Random Ramblings

It has not been the most stellar of weeks. I managed to escape illness the entire winter...which is saying a lot because I generally fight a cold the entire length of the winter. Of course I'm used to much shorter winters, but maybe there is something in the air here--or absent in the air here--which has made me healthier. Or maybe it's all of the vitamins I have been taking since my doc in GA told me he thought I have fibromyalgia and might feel better with a lot of vitamins in my system. At any rate, the crud did hit me this week, albeit not as powerfully as is typical, but I've still felt pretty lousy.

So that means there has been no glitz, glamour, fun, or creativity in school. The kids have done a fabulous job completing their assignments almost entirely independently, but there have been no "extras" thrown in there, so I know it's been boring for them.


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Any of you catch the new TLC show, Extreme Couponing? While I found those highlighted on the show to be, well, extreme, I was motivated again to start couponing. I was a pretty avid couponer in GA, and I kept my supply of coupons stocked mostly by buying the 2-for-1 AJC Sunday paper. Unfortunately, I haven't found that the Hartford paper offers that deal. That kinda took the fun out of it for me; it's impossible to effectively coupon without at least 2 of each coupon. But through this show I came to realize that more and more is done on the web now. In fact, I discovered Shop at Home, which offers a lot of printable coupons, and then there is also Coupons and Things by Dede, which is a coupon clipping service. When I heard them mention this type of service on the show last night, I thought it was ridiculous, but through investigating this site, I see that I can purchase from Dede the same flyers I would get in the AJC and pay her just about the same price as I paid for 2 AJCs. And I don't even have to rush to Super Wal-Mart to get one before they're gone; she'll send it right to me. Haven't given it a try yet, but it looks promising. Of course I do not have time to be an extreme couponer--and I was a bit disgusted with some of the couponer's greedy stockpiles--but it sure doesn't hurt to save a little money!


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Though I never put it in blog writing to do so, at the beginning of the year when I decided to become a better photographer, I vowed to myself that I would not create a post on here without a photo to go along with it. Well, because of my crud, I haven't picked up my camera in a few days. It just so happens, though, that my kids went for a walk this afternoon, and my oldest took her camera. I think she did a great job:

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Alex has been so helpful this week - taking care of me, preparing meals.
She's growing up too fast. Last weekend we went to the Revolve Tour together - a Christian conference-type thing for teenage girls. She fit right in...right down to all the dancing around to the very loud music (do I sound like I'm almost 40??).


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Guess where I'm going this weekend? To the Christian Book Distributor's warehouse sale in MA! If you know me well, you know I will be in heaven! I'm knocking out most of my 2011-12 Curriculum Shopping List. I'll hit the homeschool discount table. And all the other discount tables. AND I'll enjoy a kid-free day with a friend!

Here is that list of curriculum I'm whittling down: H.E.A.R.T.S. Homeschool Curriculum.




Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers

Photo Scavenger Hunt, Vol. VI

1. Book

I have mentioned this book, One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp, several times over the last couple weeks. I haven't finished it yet, but it is really making an impact on me. I have begun again with a Blessings List I began a couple years ago. I'm trying to intentionally look for those gifts as I go about my regular routine each day. It really makes a difference!

2 & 3. Diptych & Fill-in-the-Blank


4. Reminders

I love seeing these cute little guys on the store shelves. They always remind me of my childhood.

5. Taste of Italy
Friday night Mark made us a delicious dinner of fresh pasta for spaghetti & meatballs. Sorry, ladies, he's mine, all mine!

God Sightings

"Wouldn't it be great," he suggested, "if we intentionally looked back on each day for God's hand in it? You know...God Sightings."

At the thought, I smiled as a memory immediately played through my mind. We were moving from our first house and had rented a mid-size moving truck because surely our junk would all fit in a mid-size, and opting for the smaller truck would be a monetary savings. But oh how I whined and complained and threw a hissy fit when Mark called me from the rental facility to tell me that our reservation was seemingly meaningless: they had not actually reserved a truck for us. Our schedule was thrown off as they tried to find a vehicle for us. In the end, the moving company gave us--for the price of the mid-size truck--the largest truck because that was the only truck available in their lot. And later as we packed that truck full of our belongings, we realized the mid-size truck would not have been adequate.

That was a God sighting and one I always remember with a smile. God does have a sense of humor, doesn't He?

A couple years have passed since my husband's suggestion that we be intentional in our looking for God in our days. Because He is in all of our days, in every moment. It's just that we don't open our eyes to see Him in everything. We take it for granted that He's there. Worse, sometimes we just forget He's there.

