Finally a HOME Daybook!!

For today Monday January 25, 2010

Outside My Window:

it is cool crisp and clear...after severe weather early this morning.


I am Listening to:

someone (Jonathan or Madi) playing Rudolph on the piano, and Jake and "little X"'s brother playing.

now Jake is playing the Star Wars theme on a kazoo!


I am wearing :

a grey sweat suit...bare feet (I haven't answered this question in a long time).



I am Thankful For:

feeling better, I felt pretty yucky yesterday...scratchy throat and couldn't really pinpoint whatelse, but Silver Shield to the rescue and I'm fine today.


I am Pondering this quote:

"Everybody is a genius, but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will spend its whole life believing that it is stupid." Albert Einstein



I am Reading:

Island of the Blue Dolphins for mother-daughter bookclub tomorrow.



From the Kitchen:

Madi's on kitchen duty this week, she says grilled cheese and tomato soup tonight. Bread is rising right now.



I am Thinking:

about my Catholic Faith Study that I started last week. I am doing a presentation on Baptism in a couple weeks.


I am Creating:

a color-coded bookshelf...I saw this in a magazine and it's looking pretty good.




On my iPod:

I want to try to figure out how to download some podcasts.


Towards a Real Education:

Jonathan is going with Mike on a business trip tomorrow until Friday night. He's taking math and science with him. Eventually we'll get back into a real routine. In the meantime, life is teaching us a lot.




Towards Rhythm and Beauty:

We've been lighting candles in the house everyday, it smells nice and feels good too!




I am Hoping and Praying:

For a safe trip for Mike and Jonathan. Good health reports for Mike and Madi. And for Jake who is getting his dental work on Wednesday...two teeth pulled, two teeth filled.




In the Garden:

UGH! Everything is brown! We are composting in the raised bed garden with the hope of boosting the soil before spring planting.




Around the House:

I'm getting rid of a lot of stuff, but it is slow going!



On Keeping Home:

We have a new chore routine...one kid has laundry, one has kitchen, and one has vacuuming and misc, it rotates each week.



One of My Favorite Things:

living in Florida


A Few Plans for the Rest of the Week:

bookclub, faith study, dentist, babysitting, more cleanout, school work with Madi and Jake, AWANA, Theatre, PE, basketball, and maybe a visit to Disney on Thursday afternoon


Trying to catch up with picture thoughts:

On Saturday night we got to meet the newest Theatre member, Landon Danger...he was just a few hours old...






Jake's first basketball game. After every game each player gets awarded a star for something. The first week Jake got a blue star for effort, and this week he got a red star for defense.




Jonathan got his braces off...


On our way home from the 3 week trip, we met Meme and Grampa Carlie for dinner...then last Sunday we celebrated my mother's birthday...better late than never!

Health and other hazards of life...

Since one of my 3 or 4 regular readers asked me to blog...I will. I thought about blogging from about 4am-5:30am this morning when I couldn't sleep. Then I got up, went downstairs on the couch and still couldn't sleep. My mind is going a million miles an hour. I hate to talk about heath issues like Mike's upcoming kidney ultrasound today. It makes me think of my post on October 1 2007 and I don't want to think about that. Madi had an appointment for acupuncture yesterday. The good news is it is very close to our house and Madi absolutely LOVED the people there. The bad news is, it wasn't really for acupuncture, but chiropractic adjustments... and we walked out $155 poorer with no adjustment yet...and even though I believe in chiropractors (and I liked the people too)...I don't think this is what we are looking for. They are chiropractors who do a little acupuncture, and we are looking for real Chinese medicine acupunturists who specialize in that. She is going for an adjustment today (cha-ching$) and then we still have to figure out where to go from there. When you hear this story in person (and if you see me anytime soon, you WILL), there will be more to it, but that is the gist of what was keeping me awake last night. That and Mike's kidney ultrasound, and the tornado warnings, and Jake's bad dream about Harry Potter (his latest infatuation)......

Enough whining! (aren't you sorry you asked me to blog now Tiffany?) Here's a funny observation...blogging is sort of like modern day, grown up passing notes in class. There is something about the written word that draws me in. I talk to people all day long and yet as soon as I get a chance I jump on the computer to see what those same people have posted on their blogs or facebook. I also find that if I missed a post and then mention that so and so told me this or that, someone else will often say, yes it was on her blog or facebook or whatever. I do the same thing. People will ask me a question and my response will be "duh...I blogged about that three days ago" (usually I'm able to just think the "duh" and not actually say it outloud.) There is all kinds of information about us out there that we sometimes expect people to know before we're ready for an actual conversation. Maybe we all need Tshirts that say, "Check my status updates...then we'll talk". Hey maybe I can make some money on that to pay for some of our alternative health therapies.

