Tuesday, March 22, 2005
A good Monday
We had a very productive day yesterday. Don't you just love it when that happens? I managed to hit the store early in the a.m. and buy all the Easter goodies for the kids baskets. I still would like to get a few little special things for them, but I will pick those up later in the week. Easter is such a wonderful time for us. It is of course a wonderful time for all Christians, but in our home, Easter is also a time when we get to have all of our family together HERE, for "food and fellowship". I really look forward to this, and this year is no different. (I will tell you all about the menu, later once it is finalized!) This week will be filled with lot's of activities to get ready for the big day. I am not sure how our Easter egg hunt will go......Our yard currently looks like 'nam during the war. And have I mentioned that we have a 7 month old choc. Lab?? You would think that on 12 acres, he would eventually take the cue from the older lab and decide to "go" somewhere other than our front yard!! ARGH! Yessirree.....Not too sure how that egg hunts going to go.
Back to yesterday. Got the Easter goodies. We got all of our lessons finished (not happily...There were tears.....But we got finished). We tidied up the house and vacuumed and mopped. Everyone helped. The kids played outdoors, while I got some more cleaning done. Savannah had an art lesson with her Aunt Thomasina. I am so impressed with how this is going!!I will try to post some of her work here. I have a very talented daughter! While she was at art class, the boys and I picked up mulch-15 bags. (I love my suburban). We got home, unloaded and spread mulch-15 bags. The boys hauled large pieces of quartz rock for me (there is quartz EVERYWHERE here, in piles), to help with the landscaping. They hauled a LOT of rocks! And I must say, that the end result is very nice. We also finished replacing the screens in our screen door.
We met Thomasina, Tabitha(Savannah's best friend), and Savannah at dance class. I thought that I would need a tranquilizer for Jack, before we got out of there. We left the house in a hurry, and I hadn't brought anything for him to do for an hour....MISTAKE. But we made it, and after the girls' class,(7pm) we all went to our favorite little spot Downtown, "The Bistro". It was "Open Mic" night, and well.........That's just a whole 'nother blog. I am hoping that Thomasina over here : http://www.meandmyelvismcgee.blogspot.com does a better job of describing our evening. The kids were all so funny, it was like we had taken them to a night club or something. They're heads were just whipping this way and that. I am sure that Tabitha had much to share with her friends this morning at her little private Christian school! Everything was fine, and nothing off color or anything, but it was just funny to them in that environment. Lot's of musicians, or wannabe musicians, and young college aged people, and some people who just wanted attention. It was fun, and all of the kids had a great time. It was a good ending, to a really good day.
Race has been gone since Sunday, but we are expecting him in tonight. I never thought of Austin's 8 pm practice being a blessing, but there it is. This makes it much more likely that Race will be able to make it to most of the practices.
On the agenda for today we have school lessons, Martial arts, buying Easter clothes (last minute, I know), getting some flowers and containers for the front porch, and picking up some craft supplies for Savannah to use to decorate the dining room for Easter. It looks like it will be another beautiful day outside today, so we will try to finish our lessons early, and get out the door!
Enjoy your day,
Melissa
Back to yesterday. Got the Easter goodies. We got all of our lessons finished (not happily...There were tears.....But we got finished). We tidied up the house and vacuumed and mopped. Everyone helped. The kids played outdoors, while I got some more cleaning done. Savannah had an art lesson with her Aunt Thomasina. I am so impressed with how this is going!!I will try to post some of her work here. I have a very talented daughter! While she was at art class, the boys and I picked up mulch-15 bags. (I love my suburban). We got home, unloaded and spread mulch-15 bags. The boys hauled large pieces of quartz rock for me (there is quartz EVERYWHERE here, in piles), to help with the landscaping. They hauled a LOT of rocks! And I must say, that the end result is very nice. We also finished replacing the screens in our screen door.
We met Thomasina, Tabitha(Savannah's best friend), and Savannah at dance class. I thought that I would need a tranquilizer for Jack, before we got out of there. We left the house in a hurry, and I hadn't brought anything for him to do for an hour....MISTAKE. But we made it, and after the girls' class,(7pm) we all went to our favorite little spot Downtown, "The Bistro". It was "Open Mic" night, and well.........That's just a whole 'nother blog. I am hoping that Thomasina over here : http://www.meandmyelvismcgee.blogspot.com does a better job of describing our evening. The kids were all so funny, it was like we had taken them to a night club or something. They're heads were just whipping this way and that. I am sure that Tabitha had much to share with her friends this morning at her little private Christian school! Everything was fine, and nothing off color or anything, but it was just funny to them in that environment. Lot's of musicians, or wannabe musicians, and young college aged people, and some people who just wanted attention. It was fun, and all of the kids had a great time. It was a good ending, to a really good day.
Race has been gone since Sunday, but we are expecting him in tonight. I never thought of Austin's 8 pm practice being a blessing, but there it is. This makes it much more likely that Race will be able to make it to most of the practices.
On the agenda for today we have school lessons, Martial arts, buying Easter clothes (last minute, I know), getting some flowers and containers for the front porch, and picking up some craft supplies for Savannah to use to decorate the dining room for Easter. It looks like it will be another beautiful day outside today, so we will try to finish our lessons early, and get out the door!
Enjoy your day,
Melissa
Saturday, March 19, 2005
I am a day behind!
I started typing this yesterday, but never got around to posting it. But I must say, that it feels strange to be posting again, with NO COMMENTS on my previous post. It's like no one read it.....so go back and read it, O.K.? ;-)
This is what went on Saturday:
Today was a "guys day" of sorts. The men in this house got up this morning and headed straight for the basement. The weight set and nintendo game are all housed down there. As I understand it, Nintendo baseball is played in between "sets". Austin and Jack are not allowed to pump iron yet, but these boys can knock out an astonishing number of push-ups, with such correct form that it would make the best Marine shed a tear of pride. Austin also adds pull-ups and sit-ups to his work-out. While Race does it all. (I must say, that it seems a necessity that a house contain a place for the male species, as they get older, to hoot, holler, grunt, and sweat all by themselves.) This left Savannah and I to obtain some blissful quiet time for ourselves.
Later we were out the door for Savannah's ballet rehearsal for the "Petrushka" performance. Race, the boys, and myself headed to the batting cages. They started swinging away, while I went over across the street to "The Wooden Chair" and ordered the long awaited island for our kitchen. It should be in this week! When I went back over to the cages, the guys were still swinging. Austin was in the 60mph cage, and rarely lets anything get by. I can't believe how confident he is now with that bat! Jack was in the 30 mph cage swinging for all he was worth. A slugger in the making. That kid is fearless! It is just the cutest thing to see the little ones in those big helmets, swinging those bats. I will bring my camera next time, and share some pictures. Race was coaching and hitting. They were having a blast, and I was having a blast watching them. We want to say a HUGE "Thank-you" to Pap-Paw for encouraging the boys' interest in baseball and a GI-NORMOUS "Thank-you" for supplying their batting cage tokens.
When we finished up there, we headed back to watch Savannah's rehearsal. We all got to watch her for a bit, and then we all went out to eat a really late lunch.
This evening, Jack had out Austin's metal detector, hunting for treasure, (which he totally expected to find because he packed an "archeologists kit" with various brushes and things before he headed out). Savannah practiced with her bow some more. Race and Austin went to baseball practice, which went really well, again.
I made soup from everything left in our cupboard and freezer, as I once again avoided going to the grocery store. Actually it was really good, because everything that I had was from either my garden or mom's garden, so it turned out really well. And being the bread lover that I am, I even made, what I have coined "Poverty Muffins", to go with it. These muffins are really good, and they only take about 10 minutes to make. They too are for when you have nothing else left in the house. (recipe below) They were gobbled up instantly.
Jackson tried to take a bath with his crawdad (That's "crayfish" for you city folk) that he found in the creek yesterday. "But Mom! He's too crowded in the jar!" (sigh) Did I mention that he has already found a container of spiders????? Yes, for real.
Really Quick Poverty Muffins
2 cu self rising flour
1 tsp sugar
4 tbs Miracle Whip or Mayo
1 cu milk
Mix until smooth, pour into 12 cu. muffin tin and bake for 10 min at 425 degrees. That's it! They are fluffy and white and good!!
Have a good night,
Melissa
This is what went on Saturday:
Today was a "guys day" of sorts. The men in this house got up this morning and headed straight for the basement. The weight set and nintendo game are all housed down there. As I understand it, Nintendo baseball is played in between "sets". Austin and Jack are not allowed to pump iron yet, but these boys can knock out an astonishing number of push-ups, with such correct form that it would make the best Marine shed a tear of pride. Austin also adds pull-ups and sit-ups to his work-out. While Race does it all. (I must say, that it seems a necessity that a house contain a place for the male species, as they get older, to hoot, holler, grunt, and sweat all by themselves.) This left Savannah and I to obtain some blissful quiet time for ourselves.
Later we were out the door for Savannah's ballet rehearsal for the "Petrushka" performance. Race, the boys, and myself headed to the batting cages. They started swinging away, while I went over across the street to "The Wooden Chair" and ordered the long awaited island for our kitchen. It should be in this week! When I went back over to the cages, the guys were still swinging. Austin was in the 60mph cage, and rarely lets anything get by. I can't believe how confident he is now with that bat! Jack was in the 30 mph cage swinging for all he was worth. A slugger in the making. That kid is fearless! It is just the cutest thing to see the little ones in those big helmets, swinging those bats. I will bring my camera next time, and share some pictures. Race was coaching and hitting. They were having a blast, and I was having a blast watching them. We want to say a HUGE "Thank-you" to Pap-Paw for encouraging the boys' interest in baseball and a GI-NORMOUS "Thank-you" for supplying their batting cage tokens.
When we finished up there, we headed back to watch Savannah's rehearsal. We all got to watch her for a bit, and then we all went out to eat a really late lunch.
This evening, Jack had out Austin's metal detector, hunting for treasure, (which he totally expected to find because he packed an "archeologists kit" with various brushes and things before he headed out). Savannah practiced with her bow some more. Race and Austin went to baseball practice, which went really well, again.
I made soup from everything left in our cupboard and freezer, as I once again avoided going to the grocery store. Actually it was really good, because everything that I had was from either my garden or mom's garden, so it turned out really well. And being the bread lover that I am, I even made, what I have coined "Poverty Muffins", to go with it. These muffins are really good, and they only take about 10 minutes to make. They too are for when you have nothing else left in the house. (recipe below) They were gobbled up instantly.
Jackson tried to take a bath with his crawdad (That's "crayfish" for you city folk) that he found in the creek yesterday. "But Mom! He's too crowded in the jar!" (sigh) Did I mention that he has already found a container of spiders????? Yes, for real.
Really Quick Poverty Muffins
2 cu self rising flour
1 tsp sugar
4 tbs Miracle Whip or Mayo
1 cu milk
Mix until smooth, pour into 12 cu. muffin tin and bake for 10 min at 425 degrees. That's it! They are fluffy and white and good!!
Have a good night,
Melissa
From Friday
Before I talk about Friday, just a quick note from Thurs. evening. Race talked to his Mom that night. He said that she really didn't feel like talking very much.We both agreed that she just doesn't sound well at all.She has so much going on right now. I know that she reads this blog sometimes, so we wanted to let her know that we are worried and that we care about her so much. Let us know if it is something that we can help with.
I have a few random tid bits from Friday.
First of all, I finished the book, "The Hiding Place", by Corrie Ten Boom. If you have never read this book, please turn off your computer and run out and get yourself a copy right now. This book is one of those life changing page turners. Truly amazing, inspiring, and humbling. Excellent!
Yesterday, we didn't make it to the batting cages, because a certain 13 yr old boy decided that he would poke and drag out his lessons as loooonng as possible. Hopefully, lesson learned. We DID however manage to climb, and conquer "Trash Mtn.". (This is all of the trash that mounts up in our shed while Race is gone. I try folks, really I do. I just.....can't ......make...it...to..the...dump!) Anyway-Trash is gone and it feels good.
Jackson and Savannah got to get out and enjoy the weather by going on a hunt for various fungi, plants, and creatures to classify scientifically. They brought back everything from liverwort, to lichens, to crawdads. We managed to classify most of them. Fun stuff.
Race got to help Savannah practice with her bow. She twanged her arm for the first time, but took it like a trooper. She LOVES her long bow.
We barely got the boys to their Martial Arts class. We were running a little late (Due to "Trash Mtn." referenced above.) and we were all chattering along as we drove in the Suburban, when all of a sudden Jack let out a long howl of despair. Apparently some idiot went and changed the look of the Taco Bell that we pass on the way to class. They painted the building a new color (gasp!) AND they changed the look of their sign. He was genuinely upset. "It's just not the same, Mom", he said. Isn't it funny how some children are like that? I remember one time, I got my hair cut when he was 4 yrs. old. I came in the door, and he just burst into tears!
Race, Savannah and I went to Barnes and Noble. We perused books and drank coffee( except Savannah), until time to pick up the boys.
I talked to Dy last night while I fixed supper. I am so excited for this family! They are just going to love it in Alabama!
After dinner, I made two large bowls of popcorn, and some peanutbutter chip cookies, and we watched "The Incredibles". Hilarious movie.
It was a really good day.
Cheers!
Melissa
I have a few random tid bits from Friday.
