the witless one

A couple of funnies

2008-07-02T11:08:00.000-07:00

Mikey's joke for the day:

"What's underground and 6 feet up?"

I couldn't for the life of me guess. Do you know?

"A dead ant."

Also, when visting my sister's family last week the kids were introduced to an old favorite TV show about a great man in our nation's history.

Kinsley calls him: "Crocky Davett"

Can you guess who she's talking about?

This is what happens when I take a shower

2008-06-21T11:29:00.000-07:00

One day last week I told the girls to continue with their school work at the kitchen table and not to get up. Well. They didn't get up, I'll give 'em that.

If you're like me, your brain is having a hard time figureing out what you're looking at. This is JoJo hanging upside down on the bench at the table. Her older sis, Ash, is also hanging upside down on the other bench and taking her picture.

This a little something else I found.

Kinsley was looking for a movie and had to remove every single movie from the DVD closet.

A movie review of "The Happening" in three words

2008-06-19T11:46:00.000-07:00

DON'T DO IT.

That's it. Just. don't. do. it.

I could actually review it in one word.

Sucktacular.

Yep. It was that bad.

Summer Luv'n

2008-06-14T09:41:00.000-07:00

Ash wanted me to take a picture of her in mid air as she jumped over the sprinkler. My trigger finger must be a little slow as it took me quite a few pictures to actually capture her in the air. (Notice the pants? She was cold. It's 101 outside. That's what happens when you have zero bodyfat.)

Next up. Kinsley is actually going to try and jump over the sprinkle so she can have a 'mid-air' shot.

Oh, so close. But when it actually came time to get her face wet, she just couldn't do it. Hmmm. Where'd Bubba go? Oh. There he is.

And what about Buddy? Where's he on this flesh-searing afternoon?

Give you three guesses.

Hey. We're missing one. Last I heard she was going to change into her "baybin" suit.

She got stuck in front of the mirror primping. Apparently it's important to look your best before you get sopp'n wet in the sprinkler.

She get's that from her Dad. ;)

The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh

2008-06-13T10:34:00.001-07:00

See this?

He turned up in our doggie pool this morning. Isn't he cute?

Don't get too attached.

See this?

This is the look of a very queasy dog that rues the day she decided to eat a frog.

Isn't God Good!

2008-06-08T21:55:00.000-07:00

Speaking of blessings born on this day...

I'm an aunt again to a precious new baby girl!!

Patience Olivia
8lbs 10 oz

I haven't met her yet but I can't wait to kiss that precious little face!

Buddy turns 12!

2008-06-08T21:24:00.000-07:00

My oldest son. What a joy he is to us! He is such a unique person and so very genuine in who he is. I'm starting to get little glimpses here and there of the man he is to be and I can't help but get excited to see what God is going to do with him.

Happy Birthday Son!

I've hit the jack-pot of savings!

2008-05-20T10:56:00.000-07:00

I am a big fan of sites like Money Saving Mom as we are a one income family. Yep! I love me a bargain. And, boy, did I find one in the most unexpected of places!

My honey recently signed us up to receive locally grown, fresh, *organic* produce at his work for only $25 every two weeks. I was so very excited as it was

1. Local

2. Cheap

3. Organic!!

I was especially excited about #3 as I thought serving pesticide-free food to my kids must earn me extra points toward my "Good Mommy" badge.

You can imagine how my excitement grew when we got our first bag of groceries and I discovered not only did we get a big bag of peaches, beautiful tomatoes, sweet onions, dandelion greens, herbs, and kale but.... are you ready for this...

SIX - count 'em - SIX new pets to add to our family!!

I must confess that I, being the "witless one", didn't recognize our treasure right off. It took my 8yo responding to my, err, squeals of delight to point out what just exactly we had on our hands. Plus, as she so cleverly pointed out, they come with their own food!! Could this get any better?! I ask you!

Why, yes. Yes, it can. These six little "pets" will pay you back for your love and affection by performing a science experiment.

We now have five (one's a bit of a late bloomer) cocoons to watch and marvel over.

I know!!

A camera in the hands of a 6 year old

2008-05-20T10:11:00.000-07:00

My kids, especially my girls, love to play with the camera. It makes me so grateful for digital cameras as I can't imagine how much money we would throw away on film with pictures like this:
And like this:

And the 50 other pictures like this:

And we get tons of these kind of pictures:

But then we get a few of like this:

And I think, "how cool is it to give a kid a camera?!"