Jake will be getting braces soon! They won't be the "real thing full mouth ones" yet, but he will have some on his front teeth in a few months. He's a mystery that kid (I was going to use the word "inigma", but I wasn't sure if I was using it correctly--or spelling it correctly and I can't find a dictionary in this pig sty we call the loft!) I made the mistake recently of mentioning to a non-homeschooler that Jake isn't as socially mature as Jonathan was at that age. It was in the context of Jake is more academically advanced...blah blah blah...you know those labels that we shouldn't put on our kids, but do anyway. Jake's social issues have nothing to do with being homeschooled. (they may or may not have something to do with being academically advanced and they most likely have something to do with being the baby) If Jake doesn't want to say hi to someone he won't. I can stress and yell about it, but at the end of the day that's Jake. He's got plenty of friends and knows how to hold a conversation, but if he doesn't feel like it he won't. And he's my baby. When Jonathan was 7 he had two younger siblings. He had to be the big boy. Jake doesn't have to be. (if that prayed for adopted little girl ever shows up on our doorstep, then he'll have to be, but for now, he doesn't). Anyway...back to the braces...doesn't Jake just seem too young for that?! Madi had her first stage of treatment braces at 8 and Jake will be 7 1/2 when he gets his, but he just seems so much younger. Before the braces, he needs two teeth pulled (and two teeth filled...shhh...I hate that part, he's my first kid to need a filling...what can I say, he's cut from a different cloth).

The kids should get their GREASE parts today. Madi wants to be Jan or Patty Simcox. Jonathan auditioned for Doody, but would rather not sing. Jake has been getting lessons on how to act like an older boy. He apparently will get to do his famous running slide in We Go Together. If he keeps doing it on the tile floor in our kitchen I'm afraid he's going to crack his head open (I'm a little stressed about health and safety issues right now...as if you couldn't tell).

We have totally slacked on school this week. I had intended that, sort of, considering we did so much schoolwork on our trip including Saturday December 26th when no one in the world was schooling. My plan, however, was to use this week to completely deep clean our house, and we haven't gotten very far on that. I am motivated to get rid of a TON of stuff, but all of the appointments this week (and two visits to Disney) have taken up a lot of time! I am defintely spending less time on the computer though which is a good thing. Actually my ipod makes it easy to do a "quick check" without getting sucked in...so hooray for technology. I'll leave you with another plus for technology. As you should know (because you should've read it on my blog and facebook) our whole three week trip came about because we were asked to be the godparents of a beautiful baby girl, Julia Ann. Well on the day of the baptism we are sitting in the church and come to realize the baptism is only the baptism and not a Mass. So here we now are midday on Sunday, and we haven't been to Mass. Thanks to Mike's blackberry and the car's built in GPS, we were able to find a beautiful church in downtown Boston that had a 6:00pm Mass. If that's not what God intended technology for I don't know what is!! (well that and reconnecting with friends from second grade)

Three Week Trip

Christmas morning

Christmas Eve

FINALLY some pictures to spruce this place up alittle bit! We've now been home for almost 48 hours and are settling in. The transition was made much easier because the "best group of friends" came over and put all of our Christmas decorations away while we were still gone. It's probably going to take a week or so to get all of the trip pictures on here, but after a little struggle I was able to retrieve them from the phone, so I can post a few at a time. Let's start with Christmas Eve which seems like a lifetime ago...

Heading home...

This is the morning of the last night on the road, and I'm getting into home mode. We are soo soo excited to be heading home, but now it is time to think about all of the cleaning up, taking down of Christmas and unpacking that awaits us...ugh! Sitting in the hotel this morning I've attempted to "clean up" my blog, but for some reason my new picture won't take up the whole space (and I can't seem to get another picture in the blank space). At least I got rid of the Christmas decor.

This kids are watching junky TV (cartoon network) and for now I'm letting them.

Mike is at his trade show (in this same hotel).

We've done pretty well with schoolwork on this trip. Jonathan and Madi have a history test today on the Mongols (Gengis Kahn and Kublai Kahn). Everyone has done math most days, and Jake's done Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening and Snowflake Bentley for FIAR. We've not gotten too far with our science curriculums, but did see how ice cream and beer are made and spent some time at the Air and Space Museum yesterday (and might go back there today).

I really thought I'd have more responses to my bra color post.

I really need to stop worrying about/ wanting comments.

If I were a different person I'd remove the comments option, but I'm not so I won't.

Jake will have his first baskbetball game on Saturday.

GREASE rehersal started yesterday, the kids will be at Theatre on Friday...all three will be in GREASE!!