First of all, I finished the book, "The Hiding Place", by Corrie Ten Boom. If you have never read this book, please turn off your computer and run out and get yourself a copy right now. This book is one of those life changing page turners. Truly amazing, inspiring, and humbling. Excellent!
Yesterday, we didn't make it to the batting cages, because a certain 13 yr old boy decided that he would poke and drag out his lessons as loooonng as possible. Hopefully, lesson learned. We DID however manage to climb, and conquer "Trash Mtn.". (This is all of the trash that mounts up in our shed while Race is gone. I try folks, really I do. I just.....can't ......make...it...to..the...dump!) Anyway-Trash is gone and it feels good.
Jackson and Savannah got to get out and enjoy the weather by going on a hunt for various fungi, plants, and creatures to classify scientifically. They brought back everything from liverwort, to lichens, to crawdads. We managed to classify most of them. Fun stuff.
Race got to help Savannah practice with her bow. She twanged her arm for the first time, but took it like a trooper. She LOVES her long bow.
We barely got the boys to their Martial Arts class. We were running a little late (Due to "Trash Mtn." referenced above.) and we were all chattering along as we drove in the Suburban, when all of a sudden Jack let out a long howl of despair. Apparently some idiot went and changed the look of the Taco Bell that we pass on the way to class. They painted the building a new color (gasp!) AND they changed the look of their sign. He was genuinely upset. "It's just not the same, Mom", he said. Isn't it funny how some children are like that? I remember one time, I got my hair cut when he was 4 yrs. old. I came in the door, and he just burst into tears!
Race, Savannah and I went to Barnes and Noble. We perused books and drank coffee( except Savannah), until time to pick up the boys.
I talked to Dy last night while I fixed supper. I am so excited for this family! They are just going to love it in Alabama!
After dinner, I made two large bowls of popcorn, and some peanutbutter chip cookies, and we watched "The Incredibles". Hilarious movie.
It was a really good day.
Cheers!
Melissa
Thursday, March 17, 2005
The Day
We had a tough time getting going this morning,( for one thing it snowed all morning!) but eventually we fell into somewhat of a routine....kinda. You see race is BACK. And right we are going through "The return phase". This is the phase that occurs when you are away from from your spouse for long stretches of time. When you are reunited it is wonderful.............and then you realize that somehow you have to remember how to co-habitate again. You know, fold one another into the day. It's like we would both like to say, "Honey, I love ya, I'm so glad that you're here..............but you're in my way."It is o.k. though, because we have done this for so many years now that we both understand how it goes. We expect it. It always takes a couple of days to get back into the swing of things! But today actually went great. Race got some work done from home, we got everyone's lessons done. BTW, if you have never seen a 13 year old boy hang upside down on the sofa, baseball & glove in hand (tossing and catching) reciting latin vocabulary and chants......well..........it's interesting. (That's O.K. right?) He can translate latin sentences into english WAY faster than his slow, addle-brained mother, so I guess it's sinking in.
We all went to a late lunch out, then went down by the James River to walk for a bit. Then it was on to ballet, martial arts and Jiu Jitsu. Baseball practice was cancelled because the field was too wet. All of the kids were excited because Dad got to watch them all! He was actually pretty excited too.
It was a good day. Our house feels full again, and that's a good thing. I am going to wrap it up early tonight, so that Race can give his dear Mom a call.
Good night,
Melissa
We all went to a late lunch out, then went down by the James River to walk for a bit. Then it was on to ballet, martial arts and Jiu Jitsu. Baseball practice was cancelled because the field was too wet. All of the kids were excited because Dad got to watch them all! He was actually pretty excited too.
It was a good day. Our house feels full again, and that's a good thing. I am going to wrap it up early tonight, so that Race can give his dear Mom a call.
Good night,
Melissa
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
Pictures from the weekend!
**More pic's of Savannah w/ her bow coming soon.
** Austin impressed the coach at his first baseball practice. Way to go A!!
Have a great day,
Melissa
** Austin impressed the coach at his first baseball practice. Way to go A!!
Have a great day,
Melissa
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
Back tracking...
On Saturday, the kids and I had a very busy morning, but by 3:00 we were on the road heading to Mam-maw and Pap-paws house. That evening, our good friends Dy, Charles and their 3 boys came for a visit. I won't be able to articulate properly what a gem this family is. I count myself among the fortunate to have been placed in the path of these folks. They have been such a blessing to us, and I have a feeling that there is probably a long line of people behind them who would say the same thing. This is the kind of family who seems to touch the lives of others wherever they go. They leave their mark, and it is a beautiful one. Now, before you read about our time with this family, bear in mind that this is only the 2nd time that we have ever gotten together, in person. These people make you feel like you've known them forever. How rare is THAT?
When they arrived, they had a surprise for Savannah. They had a long bow MADE especially for her. It has her name on it. Savannah has been interested in archery for about a year now. I felt completely inadequate to be able to help her with this. It was like a dark scary cave and I was afraid to go in there. Dy and Charles to the rescue! These guys just happened to be archery experts. They wasted no time in sharing their talent with Savannah. It was awesome. They jumped right in with both feet, just sharing what they knew. And then to go above and beyond to actually have a bow MADE for her? ( and these things aren't cheap, mind you) Well... let's just say that you don't run into folks like that every day. She was truly overwhelmed by their kindness. She has already been out shooting, and I hope to post some pictures when I get back home.
That evening we had 8 kids at the house ranging from 19 months all the way to 13 years old. And everyone got along. Everyone played together. Dy and I walked with James, Jack and Q to the pond just before dark. The spring peeper frogs were chirping loudly. The boys had a blast at the waters edge, and we didn't head up until dark. Jack had an awesome time playing with James.( As a matter of fact, on Monday, Jack found an owl pellet while he was out walking, and wanted desperately to be able to show it to James. Apparently, I was not quick enough with the camera, because his curiosity got the better of him and he had dissected it before I even knew.)
Austin showed John(4) how to play his baseball game on the Nintendo. No doubt little John now knows more about the inner workings of the game of baseball than his folks ever thought possible. Austin is a very thorough teacher. And little Jacob (Smidge) (19 mos), is just a joy. Such a content, happy baby!
We just had a wonderful time. If you are fortunate enough to ever run across people like these, just soak em' up and be blessed. God brought these folks into my life to be a blessing to me and to my family. And they have been. And when I take a step back and look at the timing of it all, I am amazed by God's grace to me.
Have a wonderful day,
Melissa
When they arrived, they had a surprise for Savannah. They had a long bow MADE especially for her. It has her name on it. Savannah has been interested in archery for about a year now. I felt completely inadequate to be able to help her with this. It was like a dark scary cave and I was afraid to go in there. Dy and Charles to the rescue! These guys just happened to be archery experts. They wasted no time in sharing their talent with Savannah. It was awesome. They jumped right in with both feet, just sharing what they knew. And then to go above and beyond to actually have a bow MADE for her? ( and these things aren't cheap, mind you) Well... let's just say that you don't run into folks like that every day. She was truly overwhelmed by their kindness. She has already been out shooting, and I hope to post some pictures when I get back home.
That evening we had 8 kids at the house ranging from 19 months all the way to 13 years old. And everyone got along. Everyone played together. Dy and I walked with James, Jack and Q to the pond just before dark. The spring peeper frogs were chirping loudly. The boys had a blast at the waters edge, and we didn't head up until dark. Jack had an awesome time playing with James.( As a matter of fact, on Monday, Jack found an owl pellet while he was out walking, and wanted desperately to be able to show it to James. Apparently, I was not quick enough with the camera, because his curiosity got the better of him and he had dissected it before I even knew.)
Austin showed John(4) how to play his baseball game on the Nintendo. No doubt little John now knows more about the inner workings of the game of baseball than his folks ever thought possible. Austin is a very thorough teacher. And little Jacob (Smidge) (19 mos), is just a joy. Such a content, happy baby!
We just had a wonderful time. If you are fortunate enough to ever run across people like these, just soak em' up and be blessed. God brought these folks into my life to be a blessing to me and to my family. And they have been. And when I take a step back and look at the timing of it all, I am amazed by God's grace to me.
Have a wonderful day,
Melissa
Race is back!
Yes, Race is home! We don't know for how long, but we are so glad that he is back! He has so many interesting stories to share, about a completely different part of the Middle East. This was a very different trip/job than he has done before, and offers fresh perspective on the view from that part of the world. I wish that I could tell specifics, here, but he won't let me. I did manage to wrestle from him that his interpreter in one country was a 20-something, respectfully out spoken, Palestinian BEAUTY! The family got together at Mom and Dads last night (minus Thomasina, who was missed). I was putting the pressure on Race to tell Em and T all about his beautiful Palestinian interpreter. His response? In rare sarcastic form, "Ohhh....no, babe." "That one's mine." Speaking of course of his cherished memory. He is a nut. And those of you who know him, know it's true!
I met him at the airport, and he had roses. He brought me a beautiful necklace from that part of the world. We got a chance to catch up, before we had to head back to mom and dad's to see the kids. It was all good. We are so happy to have him back!
Cheers!
Melissa
I met him at the airport, and he had roses. He brought me a beautiful necklace from that part of the world. We got a chance to catch up, before we had to head back to mom and dad's to see the kids. It was all good. We are so happy to have him back!
Cheers!
Melissa
Saturday, March 12, 2005
O.K. I think that my "comments" are working again. I couldn't leave any comments at all yesterday.
Well, I am sitting here at my computer, looking out the window, and the snow is just pouring down. Jack got into my bed early this morning because he was having a bad dream about a "giant octopus or squid, whose tenticles were trying to reach into our windows.......mumble, mumble, mumble". He is currently singing a song about "tooting"(rather loudly), so forgive me if this post seems a bit scattered. Anyway, the snow means that Austin will not be having his baseball clinic today. So, now we have to wait and see if Savannah's ballet rehersal is going to be cancelled, so we can get on the road and head to Mom and Dad's. At any rate this buys me a LOT more time to pack/ clean etc. than I would have had, so for that I am thankful.
I am reading "The Hiding Place" by Corrie Ten Boom. It is an incredible book and I can hardly put it down. She is deffinitely a spiritual giant. It is so humbling to read about her life.
Well, we got the boys hair cut at the mall last night. They look so handsome! I will try to get them to pose for a picture, so that I can post it.
We are hoping to get the opportunity to see Dy and her family today at Mom and Dads. (Her blog is the "Classical Adventures" over to the side). They are such a sweet family, and I just love getting together with them. I hope that the weather will hold out for us today.
O.K., I am going to end this here, because this is just like the most boring Blog.....ever. I'm sorry. I can not think about ANYTHING else but Race coming home. Seriously, folks. That's it. I can't put together a complete sentence right now, let alone anything articulate. I will try to post pictures later.
Y'all have a great weekend!
Melissa
Well, I am sitting here at my computer, looking out the window, and the snow is just pouring down. Jack got into my bed early this morning because he was having a bad dream about a "giant octopus or squid, whose tenticles were trying to reach into our windows.......mumble, mumble, mumble". He is currently singing a song about "tooting"(rather loudly), so forgive me if this post seems a bit scattered. Anyway, the snow means that Austin will not be having his baseball clinic today. So, now we have to wait and see if Savannah's ballet rehersal is going to be cancelled, so we can get on the road and head to Mom and Dad's. At any rate this buys me a LOT more time to pack/ clean etc. than I would have had, so for that I am thankful.
I am reading "The Hiding Place" by Corrie Ten Boom. It is an incredible book and I can hardly put it down. She is deffinitely a spiritual giant. It is so humbling to read about her life.
Well, we got the boys hair cut at the mall last night. They look so handsome! I will try to get them to pose for a picture, so that I can post it.
We are hoping to get the opportunity to see Dy and her family today at Mom and Dads. (Her blog is the "Classical Adventures" over to the side). They are such a sweet family, and I just love getting together with them. I hope that the weather will hold out for us today.
O.K., I am going to end this here, because this is just like the most boring Blog.....ever. I'm sorry. I can not think about ANYTHING else but Race coming home. Seriously, folks. That's it. I can't put together a complete sentence right now, let alone anything articulate. I will try to post pictures later.
Y'all have a great weekend!
Melissa
Friday, March 11, 2005
I can't believe it's FRIDAY!
WOW. This week really flew. I have thought about blogging over the past 2 days, but to be honest, I haven't been able to think about anything else except Race returning home. Which, if all goes as planned won't be too much longer.
My sister Thomasina, saved the day for me again. She was letting everyone spend the night with her Wednesday night, so that I could get to my 9am hair appt. . At lunch time, I was heading back toward her house when she called with the news that Jack wasn't feeling good. So I went out to pick them up, got them some lunch, and headed home after a quick stop for gingerale (the magical "sick tonic" at our house). I sent Jack straight to bed in my room. He vehemently protested this request for about 5 minutes......and was asleep. I believe that he had what would best be explained as a "little kid hang-over". I mean this child was bouncing off the walls all day Wednesday at the thought of being able to spend the night at "Aunt Thomasina's Rockin' Party House". I mean we are talking about a night filled with movies, chips, dip, candy, and all the soda that you can handle. And since my children view Aunt Thomasina as an equal, (you know,one of their pack, NOT an alpha wolf), there would be very few restrictions or limitations on the evening. So, for Jack, just the anticipation of such an evening just about killed him. He was spent.
