing and solving our own word problems.

After much fretting about history, I chose Mystery of History because of its strong Bible concentration and because it includes levels of assignments for each of the children's ages, meaning I can use one program for all three children. Because Larry is working in Apologia's Exploring Creation with General Science, I can modify science to include all three as well, with Larry taking the lead on lab work and including the littles as "lab assistants." In addition, we have several biology resources, including health and nutrition, with which to supplement.

Hopefully, all I will need to purchase for next year is the TT4 set, freeing up some of the budget for basic art and school supplies. I guess that's one advantage of switching gears mid-year. I love being able to combine subjects for everyone as well because the children challenge each other and come up with some really great thoughts sometimes just by discussion.

Now, if I can just keep my nose out of all the cool homeschooling catalogs that keep appearing in my mailbox...

An unexpected vacation

I'm pretty sure if we ignore the signs we need to slow down, God makes it happen anyway.

Yes, the four who caught 'flu were in various stages of sickness for a whole week. You know what else? Between the illnesses and the weather, we spent a whole week inside, at home (except for my brief outings for "sick" food and library books/movies) resting and just being together.

The way it worked out, I never had the bulk of work because someone always felt at least well enough to help out. G's co-workers kindly told him to stay the heck at home and keep his germs to himself and the anti-viral made a big difference to everyone except Curly Sue (who turned out to be very, very ill for a couple of days).

So no, it wasn't the sun-yourself-by-the-pool kind of vacation, but it was a break from all but the most pressing work and a chance to really, truly rest -- something that we all needed. Even I got enough rest because G's days were better than his nights, so when I slept very little to care for whichever one(s) needed me at night, I was able to take long naps in the afternoon when G could hold down the fort.

I am very thankful I never got sick. Our school schedule was suspended for the week, so I had lots of time to read and finished a couple of good books. I'm on a true crime kick right now and just got done today with London 1849: A Victorian Murder Story, about a couple who murdered a friend for his money. Michael Alpert wrote much more about everyday life in that era, almost like a history book rather than a typical crime account, and I found it fascinating.

Lizzie Borden didn't really kill her father and stepmother. Her illegitimate brother did it, according to author Arnold Brown. I didn't care for Brown's style of writing -- it reminded me of your hairy-eared great-uncle who won't ever get to the point in his long story, with a lot of "more on this later" and "we'll talk more about that in later chapters" and "this was important, as you will see." I didn't finish it, just read the first few chapters and skimmed the last few, because life's too short. (Also, I wanted to prove to a certain brother that I don't actually like or finish every book I start!)

Lucky I didn't finish, because that gave me time to discover Erik Larson. I started The Devil in the White City, which is an amazing historical account of the architect Daniel Burnham, genius architect behind the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, and serial killer H.H. Holmes, who used the fair to lure victims to his "castle." I'm looking forward to finishing this one and exploring more of Larson's books.

One thing my brother got right is that I can't just have one book going at a time. Joseph Wambaugh's The Blooding is on my list for tonight, and because I can't just read blood and guts all the time, I also plan on cracking open Sari Solden's Women With Attention Deficit Disorder. I recently finished her Journeys Through ADDulthood, which I found extremely enlightening.

(Oh yeah, and I also got a chance to see Duke get crushed by Villanova in the NCAA tournament. Sweet!)

A visit from Influenza A

Four of the five of us are sick. I am fine, except a little tired from monitoring fevers, breathing treatments, coughs, liquids and meds. We are lucky to have tested positive early on, so that everyone could start an anti-viral within the first 48 hours.

Based on Curly Sue's progression, today should be Moe's peak, and tomorrow or Friday should be Geddy's and Larry's. I hope to remain well, of course, and plan to work on some school and home-related projects. I also brought home books about Lizzie Borden and Jack the Ripper for "light reading" on this gloomy, rainy day.

Onward and upward!

Frugal things

I'm trying to do five frugal things every day, not only to help our budget but also to remind myself to be thankful for what I have. Yesterday, I:

1. Shopped at Goodwill for spring and summer clothes for Curly Sue. I bought two pairs of capris, four dresses, four skirts/skorts and five shirts for under $50. Name brands are American Girl, Gymboree, The Children's Place and Polly Flanders, so I can't fathom how much I actually saved. She loved all the pieces and was already sorting them and matching them with pieces she already has to make cute, trendy outfits. (She couldn't wear about five things I bought, so I'll return those next week.)