We have a lot of doctor's appointments coming up when we get home. Madi has a potential thyroid issue, Mike has a potential kidney issue, Jake will begin seeing the orthodontist...please pray for a good outcome for all of these.

I'm starting a Faith study next Tuesday and I'm really looking forward to it.

I still haven't been able to get any pictures off my phone. I'm just assuming it'll work on our home computer. I wish I could've gotten that done sooner, I can't believe I don't even have Christmas pictures on here yet.

Time to start cracking the whip...right after some starbuck's scones for breakfast (but seriously this is NOT a vacation!!)

Thoughts on bra colors

There seems to be a lot of talk and some debate over the recent facebook trend of women posting their bra color in support of breast cancer awarenes. I admit I debated whether or not to do it, as it does seem like it is divulging too much unnecessary info. On the other hand I sometimes think that sometimes in trying to avoid certain things, people sexualize it more. For example the more people go out of their way to avoid breastfeeding in front of other people the more it looks like they think they are doing something wrong or inappropriate. It is true that my male facebook friends didn't need to hear that I was wearing a white bra the other day, for that matter my female friends didn't need to either, but if one person in all of facebook world decided to do a self-exam or finally made the mammogram appointment that they've been putting off then I think it is worth it. The most recent facebook info I've seen says that the Susan G Koman foundation says the bra thing did a lot to spread awareness...that sounds good to me. Sometimes people are so private about their privates that they ignore signs that could be dangerous. Sometimes they need to be talked about. If you didn't take the time after the bra color situation to do that exam or make that appointment why don't you do it now. Maybe this will remind you to go get that mole checked out, maybe it's just time for a physical. You only get one shot in this world...let's worry less about who might be picturing you in your bra and more about taking care of the body we have...and even more about your spiritual health, but that's a story for another time. For the record I think that the women who posted "black lace with a pink silk bow" did cross the line. But if they saved a friend's life then I'll overlook it.

Today from the blackberry

Mike is playing my his latest addiction "lemonade stand" on my ipod. We are in New Hampshire and today is the baptism...the event that started this whole trip. Sort of like if you give a mouse a cookie...if you ask us to be the Godparents, Mike will turn it into a business trip and we'll be on the road in the freezing cold for 3 weeks beginning the day after Christmas. Yesterday we went to the Anheuser Bush factory and had a free tour (and even a few samples)...on Thursday we took the Ben and Jerry's factory tour (and of course had samples there too!!). We are definitely making the most of this trip and especially have enjoyed all of the people we've gotten to spend time with, but please don't ask me how my vacation was...it is a business trip with some good things thrown in (and some school)...definitely not a vacation. Tonight we head to Cambridge, MA for a morning meeting for Mike then on to DC. I am trying not to use any apostrophes here because when I do that on the blackberry it comes out with that $#*39 thing for some reason. Now Jonathan and Jake are fighting over the ipod...again lemonade stand. I haven't play it, but my family loves it. I have had a stiff neck and shoulder since Monday. It is weird that it hasn't gone away because we keep sleeping in different beds with different pillows so even though I think I initially slept wrong, I cannot possibly be sleeping the same wrong over and over...I mean it started 3 states ago. Gotta go downstairs...I smell breakfast...OK I guess in some ways it is like a vacation.

Daybook from the iPod

Aaahh!!

I just wrote a lot and lost it. I'm glad I'm really enjoying my iPod because I'm getting a lot of practice as I attempt to post this.

Today is Tuesday January 5th.

I am laying (lying?) in bed in a hotel in NJ.

Mike just went down to breakfast.

The kids are still sleeping.

Today is a hotel/schoolwork day.

The hand that I am holding the iPod with is falling asleep.

We are only halfway through this trip.

I am soo ready to be home!!

I hate the cold!!

I know it is cold there too and all our plants are dying!

I've been taking pictures with my new phone because supposedly the quality is better than our camera, but so far I haven't been able to get them onto a computer. I might try on Jonathan's computer later today.

I'd love to get the pictures on here while we're still on the road because once we get home we've got a ton of cleaning up of Christmas etc to do.

That sounds like we're almost home, but it is still a week and a half away...ugh!

We've done a lot on this trip anyway including Williamsburg, NYC, New Year's day at Mike's father's, Christmas with my brother and family, Christmas with Mike's mother, and more.

Jake is awake. He bought a DS yesterday with Christmas money and gift cards.

Tomorrow we head to Vermont for a more vacationy part of this trip...although it is hard for me to consider any part of below freezing temperatures vacationy.

I do love Vermont though and we haven't been there since Madi was a baby.

The weekend is the baptism for our God daughter Julia in NH. Then we head south... Mike has a trade show in DC...THEN we can finally head HOME!!!

I love home!!