Thomasina was kind enough to take Savannah and Austin to their lessons for me, so that Jack could rest and sip bloody mary's (kidding- he slept for about 5 hrs!). Anyway, she saved the day for me. I am SOOooo thankful to have family close by. Race has always been gone a lot, and all of these years up until now, if something went wrong, I had to call on the kindness of others to help me out. And since we were dirt poor, stuff seemed to happened a lot. I mean, I can't tell you how many times I prayed for all I was worth that I had enough gas in the car, or that the tires would hold out a little bit longer, or that we would be able to get the A.C. fixed. But, you know, stuff happens, and God always supplies enough. It is not lost on me, what a blessing it is to have family near. I am very, very thankful for it.
I got to do a little shopping yesterday, and use up some gift cards that I have been saving since Christmas. It was heavenly. I have had a wardrobe filled with nothing but black, khaki, and white, for about the last .........what? .......10 years? So it was exhilarating to walk into the stores and see all of the beautiful feminine styles and COLORS!! Pink is everywhere! I love it. Big hair, bright colors....I tell you it is the return of the 80's folks (oh, be still my heart!)
It was a fun day, but you know, I've noticed something. When my kids were little, I would LONG for a day to myself. I mean, in the eyes of a mother of babies, that is like the equivalent of a 2 wk beach vacation. But now.......well, the kids don't really need me to do the same sort of things for them. I am no longer exhausted from DOING for them. So a night to ones self (without ones spouse), is ....well.... it's just kinda lonely. I missed their COMPANY. Huh. Who knew?
We have a busy day ahead of us. School lessons, then Martial Arts, and then hair cuts for these shaggy headed boys. To bed early for us tonight, because Austin has to be at the ball field at 8:45 am tomorrow. I will be running the shuttle between ball field and ballet rehearsal tomorrow, and then it will be off to Mam-maw and Pap-paw's! woo-hoo! I can't wait to get there.
Hope that everyone has a great day!
Melissa
My sister Thomasina, saved the day for me again. She was letting everyone spend the night with her Wednesday night, so that I could get to my 9am hair appt. . At lunch time, I was heading back toward her house when she called with the news that Jack wasn't feeling good. So I went out to pick them up, got them some lunch, and headed home after a quick stop for gingerale (the magical "sick tonic" at our house). I sent Jack straight to bed in my room. He vehemently protested this request for about 5 minutes......and was asleep. I believe that he had what would best be explained as a "little kid hang-over". I mean this child was bouncing off the walls all day Wednesday at the thought of being able to spend the night at "Aunt Thomasina's Rockin' Party House". I mean we are talking about a night filled with movies, chips, dip, candy, and all the soda that you can handle. And since my children view Aunt Thomasina as an equal, (you know,one of their pack, NOT an alpha wolf), there would be very few restrictions or limitations on the evening. So, for Jack, just the anticipation of such an evening just about killed him. He was spent.
Thomasina was kind enough to take Savannah and Austin to their lessons for me, so that Jack could rest and sip bloody mary's (kidding- he slept for about 5 hrs!). Anyway, she saved the day for me. I am SOOooo thankful to have family close by. Race has always been gone a lot, and all of these years up until now, if something went wrong, I had to call on the kindness of others to help me out. And since we were dirt poor, stuff seemed to happened a lot. I mean, I can't tell you how many times I prayed for all I was worth that I had enough gas in the car, or that the tires would hold out a little bit longer, or that we would be able to get the A.C. fixed. But, you know, stuff happens, and God always supplies enough. It is not lost on me, what a blessing it is to have family near. I am very, very thankful for it.
I got to do a little shopping yesterday, and use up some gift cards that I have been saving since Christmas. It was heavenly. I have had a wardrobe filled with nothing but black, khaki, and white, for about the last .........what? .......10 years? So it was exhilarating to walk into the stores and see all of the beautiful feminine styles and COLORS!! Pink is everywhere! I love it. Big hair, bright colors....I tell you it is the return of the 80's folks (oh, be still my heart!)
It was a fun day, but you know, I've noticed something. When my kids were little, I would LONG for a day to myself. I mean, in the eyes of a mother of babies, that is like the equivalent of a 2 wk beach vacation. But now.......well, the kids don't really need me to do the same sort of things for them. I am no longer exhausted from DOING for them. So a night to ones self (without ones spouse), is ....well.... it's just kinda lonely. I missed their COMPANY. Huh. Who knew?
We have a busy day ahead of us. School lessons, then Martial Arts, and then hair cuts for these shaggy headed boys. To bed early for us tonight, because Austin has to be at the ball field at 8:45 am tomorrow. I will be running the shuttle between ball field and ballet rehearsal tomorrow, and then it will be off to Mam-maw and Pap-paw's! woo-hoo! I can't wait to get there.
Hope that everyone has a great day!
Melissa
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
Back to my regular shallow blogging........
Do y'all hear that? That's the lovely sound of my brand new dish washer cleaning my dirty dishes. Yep, my neighbor came by tonight and installed it for me. He had his 9 yr old in tow, so Jack and he played the whole time that they were here.
Today is a bit of a blur. We got through all of our lessons with relative ease, and the boys got to their Martial arts classes. Savannah and I went to Barnes and Noble for coffee and books( O.K., she didn't get coffee, she got cool, frothy, whipped creamy thing). I made myself finish the book "Abraham" and was less than impressed with it. However, I did learn a bit more about Judaism and Islam and the history of each. But reading the writings of a Jewish guy on the topic of Christianity...........well, lets just say he just doesn't get it. Wow. Anyway, now I picked up a copy of "The Hiding Place", by Corrie Ten Boom. I am REALLY looking forward to curling up with that book tonight. And of course..........I am technically still reading "Don Quixote". I have been reading it for a little over a year now (don't laugh, it's true). I am totally bogged down about 3/4 of the way through! I have been reading the book "Adam of the Road" out loud to the kids. It's pretty good, but so far no where near as good as "Otto of the Silver Hand", which we HIGHLY recommend. There is a lot of really great fiction for the Middle Ages.
Can I just say that I am tired? I am so ready for Race to be home for a bit. I feel like the OTHER mechanical toy( not the bunny) on those Energizer commercials. I am just starting.......... to....... slow........ down. Also, I took the kids to see "The Incredibles" the other night. GREAT family movie! We loved it! But, for me, the evening was marred by an incredible sicko, who took to stalking us from the time we got out of the car.What a freak. Everything ended fine, everyone is safe, I did what I was supposed to do, but you know, that kind of stuff can shake you up a little. I have filled out my concealed weapon permit, and await my husbands return to have it fully processed. It will be nice to be legal ;-).
O.K. here is your warning: COMPLETELY SELF ABSORBED,VAIN, FAT BLOG TO FOLLOW: (Race, if you're reading....STOP.seriously)
I have NEVER had to worry about my weight. Even after kids. It has just never been a problem. Well......It’s happened. They always tell you that it will hit you in your mid thirties. I am forced, as of late, to admit several things:
* My “fat jeans” are no longer my “fat jeans”.
* My old, dust covered scale confirmed what I already knew: I have gained weight.
* Those low-rise jeans are actually more comfortable than you think. They allow excess belly fat to flow over the top of the waist band. Quite convenient.
* My butt has taken to sliding down the back of my thighs so far, that it is no longer recognizable.
* I can no longer continue my current habit of downing several vanilla latte’s or mocha’s a week without it showing.
* I MUST WORK-OUT. This is no longer an option (shudder).
* I am not firm, I am flabby.
* I must get out my……. STEP. I must get out my …(dare I say it) my FIRM tapes (double shudder).
Now, look, I am still a ways off from "fat", but I ask you.....dare I look the other way?? Dare I ignore the tell tale signs of age and a slowing metabolism?
“Ohhh……help. Help. Oh woe is me. Oh damn that slippery, slippery eel called “Motivation”. Will you ever be within my grasp?” Spring……summer….. shorts……. SWIM SUITS!!! Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
O.K. I feel better. I really needed to let that out. AND I have been working out. Which is good. The bad thing is that I can't tell if it is muscle or swelling that I am seeing right now. Can we say, "Out- of- Shape" ? Seriously, it's killin' me. But I'm doing it. Yep, I'm doin' it. I'm hatin' it, but I'm doin it. That's good, right? How do you stay motivated??
Have a great night,
Melissa ( I'm not fat, I'm just big boned.)
Today is a bit of a blur. We got through all of our lessons with relative ease, and the boys got to their Martial arts classes. Savannah and I went to Barnes and Noble for coffee and books( O.K., she didn't get coffee, she got cool, frothy, whipped creamy thing). I made myself finish the book "Abraham" and was less than impressed with it. However, I did learn a bit more about Judaism and Islam and the history of each. But reading the writings of a Jewish guy on the topic of Christianity...........well, lets just say he just doesn't get it. Wow. Anyway, now I picked up a copy of "The Hiding Place", by Corrie Ten Boom. I am REALLY looking forward to curling up with that book tonight. And of course..........I am technically still reading "Don Quixote". I have been reading it for a little over a year now (don't laugh, it's true). I am totally bogged down about 3/4 of the way through! I have been reading the book "Adam of the Road" out loud to the kids. It's pretty good, but so far no where near as good as "Otto of the Silver Hand", which we HIGHLY recommend. There is a lot of really great fiction for the Middle Ages.
Can I just say that I am tired? I am so ready for Race to be home for a bit. I feel like the OTHER mechanical toy( not the bunny) on those Energizer commercials. I am just starting.......... to....... slow........ down. Also, I took the kids to see "The Incredibles" the other night. GREAT family movie! We loved it! But, for me, the evening was marred by an incredible sicko, who took to stalking us from the time we got out of the car.What a freak. Everything ended fine, everyone is safe, I did what I was supposed to do, but you know, that kind of stuff can shake you up a little. I have filled out my concealed weapon permit, and await my husbands return to have it fully processed. It will be nice to be legal ;-).
O.K. here is your warning: COMPLETELY SELF ABSORBED,VAIN, FAT BLOG TO FOLLOW: (Race, if you're reading....STOP.seriously)
I have NEVER had to worry about my weight. Even after kids. It has just never been a problem. Well......It’s happened. They always tell you that it will hit you in your mid thirties. I am forced, as of late, to admit several things:
* My “fat jeans” are no longer my “fat jeans”.
* My old, dust covered scale confirmed what I already knew: I have gained weight.
* Those low-rise jeans are actually more comfortable than you think. They allow excess belly fat to flow over the top of the waist band. Quite convenient.
* My butt has taken to sliding down the back of my thighs so far, that it is no longer recognizable.
* I can no longer continue my current habit of downing several vanilla latte’s or mocha’s a week without it showing.
* I MUST WORK-OUT. This is no longer an option (shudder).
* I am not firm, I am flabby.
* I must get out my……. STEP. I must get out my …(dare I say it) my FIRM tapes (double shudder).
Now, look, I am still a ways off from "fat", but I ask you.....dare I look the other way?? Dare I ignore the tell tale signs of age and a slowing metabolism?
“Ohhh……help. Help. Oh woe is me. Oh damn that slippery, slippery eel called “Motivation”. Will you ever be within my grasp?” Spring……summer….. shorts……. SWIM SUITS!!! Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
O.K. I feel better. I really needed to let that out. AND I have been working out. Which is good. The bad thing is that I can't tell if it is muscle or swelling that I am seeing right now. Can we say, "Out- of- Shape" ? Seriously, it's killin' me. But I'm doing it. Yep, I'm doin' it. I'm hatin' it, but I'm doin it. That's good, right? How do you stay motivated??
Have a great night,
Melissa ( I'm not fat, I'm just big boned.)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNT D. !!
I would like to wish my Aunt Delores a Very Happy belated birthday. I hope that you had a good one! Have a great day today too!
Love,
"Race", Melissa, Austin, Savannah, and Jack
Love,
"Race", Melissa, Austin, Savannah, and Jack
Monday, March 07, 2005
Finding a new balance
I've been thinking a lot about my little corner of the world lately. I like it, it is comfortable. But it is not all that it could be. I find myself in a new stage of my life with children ages 13,11, and 7. When they were little, so much of my job revolved around their physical needs. I just kept on changing diapers, cleaning up messes, cleaning up messes.....etc. etc. All the while guiding and training (and calling my Mom) hoping I was "doing it right". We were always trying to make ends meet, and one of the best ways that we found to do that was to stay home. So we did. We took walks, we played outside, we played in the creek, we had a garden, we tried our luck with chickens, then ducks, then rabbits. We stayed busy. We saved money in ingenious ways to go on vacation. We were creative in how we spent our time.
I find myself in a different spot now. We are on the go. We have more. We do more. The older ones need this time, and I think that it is an important part of their growth and learning( Just like raising baby animals was an important part). They are trying out new found skills and learning about competition. It is wonderful to watch this process and the timing of it just feels right. The younger one gets pulled along and definitely is "wiser to the world "than his brother and sister were at his age, but still, with effort, we seem to strike an agreeable balance between getting to accompany big brother and big sister to all of their activities, and still having time to just run around outside and play with sticks in the dirt (which I happen to believe is an integral part of childhood!).