I've been reading Ann Voskamp's One Thousand Gifts...and have been incredibly blessed and challenged by it. Counting the blessings, the gifts, seeing the beautiful even in the ugly. Taking note of the God Sightings.

I hear my children complain daily about schoolwork, meals, activities, inconveniences, toys they don't have. And I get annoyed at them. "Stop complaining and be thankful," I tell them. But when I stop to think about it, I realize: They learned that from me. I complain about the weather, the kids, the inconveniences of life, the things I don't have. How would our family be different if I had, from the beginning, practiced this giving thanks, replacing complaining with gratitude, counting my blessings?

I want to take on this challenge. I actually did a couple years ago, but before I even got to #12, the old life of grumbling and complaining took over, and I abandoned the life of gratitude. I want to give it another try; keeping at it for a longer period of time makes it habit. Can you imagine living a life where gratitude and counting blessings is habit?

Counting down up my blessings at A Thousand Blessings.

As far as I'm concerned, today was Christmas.

If you know me at all, you know that, materialistically speaking, there are few things I care about besides books. I do not have a shoe fetish. I care about clothes only because I wish to be warm (oh, and not naked), and if my husband bought me expensive jewelry, I would return it to the jeweler...and use the money to buy books.

That is why I was in Book Heaven this morning. Shortly have the children stumbled out of bed [at 9am], we piled into the car and made the hour-long trek to the Scholastic Book warehouse sale. You already know the special relationship I have with Learning Things in Georgia. I have missed LT, but I am afraid LT may have been replaced. The aisles at Scholastic were endless, and everytime I thought we were at the end, there was another turn...and another row of books.

In addition to the rows upon rows of 50% off books, I was handed a good sized box and told that whatever I could fit into the box was mine for $24.99. You better believe I packed and repacked that box until not an item more could be squeezed in.

I was at first hesitant about the whole trip because I knew I would have to drag the kids along, and there's nothing that ruins a stroll through a bookstore more than impatient, whiny kids. I know this from experience. They were not as fond of Learning Things as I was. The difference between LT and Scholastic, however, is that there are just regular ol' books at Scholastic versus the curriculum-type products that fill most of the shelves at LT. The kids were even more cooperative because I was rather liberal today in my agreement on how many items would be allowed in to the cart.

The kids made out like little Book Bandits, and I have already resolved to get a babysitter (or a daddy) next time so that, instead of making it immediately into the precious hands of my children, items such as the ones they got today can be wrapped up and placed under the tree.

As if all of the goodies they scored at the warehouse were not enough, they were further spoiled by lunch at Friendly's. AND they were permitted to order from Level 2 which means the ice cream sundae that followed their meal was even bigger. Spoiled rotten. Who was the mother that took my children out today anyway? I did at least have a coupon for Friendly's. And besides, this is the Christmas season...giving, generosity, and all that other stuff, right?

Blog Tagged

I'll admit. I've never done the Tagging Thing before, but my friend Courtney at Life on Courtney Lane tagged me with 7 Random Things About Me, so I'll humor her and likely bore you with my 7 issues that may someday lead me to a therapist's couch:

First, we must put the rules in play:

1. Link to the person that tagged you and put the rules on your blog

2. Share 7 weird or random facts about yourself...

3. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and link to their blog...

4. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a note on their blog...

OK, so you know I'm a little quirky because...

1. I'm very particular about how my dishwasher is loaded. Sometimes my dear husband loads it, and I always go behind him and reload it. It's not that I'm ungrateful. And I always do my reorganization on the sly so that he doesn't feel unappreciated. It's just that no one else seems to have any inkling about how to correctly load a dishwasher.

2. My favorite childhood character was Winnie-the-Pooh. What child doesn't love loveable ol' Pooh Bear? Other children, however, probably don't get labeled by their dear parents with the unfortunate nickname of "Pooh". I did. And I'd cringe when Mom and Dad would address me as such. My friends would do a double take and, laughing uproariously and mockingly, ask, "Why did your parents just call you poo?"

3. Even though I grew up in the wilds of Africa, I HATE bugs, especially spiders and cockroaches. Spiders make me break out in a sweat. Literally. Once when Mark was out of town, I discovered a big, hairy, tarantula-like one (I'm NOT kidding) in the baby's room. It took my dear husband at least a half hour on speaker phone to convince me to stop panicking long enough to beat the ugly, nasty critter. Thankfully, my eldest boy who is also the man of the house in Mark's absence rescues me from most killer insects now.

4. I've always wanted to try my hand at waitressing, I mean serving or whatever they call it now. If I was a waitress or server or whatever, I would make sure that if my customer asked to hold the tomatoes, the tomatoes would be held. And if my customer requested a beverage sans lemon, the beverage would be served sans lemon. I would make great tips.