2. I skipped shopping at BJ's because we didn't need anything, though I usually go there to kill time during DD's dance classes and I always buy something.

3. I picked up an inexpensive soda from Dollar General (where I went to buy the one loaf of bread we needed) instead of having a frozen coffee from Starbucks.

4. We accepted an invitation to my parents' house for dinner (my dad's famous St. Patrick's Day reuben sandwiches) instead of eating out as we normally do on Tuesdays.

5. I decided to bake homemade treats for my small group girls for tonight instead of buying treats at the grocery as I normally do.

No, these things aren't earth-shattering, but I am working on my attitude of thankfulness for the Lenten season. Also, I hope to make a donation representing my foregone indulgences around Easter.

Hi ho, hi ho

When I left my full-time job as a newspaper sports reporter/editor more than 10 years ago, I thought I had left that part of myself behind. After all, 60-hour week is not compatible with raising and educating three children and maintaining a home. I have freelanced for a magazine, written and edited tab sections and set up a new business (writing web copy, bios, etc.) on a contractual basis, but I moved away from all my contacts three years ago.

I met with the local newspaper's publisher this morning, and I am going to write the copy for a "green" tab to be published around Earth Day. It's something I am really excited about, and the meeting went well. I'm a bit nervous because of the length of time I've been away, but I have to admit that newspapers have stayed in my blood all these years and I can't wait to get started.

Wish me luck!

My windows are open

A fresh spring breeze is blowing the stale winter away, and it makes me realize...

...there's nothing quite as revolting as the smell of blooming Bartlett pear trees.

Blech.

Another birthday!

We came home soaking wet tonight, but it was for a very good reason...Moe was baptized! He didn't want to have a big production made of it, so he decided on the spur of the moment (but not really, because he's been ready for about two years now) to have his youth leader, his dad and me baptize him after tonight's service. So his physical birthday is Feb. 23, but his spiritual birthday is Feb. 25.

I pray that he stays strong and on fire for God. My heart is so full...

Search my heart, O God

In the movie Twister, Philip Seymour Hoffman plays a slightly off-center storm chaser named Dusty who is asked to "explain to her why you are...the way you are."

In everyday life, I feel as though I'm doing the same thing to myself. I joke that if anyone ever spent time with my mother, my grandmother or any of my aunts they would know why I am...the way I am, and truly that's not far off the mark (think dark family secrets). Why did I say that? Why did I react that way? Why, why, why?

Because God uses everything to His glory, I don't really have to know why. It's amazing, though to be 40 years old and still discovering things about myself. I'm reading a book that I guess could be classified as a Christian self-help book -- hey, it's cheaper than a therapist! -- and it's laying me open. Very, very uncomfortable. Before, I never really knew how bound I was by childhood experiences.

That's not to say I'm "cured," or that I need to be. But any time you realize that you are not loving people to your full potential or in the appropriate ways, it's definitely something that needs to be addressed.

In a time of economic insecurity when love may be all a person has to offer, it certainly makes sense to work on that particular skill!

Happy birthday, Little Boy Blue!

Today is our baby's 8th birthday. When I found out we were expecting him, his sister was just nine months old. I remember laughing hysterically at the two pink lines on the pregnancy test, and I remember the pregnancy was a nightmare of early labor, countless shots of brethine, restricted activity and hospital stays.

But what a wonderful blessing this child is to us! I truly can't imagine life without our "bonus baby," or the joy his sweet smile and wry sense of humor bring every day of our lives.

His birthday celebration began Saturday evening when his two same-age cousins slept over and watched a new Justice League DVD. After church, we had our family and a couple of neighbor children over for sandwiches, sodas, cake and ice cream. We decorated with Batman and I made his favorite devil's food cake. He received several neat gifts, including more of his beloved Legos.

This morning, his brother and sister gave him their gifts: a Batman coloring book with two sets of Twistables crayons and a Bionicle. Daddy and I are saving our gifts for his exact birthday time, 5:29 p.m. We got him a Lego beach house and a Lego biplane. Dinner is our treat but his choice, and I imagine his birthday cash and Target gift card are burning up his pocket so we'll probably be making a stop there as well.

Happy birthday, sweet angel. I'm so glad I had you!

All hail

Wednesday brought some super storms. I dropped Larry at church to set up youth AV around 4:30, then took the Littles to the library to return/browse/check out. Shortly thereafter, we were ushered into the interior conference room because of a tornado warning, and Geddy kept us updated from our house, 10 miles away, by cell phone. I was distinctly uneasy because the church's phones were unmanned, so I couldn't check on Larry.