But as I assess this new stage, I find that it is lacking. I run these children all over the place. I watch them try their hardest at different skills, and try to attain goals that they set. I cheer for them when they excel, and my heart aches for them when they struggle. We are very busy. We are,by most standards, very productive. But we are missing something. We are not doing enough for OTHERS. In our world today, people praise you for being a Mom who takes her kids to activities. Big Deal. I DO NOT want to be that Mom that slaps the soccer ball sticker on her car, and drags her kids all over creation, all the while patting herself on the back for being such a good Mom. Producing completely self absorbed little humans to introduce into the fray of a society already over burdened with such thinking. That's just not what it's about.
I know that the Lord is dealing with me on these very issues, and I am trying to sort it out. I need to do more to guide these children in doing for others, as a servant of God. Isn't it the truly wretched and unwanted that God wants us to love? To make that special effort? The ones whom society has cast aside? I am uncertain where to find my new balance. Perhaps it won't be very comfortable. Perhaps it isn't supposed to be. But this is a big one, and it is our job as parents to see that these children are given the tools and the guidance that they need to serve God. I'm not sure yet, how we will proceed, but I know that God's grace is sufficient for the task. How do you do it? Prayers and advice are appreciated!
good night,
Melissa
I find myself in a different spot now. We are on the go. We have more. We do more. The older ones need this time, and I think that it is an important part of their growth and learning( Just like raising baby animals was an important part). They are trying out new found skills and learning about competition. It is wonderful to watch this process and the timing of it just feels right. The younger one gets pulled along and definitely is "wiser to the world "than his brother and sister were at his age, but still, with effort, we seem to strike an agreeable balance between getting to accompany big brother and big sister to all of their activities, and still having time to just run around outside and play with sticks in the dirt (which I happen to believe is an integral part of childhood!).
But as I assess this new stage, I find that it is lacking. I run these children all over the place. I watch them try their hardest at different skills, and try to attain goals that they set. I cheer for them when they excel, and my heart aches for them when they struggle. We are very busy. We are,by most standards, very productive. But we are missing something. We are not doing enough for OTHERS. In our world today, people praise you for being a Mom who takes her kids to activities. Big Deal. I DO NOT want to be that Mom that slaps the soccer ball sticker on her car, and drags her kids all over creation, all the while patting herself on the back for being such a good Mom. Producing completely self absorbed little humans to introduce into the fray of a society already over burdened with such thinking. That's just not what it's about.
I know that the Lord is dealing with me on these very issues, and I am trying to sort it out. I need to do more to guide these children in doing for others, as a servant of God. Isn't it the truly wretched and unwanted that God wants us to love? To make that special effort? The ones whom society has cast aside? I am uncertain where to find my new balance. Perhaps it won't be very comfortable. Perhaps it isn't supposed to be. But this is a big one, and it is our job as parents to see that these children are given the tools and the guidance that they need to serve God. I'm not sure yet, how we will proceed, but I know that God's grace is sufficient for the task. How do you do it? Prayers and advice are appreciated!
good night,
Melissa
Sunday, March 06, 2005
Highlights
We had some very nice things happen this weekend. Race called, which is always good. He is doing fine. It is difficult to have ANY kind of real conversation, because all of his calls are being recorded.........and not by US! So, that makes it hard. But still it is always great to get a call and know that all is well.
On Saturday, we went to the "Rock Garden". This is a rock collecting hobby-turned-business that is just a really cool place to visit if you are interested in rocks and minerals. Jack has been pestering me to go by there so that he could show the owner a rock that he found. Jack was certain that the stripe in the rock was silver. I explained that it wasn't, but I am no geologist, and he knows that, and therefor I am not qualified to make a conclusive judgement on the subject. ( This child has also questioned my qualifications for being his teacher, as well.) Soooo off to the "rock store" we go. It really is a cool place, and the "rock guy" is very knowledgable, and only slightly creepy. "Rock guy" was kind enough to REALLY examine Jacks rock. He was looking at it closely, taking his time, ("Rock Guy" never hurries) while Jack stood there, breathless, already counting his $$ in his head. "Rock guy" gave him the scientific name for his rock, and explained the silver streak in it with great detail. We looked around the tiny store, and got the obligatory "Bag o' Rocks" as well as a box of labled,sample rocks and minerals found in VA , to hopefully be able to identify the rocks ourselves from here on out. Thanks, "Rock Guy", for not brushing off my kid. The next time we go back, maybe we'll get his name.
The kids and I ate at out at one of our favorite little spots, called Sundae Grill. Burgers, hot dogs, and ice cream....good stuff. We window shopped at Toys R Us and TJMaxx (O.K., I did get a good deal on a pair of running shoes, but THAT'S no fun).
The other really great thing that happened this weekend, was that we got a visit from family! My brother-in-law Todd was in town with the little boys in tow. What a great guy! Taking those little guys on his own to visit the grandparents. (O.K., Em is great too, but this is about Todd. ) But wait. That's not all. He came by our house on thier way out of town, and took Austin out to the ball field to practice! I can not tell you how awesome that was for Austin. With his Dad being away so much, he doesn't get to practice with anyone else much ( I sure as heck am not getting my head ripped off with one of those pitches!), so this was just great for him. Race and I really appreciate that. While they were playing ball, we got to play with the boys, Q and W. We had such a great time with them. They were so good! I had made some home made soft pretzels right before they got here, and they gobbled those right up. We all had a great time playing with them. Em and Todd are doing such a great job with those little ones.
As an aside: I was lamenting to my sister about Race's job, and him being away so much, and how I just need to get used to it, and stop expecting it to slow down. And she said, "Well, Melissa what do you expect when you go and marry Johnny-Bad-Ass??". I thought that I would bust a gut laughing at that. For those of you who don't know her, she is totally joking, and loves Race to death. And for those of you who do know, well, I will leave you guessing as to which sister said it.(Oooooooo.......tough one.)
Well, that is the good stuff from the weekend. I am still feeling really worn out and a little run down. And I have several blog topics stewing in my head, but haven't found the energy to put them together in a cohesive manner as of yet. But, it will come.
Have a great Monday,
Melissa
On Saturday, we went to the "Rock Garden". This is a rock collecting hobby-turned-business that is just a really cool place to visit if you are interested in rocks and minerals. Jack has been pestering me to go by there so that he could show the owner a rock that he found. Jack was certain that the stripe in the rock was silver. I explained that it wasn't, but I am no geologist, and he knows that, and therefor I am not qualified to make a conclusive judgement on the subject. ( This child has also questioned my qualifications for being his teacher, as well.) Soooo off to the "rock store" we go. It really is a cool place, and the "rock guy" is very knowledgable, and only slightly creepy. "Rock guy" was kind enough to REALLY examine Jacks rock. He was looking at it closely, taking his time, ("Rock Guy" never hurries) while Jack stood there, breathless, already counting his $$ in his head. "Rock guy" gave him the scientific name for his rock, and explained the silver streak in it with great detail. We looked around the tiny store, and got the obligatory "Bag o' Rocks" as well as a box of labled,sample rocks and minerals found in VA , to hopefully be able to identify the rocks ourselves from here on out. Thanks, "Rock Guy", for not brushing off my kid. The next time we go back, maybe we'll get his name.
The kids and I ate at out at one of our favorite little spots, called Sundae Grill. Burgers, hot dogs, and ice cream....good stuff. We window shopped at Toys R Us and TJMaxx (O.K., I did get a good deal on a pair of running shoes, but THAT'S no fun).
The other really great thing that happened this weekend, was that we got a visit from family! My brother-in-law Todd was in town with the little boys in tow. What a great guy! Taking those little guys on his own to visit the grandparents. (O.K., Em is great too, but this is about Todd. ) But wait. That's not all. He came by our house on thier way out of town, and took Austin out to the ball field to practice! I can not tell you how awesome that was for Austin. With his Dad being away so much, he doesn't get to practice with anyone else much ( I sure as heck am not getting my head ripped off with one of those pitches!), so this was just great for him. Race and I really appreciate that. While they were playing ball, we got to play with the boys, Q and W. We had such a great time with them. They were so good! I had made some home made soft pretzels right before they got here, and they gobbled those right up. We all had a great time playing with them. Em and Todd are doing such a great job with those little ones.
As an aside: I was lamenting to my sister about Race's job, and him being away so much, and how I just need to get used to it, and stop expecting it to slow down. And she said, "Well, Melissa what do you expect when you go and marry Johnny-Bad-Ass??". I thought that I would bust a gut laughing at that. For those of you who don't know her, she is totally joking, and loves Race to death. And for those of you who do know, well, I will leave you guessing as to which sister said it.(Oooooooo.......tough one.)
Well, that is the good stuff from the weekend. I am still feeling really worn out and a little run down. And I have several blog topics stewing in my head, but haven't found the energy to put them together in a cohesive manner as of yet. But, it will come.
Have a great Monday,
Melissa
Saturday, March 05, 2005
Really Quick
Jack has decided that he and Scout are headed for the circus. That's right. He and his faithful brown lab are headed for the big tents. Jack believes that his dog is incredibly talented, and after "training" him for .........oh......say.........10 minutes yesterday, he was convinced, "This dog needs to perform". If you could meet this dog, you would KNOW how funny this is. But his mind is made up, and we'll miss 'em.
I thought that I should also say that yesterday was a much better day for our school lessons. Something supernatural must have happened to Austin overnight, because he rediscovered all of his math knowledge. YAY! He is sailing through Latin. he really likes it. We had review yesterday and he had to define and conjugate 15 verbs and decline 20 nouns. No problem. I am wondering how much formal grammar we need on top of Latin. It seems to do the job of teaching grammar in a much more thorough fashion. Everyone is liking Spanish and I think that they are doing quite well. However, as they advance we are going to need to hire someone once a week just to converse with them only in Spanish to help make them fluent. Until you are forced to use the brain to respond in that foriegn language, I don't think that it will be of much use. We'll see how that goes.
Savannah has ballet rehearsals today for the "PETRUSHKA" ballet. That will run for 2 hours, so the boys and I might peruse the antique stores down town today. It is raining and kind of gross out here, so we might even take in a movie later this afternoon, (which is a rare event for us).
I am SO ready for Spring. Also, I worked out this morning. For real. You have NO idea what a big deal that is for me, but I will save my "fat blog" for another time, and I will give you proper warning.
I heard that our Gammy was spotted dining out and having her hair done. This was on the way HOME from the hospital!! Way to go Gammy! That's how I want to be when I am 91!!! A woman with her priorities straight!
Race, we miss you terribly. Stay safe. Resist the conversion attempts......(that's a joke y'all).
Have a wonderful weekend,
Melissa
I thought that I should also say that yesterday was a much better day for our school lessons. Something supernatural must have happened to Austin overnight, because he rediscovered all of his math knowledge. YAY! He is sailing through Latin. he really likes it. We had review yesterday and he had to define and conjugate 15 verbs and decline 20 nouns. No problem. I am wondering how much formal grammar we need on top of Latin. It seems to do the job of teaching grammar in a much more thorough fashion. Everyone is liking Spanish and I think that they are doing quite well. However, as they advance we are going to need to hire someone once a week just to converse with them only in Spanish to help make them fluent. Until you are forced to use the brain to respond in that foriegn language, I don't think that it will be of much use. We'll see how that goes.
Savannah has ballet rehearsals today for the "PETRUSHKA" ballet. That will run for 2 hours, so the boys and I might peruse the antique stores down town today. It is raining and kind of gross out here, so we might even take in a movie later this afternoon, (which is a rare event for us).
I am SO ready for Spring. Also, I worked out this morning. For real. You have NO idea what a big deal that is for me, but I will save my "fat blog" for another time, and I will give you proper warning.
I heard that our Gammy was spotted dining out and having her hair done. This was on the way HOME from the hospital!! Way to go Gammy! That's how I want to be when I am 91!!! A woman with her priorities straight!
Race, we miss you terribly. Stay safe. Resist the conversion attempts......(that's a joke y'all).
Have a wonderful weekend,
Melissa
Friday, March 04, 2005
Race called! When I answered the phone, you could hear the calls to prayer from the mosque that was located right beside his room. ( And yes, it is O.K. for me to share that...I checked.) It is a strange sound, and one that we are not used to in this country. The calls and their echoes continued for the duration of our phone call. Race told me that he found out that they were being followed and had to "bust" the 4 guys who were doing it. Yikes! His life seems so James Bond-ish, and mine seems so Carol Brady-ish. Please keep him in your prayers.
I made it through the day yesterday, but it was a tough one. Our school lessons took extra long. For some reason, Austin forgot ALL of the math that he had ever learned..ever. We rushed (I hate rushing) out the door for ballet and martial arts, got everyone to thier lessons, and picked back up, we got dinner, and then I had to go to the parents meeting for Dixie Youth Baseball. Austin starts playing ball on the 12th of March, with a baseball clinic. I also found out that practices will be held every Tues. and Thurs. at 8:00!!! Am I the only one that thinks that is late?? Anyway, yesterday was a long one, and I am glad that it is done. I am just feeling worn out. It was one of those days that we didn't particularly get enough time to really stop and savour anything that we were doing. Just cross it off the list and move on. I am, however, so thankful that Race got me the suburban. I really love that car. It makes all of the time that we spend in it SO much easier. I haven't forgotten what it is like NOT to have a reliable car. I truly count it as a blessing.