5. Chick-fil-A is my favorite restaurant (fast food at least), and our new one just opened today. We took the kids this morning, and they broke in the playground. I love Chick-fil-A because it appears to be the last remaining establishment in America where service is not dead. I have recently begun a campaign in my home to encourage my little people to respond to "Thank you" with "My pleasure" because, well, it is simply my pleasure to hear such pleasant speech.

6. I am addicted to curriculum and all educational materials.

7. I bungee jumped on spring break in Panama City in 19 90 something. Someday I want to sky dive, but I'll probably wait until the kids are self-sufficient.

So now comes the tagging part. And I know this will be painful for some of you; don't feel obligated! At least check out some of my friends' blogs, though:

Mama Knucker Hatch at Our Golden Apples

TeacherMommy at Diapers and Dragons

Mare at Mare's Musings

Mitzi at The Road Less Traveled

My wonderful sister-in-law at Phoenicie Konnection

Nikowa at Knowledge House Academy

and...although I think she's already done this: Crossview at Crossview Academy

Heaven

We have recently been fielding a lot of questions from the kids about heaven. As recently as last year (prior to my read of Alcorn's Heaven), I pictured heaven as a boring eternity of harp-strumming atop a white, fluffy cloud; therefore, I don't consider myself a heaven expert. So we decided to, as a family, read Alcorn's version for kids. It has been a fantastic experience with the kids. Our reading has sparked many deep, provocative discussions, and the kids have been asking great questions. What's more, they can't get enough of the book. Jacob is especially interested in it, and tonight he requested that I pleeeaaase read another chapter. He even offered to give up room time to hear another chapter, so I of course obliged; it's not often that room time is sacrificed. (Room time is theoretically supposed to be a QUIET 1/2 hour before bed during which the kids lay QUIETLY in their beds and read or look at books; it need not be said that this is not necessarily what transpires in the boys' room!)

Two thumbs up!

The Doughnuts

Robert McCloskey is my current favorite kids' author. I find both his stories and illustrations endearing, sweet, and fun. In Blueberries for Sal, I love the contrast between Sal and her mother and between the Mother bear and her cub. I admire the human qualities the Mother duck in Make Way for Ducklings possesses, and I love to see her maternal instincts shine through as she cares for her new charges. The growing up experiences depicted in One Morning in Maine are delightful and poignant. And Lentil is just plain fun and presents all sorts of topics for teaching such as persevering and trying your best...and even a science project on lemons! But my all-time favorite McCloskey book has got to be Homer Price. Honestly, I didn't even know Homer Price was a McCloskey masterpiece until my mom handed me my childhood copy which she had brought back for me from Africa.

One of my favorite childhood memories is storytime with my mom. She had the Uncle Remus accent down and different voices for Winnie-the-Pooh stories. Before sitting down with Homer Price, my mom would always make a batch of her granola. Then I would munch on a bowl of the dry granola while we went adventuring with Homer. My favorite adventure by far was "The Doughnuts."

The kids and I have been sharing in Homer Price's adventures in Centerburg. Today was a sick day for us as both girls were a little under the weather, so we read "The Doughnuts." It sure was fun to read those words I've remembered all these years:

"...the rings of batter kept right on dropping into the hot fat, and an automatic gadget kept right on turning them over, and another automatic gadget kept right on giving them a little push, and the doughnuts kept right on rolliing down the little chute, just as regular as a clock can tick."

Although I should have used better judgment considering I have a sick baby, after our reading I decided we all ought to make doughnuts. Back in my Homer Price days there was a woman who lived on our mission compound whom I called "Aunt Jean." Aunt Jean made the most delicious doughnuts in the world, and sometimes I went down to her house to watch her. Well, I left the mission compound with a copy of her recipe, and while I've kept the recipe safe all these years, I've never tried it.

The kids were able to help out a bit during the mixing of the dough, and after the first rising, helped roll the dough out. Even the sick little princess helped, although she spent most of the time just watching from her chair, her forlorn little face in her blankie. I don't own a doughnut cutter, so we made due with a glass and a medicine cup for the hole.

Obviously, I did all of the frying, though not without worrying about someone getting hurt as I had a sick little baby clinging to my leg the whole time (like I said, I could have thought this through a little better and saved this project for a better day!).

But they were all fried and glazed...and of course tested. Since my hurried frying led to some very misshapen doughnuts, I don't think that, based on looks, The Pierce Doughnut Shop will be opening anytime soon. As far as taste goes, however, Dunkin Donuts--look out!