When we got the all-clear, we headed back to church for a quick dinner. Around nine of the children's volunteers showed up to handle the 50 or so children who came. Just about the time we checked everyone in and got in our seats in the "big room," another warning hit and we spent about 20 minutes lined up in the hallway.

It was too late to really have our program by that point, so we started Wall-E and waited for everyone to pick up the children. I took my fifth-graders back to our room to have a little birthday party for one of the girls, but as soon as I heard about yet another wave of storms threatening, I gathered my littles, dropped my nephew off with his daddy and pulled Larry out of youth group so we could beat the weather home.

We did, but man, was it an exhausting evening! Geddy took a photo (above) of the golf ball-sized hail for posterity, and our freezer was full of the buggers when we got home. Fortunately, neither of our cars was damaged and no windows were broken, but we may have to have someone look at our roof.

My funny Valentine

Geddy worked a charity event starting at 6 a.m. Saturday, so we did our little Valentine date Friday night. Nannie and Paw-Paw took care of The Hat Trick while we did the dinner-and-a-movie thing. Our plan was to see Friday the 13th, but after reading Plugged In Online's review we decided against it. (Another factor was the flushing of Rob Zombie's toilet on us disguised as a Halloween remake. Revolting but not at all scary.)

A new soda fountain/grill has opened on the square of our tiny downtown. Cute date idea, and we do try to support our local businesses. Unfortunately, the food was awful. G got a mediocre chili dog the size of my pinkie and my cheesesteak was dripping with Cheese Whiz and topped with an ice-cold bun.

Ick.

We thought we'd do dessert at a different restaurant, but by the time we shook the dust of the first place off our heels, every other place was packed. We drove by the theatre to see if any other movies appealed to us, but no. Nothing was happening at the local university's performing arts center and no basketball was scheduled, so we were pretty much out of luck.

Good for us that Publix has yummy desserts. We chose a cannoli and a slice of cheesecake and enjoyed them in the cafe area, then drove to pick up our children.

Valentine's Day promised to be just as prosaic and unromantic as our date the night before. We breakfasted on pancakes, biscuits and gravy, pancakes and juice at the fundraiser at which G volunteered, and then I took Moe to the doctor while G took the Bigs to run a couple of errands. Moe had bronchitis and an ear infection that required medication and rest, so when we met up at home it became an impromptu family movie day.

The five of us piled up on our bed to watch Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, me holding our medicated and sleepy 7-year-old in my arms. Our newest adoptee, a mostly gray cat named Lacie, decided to join us as we ate popcorn, drank soda and giggled at the movie.

As we critiqued and compared (movie to the original with Gene Wilder, both movies to book) and stopped for medicine and snack refill and bathroom breaks, I realized that this spontaneous movie day with lots of laughter and snuggling fed me in a way that no restaurant meal -- no matter how delicious or expensive -- could ever have done.

I was reminded once again that trying to squeeze a whole year's worth of love into one splendidly showy day is near impossible because it will never be enough. Happily, I am one of the truly lucky, happy and blessed to have a family that makes every day Valentine's Day.

Larry got his braces off!

He goes back to be fitted for retainers tomorrow. He couldn't care less about the braces thing, except that he got a "prescription" from the orthodontist to chew as much gum as he wants. Overall, he's done a terrific job taking care of his teeth while wearing his braces for the last two years, so I treated him to a bag of his favorite kinds of gum.

On another note, Moe saw the orthodontist for the first time and apparently is going to need braces as well. He recommended Moe have his upper baby canines pulled so his front four teeth can straighten up on their own. Curly Sue already has had three of her baby canines pulled and wore a palatal expander for six months, so we've at least gotten that part of her orthodontia done and paid for.

It's pricey, but oh so worth it when you look at what Larry's teeth looked like three or four years ago and what they look like today! (Of course, I think he's a most handsome young man anyway, but of course I'm biased...)

Get this party started

How do I love P!nk? Let me count the ways...

I DVR'd (is that even a word?) the I'm Not Dead concert a few days ago and Curly Sue and I watched a little of it just now. I tell you, the woman is insanely talented. Yes, I know she's not exactly a model of purity or propriety but what girl doesn't relate to this?