Savannah is doing SO well in ballet, and she is really enjoying herself. I am beaming for her! She is really growing up so fast. Today she took time out from what she was doing to help Jack with his reading. Jack had decided that his first chapter book would be "Hank the Cowdog". He was intimidated though, to make the leap from the "little" books that he had been reading. Savannah helped him to read some of the "Hank" book that she had. They were BOTH so proud! Isn't that great?
In a somewhat related incident, I was busy teaching Jack his math lesson, and Savannah had a question about her math. Austin just jumped right in and helped her to understand it....no big deal. That kind of stuff just makes you know that you must be doing SOMETHING right.
Jack is really missing his Dad. We all are, but it really is showing in him. He just hasn't been his same happy-go-lucky- self over the past several days.
I wanted to say "thanks" to Dy who let me keep her on the phone last night long enough to get all of my dishes washed! Thank-you! Thank-you! My sink is clean even though my "Nautilus" is currently still being hauled around in the suburban. She and her family will get a much needed reprieve this week and that is ALWAYS a good thing. But we will miss them at the Art Gallery!
Y'all have a great day,
Melissa
I made it through the day yesterday, but it was a tough one. Our school lessons took extra long. For some reason, Austin forgot ALL of the math that he had ever learned..ever. We rushed (I hate rushing) out the door for ballet and martial arts, got everyone to thier lessons, and picked back up, we got dinner, and then I had to go to the parents meeting for Dixie Youth Baseball. Austin starts playing ball on the 12th of March, with a baseball clinic. I also found out that practices will be held every Tues. and Thurs. at 8:00!!! Am I the only one that thinks that is late?? Anyway, yesterday was a long one, and I am glad that it is done. I am just feeling worn out. It was one of those days that we didn't particularly get enough time to really stop and savour anything that we were doing. Just cross it off the list and move on. I am, however, so thankful that Race got me the suburban. I really love that car. It makes all of the time that we spend in it SO much easier. I haven't forgotten what it is like NOT to have a reliable car. I truly count it as a blessing.
Savannah is doing SO well in ballet, and she is really enjoying herself. I am beaming for her! She is really growing up so fast. Today she took time out from what she was doing to help Jack with his reading. Jack had decided that his first chapter book would be "Hank the Cowdog". He was intimidated though, to make the leap from the "little" books that he had been reading. Savannah helped him to read some of the "Hank" book that she had. They were BOTH so proud! Isn't that great?
In a somewhat related incident, I was busy teaching Jack his math lesson, and Savannah had a question about her math. Austin just jumped right in and helped her to understand it....no big deal. That kind of stuff just makes you know that you must be doing SOMETHING right.
Jack is really missing his Dad. We all are, but it really is showing in him. He just hasn't been his same happy-go-lucky- self over the past several days.
I wanted to say "thanks" to Dy who let me keep her on the phone last night long enough to get all of my dishes washed! Thank-you! Thank-you! My sink is clean even though my "Nautilus" is currently still being hauled around in the suburban. She and her family will get a much needed reprieve this week and that is ALWAYS a good thing. But we will miss them at the Art Gallery!
Y'all have a great day,
Melissa
Thursday, March 03, 2005
From Elizabeth Elliott:
This really spoke to me this morning, so I thought that I would share it:
"He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed (Prv 11:25). "If you...satisfy the needs of the wretched...the Lord will satisfy your needs" (Is 58:10,11 NEB).
Do you often feel like parched ground, unable to produce anything worthwhile? I do. When I am in need of refreshment, it isn't easy to think of the needs of others. But I have found that if, instead of praying for my own comfort and satisfaction, I ask the Lord to enable me to give to others, an amazing thing often happens--I find my own needs wonderfully met. Refreshment comes in ways I would never have thought of, both for others, and then, incidentally, for myself.
Lord, be as the dew to me today, as You were to Israel, that I may "flower like the lily" (Hos 14:5 NEB). "
"He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed (Prv 11:25). "If you...satisfy the needs of the wretched...the Lord will satisfy your needs" (Is 58:10,11 NEB).
Do you often feel like parched ground, unable to produce anything worthwhile? I do. When I am in need of refreshment, it isn't easy to think of the needs of others. But I have found that if, instead of praying for my own comfort and satisfaction, I ask the Lord to enable me to give to others, an amazing thing often happens--I find my own needs wonderfully met. Refreshment comes in ways I would never have thought of, both for others, and then, incidentally, for myself.
Lord, be as the dew to me today, as You were to Israel, that I may "flower like the lily" (Hos 14:5 NEB). "
What? Is it Thursday already?
O.K. Yesterday was so busy, and the rest of the week ahead just looks like a blur. I did get my hair cut. I will live. AND I am going to have my color done next week which is supposed to take about 3 HOURS!! Ack! Hopefully it will all turn out, and I will look smashing when Race returns home. Thomasina got in an art lesson with Savannah while I was gone, and Jack and Austin are both on the mend now. We cleaned the house furiously after lunch, and brought it back to a much more pleasing state of existence. Then I was struck by the overwhelming desire to go and check out the new store Burlington Coat factory which just opened up here in town. This was at 3:00!! I rarely ever leave the house voluntarily in the afternoon. I was able to incite excitement among the children by the lure of a previously unexplored toy department. You just don't know WHAT could be there! I LOVE that store! Oh the bargains! But I resisted the temptation of all of those cute strappy heels for spring...........for now. We ended up going to Barnes and Noble (picked up a new science book, and of course.....a coffee), Target (whose toy dept. is grandly superior to Bur. Coat Factory, in case you are wondering), Wal-Mart (forgot my list and had to wing it), Lowes (I am now hauling a GE Nautilus dishwasher around in the back of the suburban), and Taco Bell. The kids had taken their money, and acquired a few very important items. Jack got a pack of baseball cards and a cool new "squishy lizard", Savannah got a bargain on a stuffed Donald Duck toy, and Austin purchased a new baseball mag, 2 packs of cards, and more card pages to hold them. As I look back over this, I realize that I passed up the cute shoes, but bought a SCIENCE book? What does this say about me? WHO am I?
Today is going to be LONG. We have lessons, ballet, 2 hrs of martial arts, and then a Parents meeting for baseball......it starts.
Also, if you should have a GE Nautilus dishwasher, and you hate it..? I don't want to know. Thanks.
I wanted to let Gammy know that we are thinking about her and praying for her. Get well soon Gammy!
Have a great day,
Melissa
Today is going to be LONG. We have lessons, ballet, 2 hrs of martial arts, and then a Parents meeting for baseball......it starts.
Also, if you should have a GE Nautilus dishwasher, and you hate it..? I don't want to know. Thanks.
I wanted to let Gammy know that we are thinking about her and praying for her. Get well soon Gammy!
Have a great day,
Melissa
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
Rambling
Well, last night I was sucked in to the tidal wave of clean laundry to be folded. I tamed the monster. I also watched the Amazing Race last night. (O.K., I don't know if I have said it before, but Race and I could totally mop up in that contest.) So, I watched TV, and folded thousands of articles of clothing. I read a few more chapters in the book "Abraham", which, incidentally, I am NOT enjoying. To say that this author takes great liberties with the text of the Bible, is a gross understatement. But I do hope to come away with a slightly better understanding of Judaism and Islam, and where the "roads" split. Know what I mean?
Well, today I am going to the salon to get my hair cut. One of two things will happen: 1. My next blog will be a long, whining, crying, self pity party because of how wretched my new hair style is, or 2. I will blog as usual, which means that I am indeed happy with my new style, and the world as I know it will continue. I am really hoping for the latter.
I will also be picking up a new dishwasher today.....(ooooooo new hair AND a new dishwasher?? Be still my heart.) My neighbor is going to install it for me, so that means I'd better quit ignoring that whole "under the sink area", because he's probably gonna need to get under there.
I will be accomplishing these errands by myself today, because my sister Thomasina has graciously offered to come over to hang out with the kids, and I am bringing lunch back for everyone. So I will admit that the thought of being by myself for awhile and perhaps.......if I'm lucky.........completing one or two complete thoughts, seems absolutely scandalous!
Y'all have a great day!
Melissa
Well, today I am going to the salon to get my hair cut. One of two things will happen: 1. My next blog will be a long, whining, crying, self pity party because of how wretched my new hair style is, or 2. I will blog as usual, which means that I am indeed happy with my new style, and the world as I know it will continue. I am really hoping for the latter.
I will also be picking up a new dishwasher today.....(ooooooo new hair AND a new dishwasher?? Be still my heart.) My neighbor is going to install it for me, so that means I'd better quit ignoring that whole "under the sink area", because he's probably gonna need to get under there.
I will be accomplishing these errands by myself today, because my sister Thomasina has graciously offered to come over to hang out with the kids, and I am bringing lunch back for everyone. So I will admit that the thought of being by myself for awhile and perhaps.......if I'm lucky.........completing one or two complete thoughts, seems absolutely scandalous!
Y'all have a great day!
Melissa
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
Mid day blog
Well, to give you an idea of the kind of day that I had, I will relate the following:
Before I could get my second cup of coffee, Jack came into my room with his nose all stopped up and not breathing very well. He came over and hugged me. Then (and again, I remind you this was BEFORE my 2nd cup o'Joe) in his nasally, groggy, just-woke-up voice, he said, "Mom, what makes pee yellow?" Now to a seven year old this is a serious scientific inquiry, and is to be treated as such. Thank-you to whoever came up with that search engine called "Ask Jeeves", because that's who we asked, and Jeeves does deliver! And yes this was followed up by the OTHER question that would naturally follow this one. And yes, Jeeves knows the answer to that one too. So that's how it started today.
Both boys are under the weather with major head colds. Nothing serious, but makes you feel plain lousy. And NO, you don't get out of school work for a head cold. You may do school in bed , in your jammies with the tissues beside you, but you DON'T get out of it.
Since my manual labor crew was down, I was left to shovel us out of the snow myself. I cleaned off the suburban, and shoveled off the deck and a path to the car. That's about it. We'll let the 4-wd take care of the rest. And would you believe we had more flurries today?
Due to sickness, we had to forego our normal art and martial arts lessons for Tuesdays. But we accomplished a lot of other school work. Now, house work? That's another issue all together. I am currently ignoring the enormous mound of clean clothes to be folded that is growing on my bed.
Well, Race called today. Everything is going as it should be. He did mention that his hair is REALLY long now. Isn't that funny?? Race, with long hair? That cracks me up.( nervous laughter).
Well, I have supper to fix. We are having baked chicken, steamed broccoli.....and sumpn'-sumpn'. So I'd better get to it. I'll try to post more tonight after bed time.
Have a great evening,
Melissa
Before I could get my second cup of coffee, Jack came into my room with his nose all stopped up and not breathing very well. He came over and hugged me. Then (and again, I remind you this was BEFORE my 2nd cup o'Joe) in his nasally, groggy, just-woke-up voice, he said, "Mom, what makes pee yellow?" Now to a seven year old this is a serious scientific inquiry, and is to be treated as such. Thank-you to whoever came up with that search engine called "Ask Jeeves", because that's who we asked, and Jeeves does deliver! And yes this was followed up by the OTHER question that would naturally follow this one. And yes, Jeeves knows the answer to that one too. So that's how it started today.
Both boys are under the weather with major head colds. Nothing serious, but makes you feel plain lousy. And NO, you don't get out of school work for a head cold. You may do school in bed , in your jammies with the tissues beside you, but you DON'T get out of it.
Since my manual labor crew was down, I was left to shovel us out of the snow myself. I cleaned off the suburban, and shoveled off the deck and a path to the car. That's about it. We'll let the 4-wd take care of the rest. And would you believe we had more flurries today?
Due to sickness, we had to forego our normal art and martial arts lessons for Tuesdays. But we accomplished a lot of other school work. Now, house work? That's another issue all together. I am currently ignoring the enormous mound of clean clothes to be folded that is growing on my bed.
Well, Race called today. Everything is going as it should be. He did mention that his hair is REALLY long now. Isn't that funny?? Race, with long hair? That cracks me up.( nervous laughter).
Well, I have supper to fix. We are having baked chicken, steamed broccoli.....and sumpn'-sumpn'. So I'd better get to it. I'll try to post more tonight after bed time.
Have a great evening,
Melissa
Monday, February 28, 2005
The weekend (this is long, better get coffee)
We had a wonderful weekend. And now, there's about 3 inches of snow on the ground, and it's steady coming down, so that means that we can stay home today!! And that is a good thing, because I have a ton of housework to catch up on. I don't know where that blasted maid has gotten off to again.
As an aside, it has always been my dream to own- um-no, not OWN,( sorry, product of my childhood), I meant to say HIRE-yes, HIRE a small 50-something Mexican woman to live at my house and keep things clean and tidy, and always have something good baking in the kitchen. She wouldn't HAVE to be Mexican, that's just what I've always pictured.
O.K. back to the weekend... My nephews, Q and W came over to Mam-maw and Pap-paws to play. Jack and Savannah and Q played nearly all day building boxes with flat, foam connecting blocks. Big, huge boxes, that they could actually get inside. They had the best time, and all played so well together. And W was just the cutest little thing! There is not a human alive that that little guy couldn't win over. What a charmer! And such a little snuggle bug!