Life with Lucy

2008-05-19T21:48:00.000-07:00

I am not a dog person. I'm also not a cat person. Or any animal for that matter. Which is ironic considering we have three cats and a dog. All of which I like - mostly.

We found Lucy on the side of Interstate 35 when she was just a tiny, tiny pup. She was wandering so close to traffic that the kids all started crying and praying she wouldn't get hit before we could exit and drive around back to her. When we got back to where she was she had crawled into a drainage tunnel and seemed to be in shock. She was the most desperately pathetic thing I had ever seen and my heart just broke for her.

Despite the normal puppy phase of chewing and digging she has grown to be one of the best dogs I have ever owned. However. She is still a dog. On occasion she earns the name Dumbdog.

Like when she eats the cat litter. "Eeeewwwwww! Bad Dumbdog!!"

Or jumps up on counter and eats half a brisket. "Down Dumbdog!"

But then she'll do something really smart and her name becomes Lucy, again. Like today when a kid (not naming names) forgot to shut the gate and I find her sitting there next to an open gate and her ticket to freedom. And she doesn't take it.

I guess she loves us, too.

An attempt at an interview with a Bear. A Kinsley Bear.

2008-05-06T07:03:00.000-07:00

Mom: Okay, Kinsley, I'm going to ask you a question and you tell me the answer and I'll type it, okay?

Kinsley Bear: *hee, hee* Okay!

Mom: What's your name?

Kinsley: Kinsley *hee, hee* I answered a question!
Okay, I got a question for you.

Mom: Wait. I'm...(interupted by KB)

Kinsley: What's you name? *more cute little girl snickers*

Mom: My name is Mom, but (cut off again)

KB: Can you spell it?

Mom: *opening my mouth to answer*

KB: Can you spell my name? I can spell my name, wanna see? (jumping up to type on the keyboard)

kiys;u

Is that my name?

Mom: That's gettin' close!

Kinsley: *hee, hee* I'm so cute! (as she runs out of the room)

Interview abruptly ends.

Ewww! Yuck! spit gag

2008-05-05T22:09:00.000-07:00

Since we've discovered my son's allergies I have gotten quite used to reading the label of everything that comes into our house. He has milk, egg, and peanut allergies that we've discovered so far. Oh, and a really soft and fuzzy golden retreiver named Sammy.

But, there was one label I didn't think to read that I guess I should have.

Does anyone know if Ol' Roy dogfood has milk in it? Anyone?

Menu planning for the unorganized (that would be me)

2008-05-04T14:51:00.001-07:00

Anyone who knows me, knows that organized is not a word that would be used to describe me. I've never been good at it and it has been the thorn in my side my entire life. In the past, this has meant that there have been days where dinner time would roll around and I would have no idea what I was going to cook for dinner. So I would either make due with what we had at home, rush to the store to buy something, or eat out. Of course this also usually meant that I wasn't paying attention to what was budgeted for groceries and, of course, I would usually blow it.

My attempt at getting control of this has been to take the methods used like at menus4moms and other menu planning websites and modify them. Since Mike gets paid every other Friday I usually go shopping the day after pay day and shop for two weeks. On one sheet of paper I will make a list of 14 meals. Usually trying to choose meals that have things in common such as the spaghetti sauce for spaghetti in week one could be used to make lasagna in week two. Or roasted chicken in week one can be used for chicken casserole another night.

From this list of dinners I will make my grocery shopping list on another sheet of paper, being sure to double up on some items I know I will run out of before two weeks is up. Usually cereal, milk, flour, cat food, etc. This part has been kind of challenging for me as this does require me to exercise the planning muscle in my head which has always suffered from some type of degenerative disease. Lately I have done the grocery list planning with my past receipts so I can write down how much they cost and keep tabs on the budget.

When I get home from the store I will hang my menu list up on my ventahood with a magnet. Then, each day I can decide what I feel like cooking for dinner and know I have all the ingredients on hand. It also helps to remind me to take out meat to defrost or soak beans the night before. After I make a meal I will cross it off my list.

I save these menu lists and will look back over them to plan future menus when my brain freezes up and I can't think of anything. Which, suprisingly happens fairly often.

But, why not?

2008-04-28T15:59:00.000-07:00

My youngest son excitedly dragged me to the kitchen and this is what I found:

He really, really wanted me to "hep" him turn it on. "Peez! Peez!" he said. He was very upset when I declined.
It sure seemed like a good idea to him.