Every day I fight a war against the mirror
I can't take the person starin' back at me
I'm a hazard to myself
Don't let me get me
I'm my own worst enemy
It's bad when you annoy yourself
So irritating
Don't wanna be my friend no more
I wanna be somebody else

And how does this pop star, fearless and iconoclastic, know how I'm ashamed to say I feel sometimes as a 24/7 wife and homeschooling mom?

Go away
Come back
Go away
Come back
Why can't I just have it both ways
Go away
Come back
Go away
Come back
I wish you knew the difference
Go away
Come back
Go away
Give me a chance to miss you
Say goodbye
It'll make me want to kiss you
Go away
Give me a chance to miss you
Say goodbye
It'll make me want to kiss you
Go away
Give me a chance to miss you
Say goodbye It'll make me want to kiss you
Tonight
Leave me alone
I'm lonely
Alone I'm lonely
I'm tired
Leave me alone
I'm lonely
Alone I'm lonely tonight

We're a few decades, hairstyles and piercings apart, but P!nk is definitely my favorite color.

Virus has left the building

The Hat Trick got beat down by a nasty cold virus which, uninvited, nonetheless set up residence and quite overstayed its welcome. The boys pulled out of it okay but Miss Curly Sue teetered on the brink of pneumonia for a day or two before antibiotics set her on the road to recovery. All in all, it took about three weeks to recover to normal levels.

Geddy went out of town for a few days last week, returned to work Friday and immediately got called out for disaster relief to Kentucky, where some of the worst damage from the ice storm left up to a half-million people without power and/or water for dangerously long periods of time. G's company has a mill there, so that's where the team set up to distribute packages containing blankets, water, some food, toilet tissue, etc. to help those affected folks along. We missed him, of course, but he has a real gift for that kind of thing so we didn't mind loaning him out for a couple of days.

Larry found out Tuesday that he will have his braces removed next week and he is very happy. To straighten his teeth, he had to have his four baby canines removed, wear a palatal expander for six months, have four permanent molars removed and be in full braces for two-plus years. However, he will be completely done before he is a teen except for retainers, and his teeth look beautiful! He says he plans to celebrate with a sackful of bubble gum, and I don't have the heart to tell him how sore he will be for a few days.

G was off Monday, so he decided to treat us to a fun family day because he's been away a lot lately. We took the children to Barnes and Noble for some new books, then to see Paul Blart: Mall Cop (hilarious AND family-friendly). He then treated us to dinner at Taco Mac.

We are looking forward to a second family day tomorrow, when we will visit Callaway Gardens. Through the end of February, Callaway is offering free admission, and we are packing a picnic to keep it frugal. It will be nice to spend a sunny, relatively warm day hiking, relaxing, goofing off and enjoying nature, especially after being cooped up and sick for the better part of January.

All that remains is the fax, ma'am

Tomorrow, G sends off our notice of intent to homeschool. I'm still not certain of the time frame for withdrawal from Georgia Virtual Academy, but we no longer have access to the online school and I can only assume that means we're officially gone. We've had no contact from the school or the curriculum provider, but that's no surprise because lack of communication was one of the determining factors in our withdrawal.

The children liked their teachers and so did I, so it was hard to leave them. They still will be able to contact them, though, and that takes the sting out of the withdrawal.

We start a full schedule with Curly Sue and Moe tomorrow, except for Prima Latina and Ambleside Online. For another week or two, most of their work will be in workbooks. I hope to finish "Peter and the Shadow Thieves" with them, finally, during read-aloud time. Larry and I are still tweaking his schedule, though we have yet to add his Sonlight 6 elements and Latin Road to English Grammar. Fortunately, he is strong in verbal skills so we are in no rush as he gets comfortable with his science and pre-algebra programs.

G will be traveling this week and on one evening I will be alone with my doggies while The Hat Trick visits Nannie and Paw-Paw. I hope to use that quiet time to work on firming up lesson plans for February and a schedule for the rest of the year. We're shooting for completing our work in late May or early June, taking several weeks off and starting a light schedule the second week of July so we can take regularly scheduled breaks throughout next school year.

Our long-range plans include looking into a co-op situation where Larry can get high school credits for math and science (and possibly other subjects), but we have another full school year to make final decisions. I can't believe my sweet angel baby boy is going to be a teenager in a couple of months! I'd love to stick my head in the sand and ignore the idea of him being in high school, but of course I can't.

Off to look at baby photos now. *sniffle* Maybe listen to "Sunrise, Sunset, too." *sob*

My darling girl

Having a daughter is a happy, happy thing. Having a happy, happy daughter is a great thing!