Aunt Thomasina and Bill came and took all the kids for a walk around the farm, and I am told that a snowball fight ensued somewhere along the way.
We went out to eat at everyone's favorite French restaurant for Mam-maw's birthday. Everyone looked so nice, ( Mam-maw was particularly lovely that night in her pretty blue suit) and the meal was absolutely superb!! The whole family was there except Race (sniff, sniff). It was a very fun evening, and the children were all so well behaved that they drew compliments from the server. Jackson was in especially rare form, being sure to lay it on thick to our server by saying "Thank-you, Mam" repeatedly, until reaching the desired goal of the compliment. He was beaming. I learned that when asked for his drink order, he had told his Aunt Em and Uncle Todd ,"I usually drink wine, but tonight I will be having a Shirley Temple". And you can imagine my shock, when we were all filing out, past our table to leave, and he, straw in hand, proceeded to suck out a drop from the bottom of the few "after-dinner" drinks that were served. Admittedly, those Grasshopper's and Creme de'Menthe parfait's DO look delicious. But still.
On Sunday, I got a phone call from Race! We got to talk for awhile, and I feel much more relaxed. He sounded good. Still vague........but good. I miss him terribly, and will be glad when we can look back on this time in our lives as something in the past. We are doing fine, and we feel that wee are doing what God has put before us to do, but that still doesn't make the "gettin' through" easy. And I guess it's not supposed to be.
Before the kids and I headed home, I wanted to get the tires rotated on the Suburban. I wanted to get it done when I had the oil changed, but was short on time. I found out that my Suburban is too heavy to be lifted in Northern Va. Huh. Who knew? After the second stop, and the second guy looking at me blankly and saying, "Mam. You got yerself 7500 lbs. there." UMmmm.....Oookay......aannnd..WHAT? I realized that I'd better just wait till I got back home where they are not scared of the SUV owner, and are prepared to handle the seemingly gargantuan challenge of rotating the tires.
I finished our school schedules for the week last night, and I am looking forward to today. We won't have any outside lessons because of the snow, so the children shall not escape my grasp( insert maniacal laughter here).
Race, we love you and we miss you. Stay safe.
Have a great day,
Melissa
As an aside, it has always been my dream to own- um-no, not OWN,( sorry, product of my childhood), I meant to say HIRE-yes, HIRE a small 50-something Mexican woman to live at my house and keep things clean and tidy, and always have something good baking in the kitchen. She wouldn't HAVE to be Mexican, that's just what I've always pictured.
O.K. back to the weekend... My nephews, Q and W came over to Mam-maw and Pap-paws to play. Jack and Savannah and Q played nearly all day building boxes with flat, foam connecting blocks. Big, huge boxes, that they could actually get inside. They had the best time, and all played so well together. And W was just the cutest little thing! There is not a human alive that that little guy couldn't win over. What a charmer! And such a little snuggle bug!
Aunt Thomasina and Bill came and took all the kids for a walk around the farm, and I am told that a snowball fight ensued somewhere along the way.
We went out to eat at everyone's favorite French restaurant for Mam-maw's birthday. Everyone looked so nice, ( Mam-maw was particularly lovely that night in her pretty blue suit) and the meal was absolutely superb!! The whole family was there except Race (sniff, sniff). It was a very fun evening, and the children were all so well behaved that they drew compliments from the server. Jackson was in especially rare form, being sure to lay it on thick to our server by saying "Thank-you, Mam" repeatedly, until reaching the desired goal of the compliment. He was beaming. I learned that when asked for his drink order, he had told his Aunt Em and Uncle Todd ,"I usually drink wine, but tonight I will be having a Shirley Temple". And you can imagine my shock, when we were all filing out, past our table to leave, and he, straw in hand, proceeded to suck out a drop from the bottom of the few "after-dinner" drinks that were served. Admittedly, those Grasshopper's and Creme de'Menthe parfait's DO look delicious. But still.
On Sunday, I got a phone call from Race! We got to talk for awhile, and I feel much more relaxed. He sounded good. Still vague........but good. I miss him terribly, and will be glad when we can look back on this time in our lives as something in the past. We are doing fine, and we feel that wee are doing what God has put before us to do, but that still doesn't make the "gettin' through" easy. And I guess it's not supposed to be.
Before the kids and I headed home, I wanted to get the tires rotated on the Suburban. I wanted to get it done when I had the oil changed, but was short on time. I found out that my Suburban is too heavy to be lifted in Northern Va. Huh. Who knew? After the second stop, and the second guy looking at me blankly and saying, "Mam. You got yerself 7500 lbs. there." UMmmm.....Oookay......aannnd..WHAT? I realized that I'd better just wait till I got back home where they are not scared of the SUV owner, and are prepared to handle the seemingly gargantuan challenge of rotating the tires.
I finished our school schedules for the week last night, and I am looking forward to today. We won't have any outside lessons because of the snow, so the children shall not escape my grasp( insert maniacal laughter here).
Race, we love you and we miss you. Stay safe.
Have a great day,
Melissa
Sunday, February 27, 2005
Saturday, February 26, 2005
RACE EMAILED ME!!
WOO-Hoo!! And you know what? It was to, "Dear Jade". Now for those of you who were unfortunate enough NOT to have had a childhood steeped in Saturday morning cartoons,( I'm sure your parents still loved you) I will explain. Jade was Race's seldom seen girlfriend on the "Johnny Quest" cartoon! I love that man! Anyway, he is doing well, and things are going smoothly. Seriously, our conversation is REALLY that vague.
Today, Austin said, "Man, Mom, I am really counting the days till Dad comes back home." So, I did what any mother would do. Bought him a pack of baseball cards!
We are at Mam-maw and Pap-Paw's house this weekend. Last night they fixed enough food for an army! We had thick, seasoned pork chops, fried apples, carrots/peas, buttered potatoes, and crusty bread. And OF COURSE, Mam-maw and Pap-paw ALWAYS have ice cream for dessert. We are all playing with W and Q today. I will have to write about it later. They are SOooo cute! Jack and Q have been having the BEST time playing together.
Y'all have a great weekend.
Melissa
Also, please pray for Pastor Jerry Falwell. He is in the hospital in intensive care with pneumonia, and has been there since last Sunday.
Today, Austin said, "Man, Mom, I am really counting the days till Dad comes back home." So, I did what any mother would do. Bought him a pack of baseball cards!
We are at Mam-maw and Pap-Paw's house this weekend. Last night they fixed enough food for an army! We had thick, seasoned pork chops, fried apples, carrots/peas, buttered potatoes, and crusty bread. And OF COURSE, Mam-maw and Pap-paw ALWAYS have ice cream for dessert. We are all playing with W and Q today. I will have to write about it later. They are SOooo cute! Jack and Q have been having the BEST time playing together.
Y'all have a great weekend.
Melissa
Also, please pray for Pastor Jerry Falwell. He is in the hospital in intensive care with pneumonia, and has been there since last Sunday.
Thursday, February 24, 2005
I am hoarse from reading today!
It snowed!! And then it slushed. No matter, we stayed home today, and THAT was great! I kept Dy on the phone waaaaayy too long last night,( but hey, she’s used to it, it’s what I do), so I was not very “bright-eyed” this morning. The kids went outside for awhile, and then came in for the obligatory hot cocoa. Oh and I happened to have some redi -whip, so, BONUS!
We also got in some geography, by putting some more things on our mark able map, and going over the things that we have already done. We found the general area where Race is working right now. Jack remembered the name of the king of the Franks who united Gaul under one rule. ” Let’s see………his name sounds like Clover” ” Wait! …… I know! Clovis!” High fives all around.
The Legos came out mid day, and Jack made a cool ziggurat. “It has an inside chamber with diamonds (not real, just Lego diamonds), and a hidden door to guard against tomb robbers”.
Savannah did a lot of reading and drawing today. Austin continued on his “baseball card signing” campaign. He is sending out some of his duplicate baseball cards to each of the different teams with a stamped/addressed return envelope and a letter, hoping to have a few returned signed. He has been mailing out 5 a day.
We started talking a little more about art today, and looked through the Usborne Introduction To Art book over dinner. We are planning to go to the National Gallery of Art with Dy and her boys. We are hoping that Em, Q and W, and Aunt Thomasina will be coming along too. Judging from tonight, it should be interesting. As they were flipping through the pages of the book over dinner, Savannah would gush, “Oh, look at that shading!” and “ Do you think that they had the actual objects in front of them when they painted that?” “Look at all of the different texture in that one!” While Jack was mumbling, “Naked men” (flip page) “More naked men” (flip page) “Ooo, that’s pretty” (flip page) “naked women” (flip page) “That’s cool”. When regarding art , beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder. They were looking at the SAME book, at the SAME time! Incidentally, there is VERY little, if any real nudity in this book, but when you’re seven…….well, if it ain’t all covered, it’s NAKED.
Well, my good friend Tami shall be my phone victim this evening, although I shall try to use restraint. Y’all are like my crutch when Race is out of town for so long. After everybody goes to bed, it gets mighty quiet around here, and ….I MUST TALK! It’s great to have such good friends.
Have a good night,
Melissa
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
Nothing earth shattering, but a good day.
We had "School-Lite" today. What that means is that we did not get our usual Wednesday free day, that we have come to love and look forward to. It also means that I did not buy the argument made by my 3 charges that "Monday was president's Day, Mom." "We don't have to make that up." Actually Monday was a "sick-day", and that was the only reason that we didn't have our normal lessons. But we managed to hit the basics : Math, Language Arts, and Latin, and still get out the door by 1:00 to get to the library.
Our trip to the library goes something like this:
We load the suburban down with all of the books previously checked out, which of course, are piled neatly on a shelf right where they are supposed to be. NOT!! We scour under the sofa, under the beds, etc. etc, until every last book is brought out from it's hiding place.
When we arrive at our library, we each load up with a stack of books and prepare to file past the various unsavory characters (and the obligatory mildly retarded guy) that congregate outside the city library. (Why is that?)
Once safely inside, the kids dump all of their books in front of the librarian behind the desk, who instinctively pulls over "the cart" because.....well......that's a lot of books.
The kids dissapear to the kid section. I ask about my fine. I ask if they have a payment plan. No, not really. But only because I have forbidden the kids to check out any more videos. So, what was my fine today? $1.40?!! "Seriously??" "Here, take $2-No, really, I want to."
That taken care of, I walk happily to the kids section, FINE-FREE, and head held high. Jack has already tracked down a pile of books about animals, reptiles, and bugs and is sitting reading happily. Savannah is using the library computer to look up "The Outcast of Redwall", and Austin is looking up books on baseball and Jiu Jitsu (do you see a pattern here?).
I did manage to get over to the adult section and pick up a book entitled "Abraham" by Bruce Feiler.
Some, 30 books later, we head out of there. We have audio books, picture books, phonics books, history books. Each kid has a stack, and we brave the sidewalk freaks (harsh, I know) again on our way to the car. (I will not be a victim, I will not be a victim). We pile our books into the back of the suburban. In between the basball gear, the jui -jitsu gear, and the ballet gear. Yeah, Really.
We head over to Barnes&Noble. I get coffee. We look at more books, but came out without a purchase. (Did you hear that, Race? We left WITHOUT a purchase!)
We had to stop at Lowes to look at dishwashers. Mine bit the dust, and if we don't replace it, I will have broken every dish that we own. Apparently hand washing requires a more delicate touch than I am able to acquire. But, alas, this decision is more difficult than I thought. All of the brands, the features, the $$. So I am off to Lowes.com to figure out what I need. Any suggestions are most welcome.
g'night
Melissa
Our trip to the library goes something like this:
We load the suburban down with all of the books previously checked out, which of course, are piled neatly on a shelf right where they are supposed to be. NOT!! We scour under the sofa, under the beds, etc. etc, until every last book is brought out from it's hiding place.
When we arrive at our library, we each load up with a stack of books and prepare to file past the various unsavory characters (and the obligatory mildly retarded guy) that congregate outside the city library. (Why is that?)
Once safely inside, the kids dump all of their books in front of the librarian behind the desk, who instinctively pulls over "the cart" because.....well......that's a lot of books.
The kids dissapear to the kid section. I ask about my fine. I ask if they have a payment plan. No, not really. But only because I have forbidden the kids to check out any more videos. So, what was my fine today? $1.40?!! "Seriously??" "Here, take $2-No, really, I want to."
That taken care of, I walk happily to the kids section, FINE-FREE, and head held high. Jack has already tracked down a pile of books about animals, reptiles, and bugs and is sitting reading happily. Savannah is using the library computer to look up "The Outcast of Redwall", and Austin is looking up books on baseball and Jiu Jitsu (do you see a pattern here?).
I did manage to get over to the adult section and pick up a book entitled "Abraham" by Bruce Feiler.
Some, 30 books later, we head out of there. We have audio books, picture books, phonics books, history books. Each kid has a stack, and we brave the sidewalk freaks (harsh, I know) again on our way to the car. (I will not be a victim, I will not be a victim). We pile our books into the back of the suburban. In between the basball gear, the jui -jitsu gear, and the ballet gear. Yeah, Really.
We head over to Barnes&Noble. I get coffee. We look at more books, but came out without a purchase. (Did you hear that, Race? We left WITHOUT a purchase!)