This just reminds me of all the times I thought for sure I had the perfect plan. But God in his infinite wisdom would say, "No." And then I would throw a fit like this:

I'm so thankful He doesn't give in to my temper tantrums!

Pics that make my cheeks hurt

2008-04-27T13:57:00.000-07:00

She picked up the camera and took this picture of herself. Not sure what the expression is supposed to be about.

Her smile makes me smile.

Yes, I served this cake at the picnic. Sue me.

Isn't it sweet how he's hugging his sister? Aaaawwwwwwww! Actually, he was choking her slightly because she was trying to steal his gum! See. Don't believe everything you see. Especially in a picture.

Brought low to be lifted up

2008-04-27T12:30:00.000-07:00

When He slew them, then they sought Him; And they returned and sought earnestly for God. Then they remembered that God was their rock, And the Most High God their Redeemer. Psalm 78:34-35

My 8yo daughter and I have been talking a lot lately about how we know we are saved. One of the ways I have mentioned to her is if she feels God working in her heart and causing her to turn away from sin and her will and to turn towards God and seek to please him.

On the way home from the store she cheerfully shared her candy with her youngest sister. A miracle, no doubt. As she must have thought so to, she said, "hey Mom! I think I can feel God working in my heart!"

It got me thinking about how God has worked in my own heart. One of the biggest suprises in my walk with the Lord is that those time when I have felt the furthest from God is when he was making the biggest changes. When I have been my lowest spiritually have been the times when I have had nowhere else to go but to my knees and cry out to Him for help. It was whenever everything seemed to be falling apart that I was no longer able to put my faith in me, or my husband, or homeschooling, or money... get the idea? Knowing how stubborn and thick-necked I am, I know I never would have turned to rely on God had I not gone through the wilderness.

Ramblings and mumblings

2008-04-22T22:04:00.000-07:00

The kids and I have just started a guide called Character Building for Families, by Ann Rubsam. We're only on day three but I am loving the format and the lessons. I also like the way it works in the memory work.

The layout is very similar to An Introduction to Classical Studies by Memoria Press that I also loved, loved, loved. Maybe it has something to do with the way they both list specifically what is covered each day in a very straight forward way. I thrive on that. Both are also very flexible so that I can skip a day (or two or five) and pick right back up where we left off. That is a must for a curriculum to work for us, I've found.

Our local homeschool support group is holding a Curriculum Look-see. Actually, they call it a Curriculum Share but I like my title better. It's where everyone brings their curriculum with the idea of letting others look through it. I could have used this like 8 years ago but now that I'm kind of through the trial and error phase (for now!) I really don't. I'm also kind of past the grass is greener phase where everyone elses curriculum looks tons better than mine. I'm kind of in the stage of "don't show me anything new because my brain is crammed full of stuff and I can't fit another thing in to think about!"

Actually, I'm really loving everything we're doing right now. The kids on the other hand could take or leave several of their things but even then I don't get a whole lot of resistance from them on a daily basis. That is a phenomenal thing as I can remember day after day after day having tears on certain curriculums. I'm not one of those moms that will just plug away and finish the book. I cave. I throw the book out and start looking for something else.

To me, that's one of the beauty's of homeschool. We can tailor fit our curriculum to each kid. Just don't start talking dollars with me, okay. It's worth it, right? Don't tell me if it's not.

He's a soccer-Dad

2008-04-21T10:44:00.000-07:00

This spring we have three soccer players. When we were registering I asked Mike if he would be interested in coaching Ashley and Jordan on the 1st/2ng grade girls team. He said yes and was very excited. As it turns out Mikey's team didn't have a coach so he agreed to coach his 5th-7th grade boys team as well. The kids are really loving having their Dad as the coach and Mike is totally loving the balance it brings to his 80 hour work week. No matter what's going on, he takes time out for practices and games each week. Even if he has to turn around and go back to work right after.

I just love that man!

First post

2008-04-20T13:40:00.001-07:00

Wow! So it's my first post on this blog I just created. So far not a single person has seen what I have typed here. Chances are very few people will ever see it even after I hit 'publish.' In a way, it's kind of like going to some isolated alley and talking to yourself. Kind of fun really. I could say my weight out loud and nobody would hear. I think I will. I think I will type out my weight that I am totally ashamed to admit in public. Here goes...

My weight is......a number I would never utter within earshot of another human being....

I can't do it. I'm too prideful. Oh well.