I showed Curly Sue a few scenes from Mamma Mia last night and she really liked it. Today at our Sunday lunch restaurant of choice (Mexican...yummy!), we sat across the table from each other. A little boy behind us called for his mama, and she looked up at me with twinkly eyes, took a deep breath and sang, "Mamma Mia/Here I go again/My my/How can I resist ya?"

Of course I joined her, while the boys and Geddy pretended not to know us. They're probably thanking their lucky stars it wasn't "Dancing Queen."

Hee hee!

Mamma Mia...here I go again...my my...

...how can I be such a dork? I even watched the sing-along version!

I bought Mamma Mia on DVD months ago but just got around to watching it with Geddy (who is a big ABBA fan) this afternoon. It was so much fun, and I can't wait to watch it with Curly Sue! She will love the dancing and singing and there's not too much 'splaining to do.

My favorites in the movie were Meryl Streep, Colin Firth and Christine Baranski. Truly, my only complaint was having to hear Pierce Brosnan "sing." I like happy movies, and this one definitely fit the bill. G's also on a mission to make me watch Xanadu, but the five minutes I saw of that one made my brain bleed.

Tonight, we plan on watching Almost Famous, one of my all-time favorites. We lost track of our original DVD -- we might actually have worn it out -- but picked it up again for beans. We also have Eagle Eye to watch if there's time.

If I had to list a few of my favorite movies besides Almost Famous, the Lord of the Rings trilogy would definitely be at the top. I really like Back to the Future, A Mighty Wind, Sense and Sensibility, A Hard Day's Night and Friday. My favorite scary movie is the original Halloween. I also enjoy this Hamlet and this Much Ado About Nothing.

Funny...G just walked in from getting our fast food dinner, looked over my shoulder and said most of his Facebook-listed favorites are on my list, except he likes this Hamlet. I knew I married the man for a reason!

But I'm still not watching Xanadu.

Germs for a winter day

The Hat Trick is down for the count with a nasty cold, spread amongst the three. They are bummed because tonight is The Journey and they love to go. They'll miss the "big game" at the university tomorrow night as well.

Presently, they are full of supplements, breakfast, juice/tea and Zyrtec and happily involved in a Moody Science Classic. We might not be able to go anywhere, but the learning never stops. Yesterday, we watched President Obama's inauguration and we recorded MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech to watch together as well. MLK's birthday is the same day as my dad's and late brother's birthday, Jan. 15, though it's rarely (never?) celebrated on the actual day.

....

A few minutes ago, I let Susie out and sat on my sunny steps contemplating the quiet while she did her business. It's not warm out. I walked across the grass to the mailbox and the frost in the shady part of the yard burned and froze my bare feet. Turning back empty-handed, I found myself face to beak with a mockingbird. We stared at each other until Susie came tearing back through the bushes, begging to be let inside.

"He shook his little tail at me, and far away he flew."

....

Today I reorganize the school room and introduce Larry to the Latin Road to English Grammar. Next week, we solidify the littles' schedule. I can't believe the relief I feel without all the extra pressure from the charter school. I'm sorry that didn't work out, but at least I know which direction we're heading. A long, warm nap will help with everyone's sickies and be just the thing to get us back on track. I have several books to keep me company: The Myth of Laziness, the ADHD Book of Lists, Nourishing Traditions and maybe some true crime.

Or maybe I'll just take a nap too!

Our 44th President

"My fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because we the people have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebears, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land — a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America — they will be met.

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.

We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted — for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things — some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sanh.

Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions — that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act — not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. All this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions — who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them — that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works — whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. Those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account — to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day — because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control — and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart — not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our founding fathers ... our found fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all the other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort — even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West — know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to the suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment — a moment that will define a generation — it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends — hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism — these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence — the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed — why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent Mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

"Let it be told to the future world ... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet (it)."

America, in the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America."

Thinking before I speak (or write)

Last night's post included a rude comment about my husband, which I have since deleted. I usually make a rule of not speaking critically about Geddy, but I certainly broke it last night. My apologies.

While I was at the doctor's office yesterday, the nurse asked how long it's been since I had a tetanus shot. I couldn't remember, so she gave me one. Instead of having it in my left arm, I had it in my right (dominant), so now I'm having trouble lifting and doing things.

Larry and I are going this afternoon to pick up a friend to visit overnight, so he is busy cleaning downstairs. I'm sorely tempted to invite a friend every weekend if it ensures his room and bathroom will be tidied.