We had to stop at Lowes to look at dishwashers. Mine bit the dust, and if we don't replace it, I will have broken every dish that we own. Apparently hand washing requires a more delicate touch than I am able to acquire. But, alas, this decision is more difficult than I thought. All of the brands, the features, the $$. So I am off to Lowes.com to figure out what I need. Any suggestions are most welcome.
g'night
Melissa
homeschool, dancing quail,and self discipline
Tuesday went well. We actually accomplished a lot. Jackson is feeling much better, and he had no fever at all yesterday. Also, he was back to being a wee bit obnoxious, so we know that he is on the mend.
Savannah finished doing the final editing on a book that she has been making for science. It is on Mammals, and she has drawn pictures and diagrams of about 30 different mammals, as well as writing down pertinent information and statistics about each one. She has been working on this for awhile, and it was nice to see the finished project. She is especially pleased with it. We got through math, Latin,Spanish,reading, handwriting,language arts,and chemistry. Not too shabby. We got Savannah to her art lesson, and Austin to his Jiu Jitsu- (Race better look out.......He is really getting good!). Because he had been sick,Jack had to sit out of Martial Arts today, and hang out with his sister. Having everyone at their various activities, I had 2 whole hours to myself-GASP!!! It was glorious. I BROWSED. Do you remember when you could BROWSE?? It was WAaaaaayyy back before you had children. Very therapeutic.
We ended our day out at Thomasina's for dinner. I took a look at Savannah's art sketches, and am so amazed by what she is doing. She has been working with shading, contrast, and shadows. I will have to figure out how to post some of her drawings. Thomasina fixed the most amazing curried Quail with an apple glaze, baked potato, salad and biscuits!! Delish! And before you begin thinking that this meal was too formal.......You have never seen my kids eat anything that they are allowed to pick up with their hands. Those poor little quail bodies were dancing, doing jui-jitsu ("oooo LOOK! I've got an arm-bar!"), singing and flapping their little bony wings,trying to fly away. And there was more than one round of the old song, "Hey, Bird Dog get away from my quail", and all of it's various unfortunate misinterpretations. It was fun. It was loud. I cannot begin to count the number of times that I spoke my youngest son's name. He redeemed himself just before heading out the door by going to Aunt Thomasina and saying, "Thank you for letting me stay, everything was delicious." And then cutting his eyes over at me to be sure that I heard that. I have lost all control.
We did not get home until after 9:00. Austin still felt that he had to get a work-out in ,(this has to do with those goals that I posted waaayyy down below for Jiu Jitsu class). He was in the basement doing pull-ups (with a 5lb weight on his waist). I was helping Savannah and Jack with the bedtime routine. I walk through the living room, and there is Austin in the floor, doing SIT-UPS. After a bit, I went upstairs to read to Jack, and tuck everyone in. Austin was finishing up his Chemistry work for the day (glad he remembered, cuz I didn't), and then explained to me that he still had to read his Bible, before he would be turning out the light! Thank-you, Thank-you, Thank-you Martial Arts coaches, from the bottom of my heart. My 13 yo is learning SELF discipline. I am so proud of him. Maybe he can help his mother.
I read the book that Jack wanted. It was one about animals and he drifted off to sleep with the sound of my voice reading,"they use their teeth to rip the flesh from their prey". "sniff", "sniff", my baby's growin' up. Savannah and Austin were still sprawled out on their beds reading when I came downstairs. I am pretty sure that MY light went out before theirs did.
Melissa
Savannah finished doing the final editing on a book that she has been making for science. It is on Mammals, and she has drawn pictures and diagrams of about 30 different mammals, as well as writing down pertinent information and statistics about each one. She has been working on this for awhile, and it was nice to see the finished project. She is especially pleased with it. We got through math, Latin,Spanish,reading, handwriting,language arts,and chemistry. Not too shabby. We got Savannah to her art lesson, and Austin to his Jiu Jitsu- (Race better look out.......He is really getting good!). Because he had been sick,Jack had to sit out of Martial Arts today, and hang out with his sister. Having everyone at their various activities, I had 2 whole hours to myself-GASP!!! It was glorious. I BROWSED. Do you remember when you could BROWSE?? It was WAaaaaayyy back before you had children. Very therapeutic.
We ended our day out at Thomasina's for dinner. I took a look at Savannah's art sketches, and am so amazed by what she is doing. She has been working with shading, contrast, and shadows. I will have to figure out how to post some of her drawings. Thomasina fixed the most amazing curried Quail with an apple glaze, baked potato, salad and biscuits!! Delish! And before you begin thinking that this meal was too formal.......You have never seen my kids eat anything that they are allowed to pick up with their hands. Those poor little quail bodies were dancing, doing jui-jitsu ("oooo LOOK! I've got an arm-bar!"), singing and flapping their little bony wings,trying to fly away. And there was more than one round of the old song, "Hey, Bird Dog get away from my quail", and all of it's various unfortunate misinterpretations. It was fun. It was loud. I cannot begin to count the number of times that I spoke my youngest son's name. He redeemed himself just before heading out the door by going to Aunt Thomasina and saying, "Thank you for letting me stay, everything was delicious." And then cutting his eyes over at me to be sure that I heard that. I have lost all control.
We did not get home until after 9:00. Austin still felt that he had to get a work-out in ,(this has to do with those goals that I posted waaayyy down below for Jiu Jitsu class). He was in the basement doing pull-ups (with a 5lb weight on his waist). I was helping Savannah and Jack with the bedtime routine. I walk through the living room, and there is Austin in the floor, doing SIT-UPS. After a bit, I went upstairs to read to Jack, and tuck everyone in. Austin was finishing up his Chemistry work for the day (glad he remembered, cuz I didn't), and then explained to me that he still had to read his Bible, before he would be turning out the light! Thank-you, Thank-you, Thank-you Martial Arts coaches, from the bottom of my heart. My 13 yo is learning SELF discipline. I am so proud of him. Maybe he can help his mother.
I read the book that Jack wanted. It was one about animals and he drifted off to sleep with the sound of my voice reading,"they use their teeth to rip the flesh from their prey". "sniff", "sniff", my baby's growin' up. Savannah and Austin were still sprawled out on their beds reading when I came downstairs. I am pretty sure that MY light went out before theirs did.
Melissa
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
Just a Spoonful of Sugar.......
Remember that song from "Mary Poppins"'? My sister Thomasina, is like Mary poppins(well, only physically she's MUCH tougher, I mean, you would seriously pity the moron that decided to mess with her!). Our original plan on Sunday was for the kids and I to take Race to the airport, and then to go to visit Mom and Dad. We were going to be celebrating Mom's birthday. Well, when Jack got up, he had a fever, and a stuffy head. Came out of nowhere. I call Mary Poppins,er...I mean-Aunt Thomasina. She says that she will come over and stay with the kids for the day while I go with Race to the airport. She is amazing. In she come s with her large bag-(o.k., it is not a carpet bag like M.P., but you get the picture), overflowing with craft supplies, an array of paints, brightly colored glitters, glues, water color paper,clay etc. They "crafted" all day long! And she doesn't "instruct" them, she crafts WITH them, letting their own imaginations go wild. I came home to various "glitter pictures"( one was a really cool Gecko lizard). Jack made a huge pile of gold coins (of course$$), and several gold, glittery "gold nuggets", Savannah made a beautiful "Thrush" (the bird) that was amazingly detailed, and many more that I can't remember. If you know anything at all about kids, you know that children LOVE this stuff!! It is the kind of thing that they live for. My kids would not give the world for their Aunt Thomasina!
Since we had a "sick day" yesterday, it will be "back to the old grind" today. I wrote out lesson sheets for the week while Savannah was in dance class, so I am caught up and ready to go.
Also, I heard from Race. He is where he is supposed to be, and things have gone smoothly. God is good.
We will all be getting together this weekend to celebrate Mom's birthday. We are really looking forward to it. Happy Birthday Mom!
Have a great day,
Melissa
Since we had a "sick day" yesterday, it will be "back to the old grind" today. I wrote out lesson sheets for the week while Savannah was in dance class, so I am caught up and ready to go.
Also, I heard from Race. He is where he is supposed to be, and things have gone smoothly. God is good.
We will all be getting together this weekend to celebrate Mom's birthday. We are really looking forward to it. Happy Birthday Mom!
Have a great day,
Melissa
Monday, February 21, 2005
My sincerest Apologies!
To those of you who I sent the wrong link to my blog, and you were taken to a seriously disturbed young man's web page........Wow, i am SOOOoo sorry. This is actually MY blog, and I am glad that you found it, although it will be seriously boring after reading a few sentences from Matt Psychopath's Blog!! SO, SO, Sorry! I am backing away from the computer.... SHEESH!!
Have an awesome day, and be glad that you're not Matt!
Melissa
Have an awesome day, and be glad that you're not Matt!
Melissa
A Snippet
Well, Race is going to be away working for quite awhile. We always miss him so much. Especially at first. We all sort of flub around, bumping into each other and mumbling for a few days before we really push up our sleeves and get to work accomplishing what needs to be done in his absence. We always talk about how hard Dad is working, and what a blessing it is to have him, and how we should work just as hard at home. It really is our duty as a family. Serving God by serving one another.
I took Race to catch his flight. It is really a lonely thing to have to leave anyone that you care about at the airport, and I can honestly say, that it DOESN’T get easier the more that you do it! Race drove. (shudder). I should point out here, that all of Race’s past history of Police/Swat training and teaching, has made him a somewhat, um, OFFENSIVE (as opposed to a defensive) driver. This is always a lovely time. Race drives at Mach speed, with the phone(s) in one hand (shoring up last minute details). There is all of the traffic, and the friendly banter exchanged between Race and the other drivers.(That part IS actually pretty funny). I am always worried that one of these angry drivers will call in our tag #, and I will be the one pulled over for "Road Rage". I ask Race about this. His answer: "Just deny it". (sigh) On our journey, I am in charge of plugging in all of the other various electronic devices, handing him the occasional pen/writing pad, unwrapping his Arby’s Big Roast Beef so that he can eat it, etc. He looks over every so often and says, “You okay, Hon?”
Just before he leaves the car, he gets all of his “secret squirrel” stuff organized-( and I mean this man is ORGANIZED), and last but not least, gives me directions on how to find my way back home, (sad, but true), carefully pointing out any of those absolutely horrible exits that LOOK like where you want to go, but AREN’T. Then we say our good-byes and I leave. His work is so dangerous that it is hard not be overwhelmed by it all. So I pray, and God is so gracious, and reminds me that Race is in His care and nothing can snatch him from His hand. God is in control, and I'm good with that. Race is good at his job, he BELIEVES in the goal of the work, and he believes in Christ.
Time to roll up those sleeves!
Have a good day,
Melissa
I took Race to catch his flight. It is really a lonely thing to have to leave anyone that you care about at the airport, and I can honestly say, that it DOESN’T get easier the more that you do it! Race drove. (shudder). I should point out here, that all of Race’s past history of Police/Swat training and teaching, has made him a somewhat, um, OFFENSIVE (as opposed to a defensive) driver. This is always a lovely time. Race drives at Mach speed, with the phone(s) in one hand (shoring up last minute details). There is all of the traffic, and the friendly banter exchanged between Race and the other drivers.(That part IS actually pretty funny). I am always worried that one of these angry drivers will call in our tag #, and I will be the one pulled over for "Road Rage". I ask Race about this. His answer: "Just deny it". (sigh) On our journey, I am in charge of plugging in all of the other various electronic devices, handing him the occasional pen/writing pad, unwrapping his Arby’s Big Roast Beef so that he can eat it, etc. He looks over every so often and says, “You okay, Hon?”
Just before he leaves the car, he gets all of his “secret squirrel” stuff organized-( and I mean this man is ORGANIZED), and last but not least, gives me directions on how to find my way back home, (sad, but true), carefully pointing out any of those absolutely horrible exits that LOOK like where you want to go, but AREN’T. Then we say our good-byes and I leave. His work is so dangerous that it is hard not be overwhelmed by it all. So I pray, and God is so gracious, and reminds me that Race is in His care and nothing can snatch him from His hand. God is in control, and I'm good with that. Race is good at his job, he BELIEVES in the goal of the work, and he believes in Christ.
Time to roll up those sleeves!
Have a good day,
Melissa
Thursday, February 17, 2005
Can she post a picture?
Jackson and Scout
She can! She Can! Thanks Em!
This picture, and many more beautiful photos can be seen at www.photographybyThomasina.com You can also check out her blog "A Day In the Life", over on the side bar, under "Blogs I Love".
Posted by Hello
She can! She Can! Thanks Em!
This picture, and many more beautiful photos can be seen at www.photographybyThomasina.com You can also check out her blog "A Day In the Life", over on the side bar, under "Blogs I Love".
Posted by Hello
French, Phonics, and Cartoon Water
While I was helping Savannah to learn her French terms for ballet today, Jackson was doing his phonics lesson. He was sitting in the floor with 3-D glasses on ( no, I don't know why), reading aloud to me the words written in the vertical list, and then giving me an "example" of each one, (which I had not asked for). I was trying to teach Savannah, and was listening to his voice in the background. I don't know why I thought that this would work.
The "lesson" went like this:
Jack: "Pick"- "Like Pick up your toys."
Savannah: "Efface'"-(Trying to position her body correctly to achieve this position.)