Curly Sue and Moe plan to make a clubhouse of dining room chairs, sheets and blankets so they can camp out in the living room tonight. They are going to watch movies on the laptop and sleep on their sleeping bags, and probably eat candy and make a mess. Good times. Reminds me of my little brother and me.

Geddy and I have several movies we bought or were given but haven't seen. We'll probably start with Last of the Summer Wine: Bringing Sam Home, but we also have a Dana Carvey DVD, Iron Man, Eagle Eye, Almost Famous and the Scream trilogy. It's cold out, dinner is pizza, the soda is chilling in the fridge and the house should be tidy enough to stave off guilt. Nothing planned for tomorrow, either. I love Fridays!

White roses

The Hat Trick and I visited my brother's grave today, on what would have been his 45th birthday. He shares it with my dad, who turned 73. We gave Daddy Appaloosa, a Caffeine-Free Diet Coke, a pack of Raisinets and a bag of in-the-shell peanuts. (He also got a new central heating unit after the heat pump gave out earlier this week -- $7,000. My mom joked she doesn't know how she'll top it next year.)

We left white sweetheart roses on Ben's footstone.

Today: I lost my wedding ring petting my parents' dog but I found it. I had to have my foot x-rayed five times to find out that stepping off a curb onto the side of my foot and rolling my ankle with my full weight behind it is, well, bad for that foot. It's been two years since that incident, and I now have a nasty bone spur that hurts. A lot. All the time.

The 14 pills a day I'm taking to kill off H. pylori bacteria are awful but my blood pressure medication is working. I will be glad when I'm back to three pills and a multivitamin a day.

Well, whaddya know?

My bloodwork came back, and I have Heliobacter pylori. I was first treated for it in June and I don't know if it came back or never left. I will start a new round of antibiotics and stomach medicine Monday, but I'm not certain whether I'll have to have an upper GI.

I took Curly Sue to the allergist last week because she's been running a low-grade fever and having headaches and tummyaches for a few days, off and on. He spent about three seconds looking at her, very shortly said, "She's got a virus" and told me to make her drink liquids. I started to ask him about some literature I've been reading about wheat and dairy intolerances and their cumulative effect, intending to see if he thought there was a connection between that and her symptoms over the last few months, but he cut me off and said, "You'll have to ask your pediatrician about that." I like the other allergist better but his attitude is much the same, so I have gotten the name of a naturopathic doctor a few towns over, and I hope to have him check out the children.

It's tough when I know *something* isn't right but can't put my finger on it, especially when a doctor blows me off like that!

I'm leaving in a little while to meet up with some of my high school girlfriends. I can't wait to catch up with them and see what they're doing now. I'm sitting in total silence -- Geddy took The Hat Trick out to lunch and to run some errands, so I had a lovely, long, hot shower with no interruptions. (I joke that I haven't been to the bathroom by myself in 13 years, but truthfully that's not far off the mark.)

My friends and I are meeting at Olive Garden, and because the children are staying with my parents and G has a work dinner, I may actually visit the mall for awhile before heading home. An hour or two by myself at Borders, and maybe a tall coffee, will be heaven.

Tomorrow I start lesson planning for the rest of our school year. I needed a few things to round out the littles' schedule and quite a lot (cost-wise, at least) for Larry. I ordered Wordly Wise for all three; Sequential Spelling, The Complete Writer and Horizons Math for the littles; Teaching Textbooks Pre-Algebra, Apologia Science and Latin Road to English Grammar for Larry. He will pick up in Sonlight 6 for writing, literature, history and geography. I will be glad to be back in control of our schedule!

Welcome back to normal

Well, here we are. New year, new schedule, new goals.

We are withdrawing from Georgia Virtual Academy, effective immediately. We stuck it out for a semester instead of a year. We all really tried to make it work, but for many reasons it just...didn't.

Larry is growing up fast. In the past few months, his voice has deepened and he is showing other signs of hitting the teenage years. Unfortunately, that means that the ADHD we've kept under control with behavior modification all these years has become a blazing problem. We are adding supplements, organizing differently and turning to a gluten and dairy-free diet for relief.

Today, we plan to pick up our paperwork from the school board and tidy our school room. We have allergy shots for the littles and need to return our books to the library, along with a promised trip to Target to spend some Christmas cash. We are looking forward to a calm day in which we ease back into our schedule.

Oh yeah, and I am going to learn the Cha-Cha Slide today!