Jack: "Tick"- "Like, the clock ticks"
Savannah: "Croisse' Devant" (again, trying to get the position correct)
At this point Jack has stopped reading and is tormenting Savannah's beloved cat Herriott (yes, she is named after the author), by trying to let HER wear the 3-D glasses. This causes near meltdown conditions.
Me: "Jack, keep reading, you were doing well." "Leave Herriott alone" "Savannah, Herriott is fine, just ignore him, and let's finish up"
Jack: "Luck", "Duck", "Suck........Like----This sucks."
Me: gulp
I had taken several Advil before noon. However, we actually accomplished a lot today. The kids got in martial arts, ballet, and art (thank-you Aunt Thomasina), on top of regular school work, AND we had a long conversation about appropriate language.
On a totally unrelated note: While watching a cartoon this afternoon, Jackson stated, "Mom, have you ever noticed that cartoon water looks delicious?"
Cheers!
Melissa
The "lesson" went like this:
Jack: "Pick"- "Like Pick up your toys."
Savannah: "Efface'"-(Trying to position her body correctly to achieve this position.)
Jack: "Tick"- "Like, the clock ticks"
Savannah: "Croisse' Devant" (again, trying to get the position correct)
At this point Jack has stopped reading and is tormenting Savannah's beloved cat Herriott (yes, she is named after the author), by trying to let HER wear the 3-D glasses. This causes near meltdown conditions.
Me: "Jack, keep reading, you were doing well." "Leave Herriott alone" "Savannah, Herriott is fine, just ignore him, and let's finish up"
Jack: "Luck", "Duck", "Suck........Like----This sucks."
Me: gulp
I had taken several Advil before noon. However, we actually accomplished a lot today. The kids got in martial arts, ballet, and art (thank-you Aunt Thomasina), on top of regular school work, AND we had a long conversation about appropriate language.
On a totally unrelated note: While watching a cartoon this afternoon, Jackson stated, "Mom, have you ever noticed that cartoon water looks delicious?"
Cheers!
Melissa
What a great Wednesday!
If you have read elsewhere in this blog, you will know that we have been using Wednesdays as a Free Day. That means No School, and No Going Out if at all possible. We are trying to reclaim a day for ourselves to relax, and to strike a balance into a somewhat busy schedule. This is working out so well for us, and yesterday was a wonderful example. We slept in. And it felt really good! After breakfast the kids watched some Boomerang TV, while I sucked back coffee, and surveyed what I wanted to accomplish for the day. I ended up (with Austin's help), getting our bedroom furniture rearranged, and making room for a desk. We are trying to accommodate some computer changes that will take place when Race takes off and steals the lap top for the next several months. It looks much better than I thought it would when I started, and I really like it, and so does Race. We also got the game area cleaned up in the basement, and all of the doors and windows cleaned. We discovered salmon patties for lunch. These things are great! Who knew? And with a spinach salad it makes an awesome lunch. We made chocolate chip cookies. The kids played outside ALL day. Savannah and Jack (and Scout) played, and played, and played!!! They would ask Austin to PLEASE join in, whenever they needed a bad guy. For instance, at one point they were playing "Romans and Barbarians". Austin was, of course, the Barbarian trying to sack Rome. Old Woody(the jungle gym) was Rome. He is such a good kid to play with them like that. They did a mighty fine job defending Rome. The kids come up with the most amazing things to play. Savannah and Jackson also play "Adventures to Freeland". This is something that they made up, which involves "a mouse and a lizard and their adventures to a land that is free from predators". There is another one called "The Dragons Crystal", but it is just way to complicated for me to get into.(Our dogs are also worked into all of these games as well, taking on various persona to fit the adventure at hand). Hmmmmm....Do yah think that they have good imaginations?? Austin spent the rest of the day helping me move various pieces of furniture playing baseball, playing Nintendo baseball (thank-you Aunt Emily, he is forever indebted), and working out.
I got the oil changed in the Suburban (had to run out to do that), and made bourbon-pecan chicken with brown rice and a spinach salad for dinner.
It was a very productive, and yet, relaxing day. It feels good to have a day to catch up on the things that I can't get to at all during the week. It also feels good to just stay home. The house is clean, and we are ready to head into the rest of the week.
Race took the Suburban for a few days, so we will be stuck running around in the "roller skate" car until Friday. I DO love my Suburban!!
Have a great Thursday!!
Cheers!
Melissa
I got the oil changed in the Suburban (had to run out to do that), and made bourbon-pecan chicken with brown rice and a spinach salad for dinner.
It was a very productive, and yet, relaxing day. It feels good to have a day to catch up on the things that I can't get to at all during the week. It also feels good to just stay home. The house is clean, and we are ready to head into the rest of the week.
Race took the Suburban for a few days, so we will be stuck running around in the "roller skate" car until Friday. I DO love my Suburban!!
Have a great Thursday!!
Cheers!
Melissa
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
Love Songs By Warren and Stella
Race and I went to The Bistro last night for Valentines Day. We actually had not planned on doing anything special-(Just being able to relax at home is special these days ;-) )- but thanks to the help of friends and family, the kids all ended up with things to do, which left us with an unexpected free evening. After going out to the mall and shopping around a bit, we headed to The Bistro to eat dinner. This place is known for it’s exquisite food, and last night was no exception. Fabulous meal. HOWEVER, in honor of Valentines Day, someone mistakenly hired the duo known as “Warren and Stella”. And there on the board was written : “Valentines Day Dinner For Two Featuring ‘Love Songs with Warren & Stella’” Did I mention that the food was REALLY good? Warren was weighing in at about 280 lbs., sporting a flat top hat and his handy acoustic guitar. Stella was a 50-something, unmarried songstress Diva. Singing is her life. She thought that she was stunning in her short, cobalt blue, sequined dress with the clear bra straps reflecting from her shoulders. Oh, Stella. How she did sing, how she did dance. How she did suck back the glasses of wine to keep her vocal chords lubricated. How she did forget the words to so many songs. It was great. I actually do love this sort of thing. Cruel and sick sense of humor I guess, but is there anything funnier than folks who take themselves entirely too seriously?? The high point of the entertainment came when she screeched out the words to “Lookin’ For Love”, because Race and I immediately thought of the old Eddie Murphy skit on SNL called “Buckwheat Sings the Classics” or something like that. Buckwheat sings “Wookin’ Pa Nub”. We looked at each other and lost it. It’s times like that , that I know I am married to the right man.
Savannah had her dance class last night, and I was able to talk to the lady at the “Theatreworks” studio about letting Savannah take a class there. We are excited about this, and think it might be just the thing to develop her talents, and give her more confidence. Th said that she called Mr. Lee on the carpet last night about forgetting to ask about the assignment that he gave out last week: Choose, and BE and animal from South America. She had chosen a Lemur. I have no idea how she will BE a lemur, but she does. Mr. Lee didn’t even know what a Lemur was, so (being prepared for just such an error), she dug through her dance bag, and produced her toy lemur for illustration! So, he announced to everyone that he had forgotten, and that he would ask them for it next week. Thanks Th, for picking her up at dance class.
The boys were invited to go and watch a local college basketball game by our Pastor’s son, Cody. They went over to the church late in the afternoon, and played basketball in the gym for a while with him, and then our Pastor, his wife, and all the boys went to get pizza, and to the game. They didn’t get back until 10:00 pm, and they were exhausted. This would all be good, except for the fact that when Jack gets REALLY tired, he will say anything to stay awake. Also, I had forgotten to leave my standard disclaimer when leaving that youngest one anywhere without my supervision: “The views and claims expressed by this child are not necessarily those of his parents, and we do not wish to be held responsible for anything that comes out of his mouth.” Frankly, I don’t think the pastor would buy it, I think that he holds us responsible, But I can assure you, that there is NO telling what this kid said in their company. Did I mention that this is our PASTOR?
Have a great Day!
Chow,
Melissa
Savannah had her dance class last night, and I was able to talk to the lady at the “Theatreworks” studio about letting Savannah take a class there. We are excited about this, and think it might be just the thing to develop her talents, and give her more confidence. Th said that she called Mr. Lee on the carpet last night about forgetting to ask about the assignment that he gave out last week: Choose, and BE and animal from South America. She had chosen a Lemur. I have no idea how she will BE a lemur, but she does. Mr. Lee didn’t even know what a Lemur was, so (being prepared for just such an error), she dug through her dance bag, and produced her toy lemur for illustration! So, he announced to everyone that he had forgotten, and that he would ask them for it next week. Thanks Th, for picking her up at dance class.
The boys were invited to go and watch a local college basketball game by our Pastor’s son, Cody. They went over to the church late in the afternoon, and played basketball in the gym for a while with him, and then our Pastor, his wife, and all the boys went to get pizza, and to the game. They didn’t get back until 10:00 pm, and they were exhausted. This would all be good, except for the fact that when Jack gets REALLY tired, he will say anything to stay awake. Also, I had forgotten to leave my standard disclaimer when leaving that youngest one anywhere without my supervision: “The views and claims expressed by this child are not necessarily those of his parents, and we do not wish to be held responsible for anything that comes out of his mouth.” Frankly, I don’t think the pastor would buy it, I think that he holds us responsible, But I can assure you, that there is NO telling what this kid said in their company. Did I mention that this is our PASTOR?
Have a great Day!
Chow,
Melissa
Friday, February 11, 2005
Our Fountain of Humor
Things stated by Jackson recently:
* While eating scrambled eggs, and sliced bananas for breakfast one morning, he pondered aloud , "Savannah, isn't it neat how we can eat stuff that's yellow?" "I wonder about that sometimes".
* After opening his toy from a Happy Meal, he excitedly exclaimed, "Oh Savannah, Look what it DOES!!" "Oooooo.....and look our toys are SIMULAR" (then murmering "simaler, simler") "Man, and I thought that these objects would be USELESS!"
* Over the last few days, he has been randomly using the word "Pilates", in any way that he can. When asked why, he stated with a shrug, "I dunno, I just like the sound of it". "What DOES "pilates" mean , anyway?".
* While I was putting away laundry, Jack came into my room and immediately began groovin' to some music that I suppose only he could hear. This child has more rythm and soul in his little 7 year old body, than an African drum circle. He said, "See this dance I'm doin?" I nodded. "My conscience taught it to me." "Really?", I said incredulously, "What is your conscience?" "You know......that little man who talks to you inside your head"( He is starting to get a little winded now, because he's still groovin'). "Oh?", I say, starting to calculate the therapy bills in my head. "Yeah, he taught it to me......like on Fred Flintstone". Ohhhhhhh...O.K.
* While eating scrambled eggs, and sliced bananas for breakfast one morning, he pondered aloud , "Savannah, isn't it neat how we can eat stuff that's yellow?" "I wonder about that sometimes".
* After opening his toy from a Happy Meal, he excitedly exclaimed, "Oh Savannah, Look what it DOES!!" "Oooooo.....and look our toys are SIMULAR" (then murmering "simaler, simler") "Man, and I thought that these objects would be USELESS!"
* Over the last few days, he has been randomly using the word "Pilates", in any way that he can. When asked why, he stated with a shrug, "I dunno, I just like the sound of it". "What DOES "pilates" mean , anyway?".
* While I was putting away laundry, Jack came into my room and immediately began groovin' to some music that I suppose only he could hear. This child has more rythm and soul in his little 7 year old body, than an African drum circle. He said, "See this dance I'm doin?" I nodded. "My conscience taught it to me." "Really?", I said incredulously, "What is your conscience?" "You know......that little man who talks to you inside your head"( He is starting to get a little winded now, because he's still groovin'). "Oh?", I say, starting to calculate the therapy bills in my head. "Yeah, he taught it to me......like on Fred Flintstone". Ohhhhhhh...O.K.
Thursday, February 10, 2005
New Look!
Ooooooooo...I LIKE this new look. Yes, I am definitely feeling more at home here. I can't figure out the whole side bar thing yet, and I don't know how to upload pictures, but I think we're gonna like it here.
Free Days, Busy Days........
Yesterday was our "Free Day". As long as everyone has completed thier school lessons on Monday and Tuesday, we all get Wedneday off. So far this is working out well, because it is the one day of the week that we don't have to actually BE anywhere else. I ended up spending most of the day in the kitchen, cleaning and cooking. Don't get me wrong, I actually LIKE doing this, it is relaxing to me. The kids played outside ALL day until after dark, only coming in for food and drink. Jackson received some sort of right of passage by being permitted to carve his name (yeah, we let him use a pocket knife) into a special board on the large wooden jungle gym (lovingly referred to by the kids as "Old Woody") in our back yard. He was so excited when he came inside to tell me the news that he was to carve his name and age into the board...."Austin was only 11 and Savannah was only 9 when they carved thier names!!!! Egads! That's like 50 years has elapsed in kid time!
Thomasina came over and had Vegetable lasagna with us for dinner. We laughed until our sides hurt watching Cheaper By The Dozen. Once again I was reminded of how fast my oldest is growing up. Thom had asked me something about growing lawn grass, and I was in the process of spilling out my entire 3 sentences of knowledge on the subject, when Austin walks by her, and says , in a husky, loud-enough-for-me-to-hear-it voice, "All lies....she's been drinking".
It was back to the grind stone today. I think that Chemistry is going well for Austin, and his handwriting is really improving as well. We are taking a few weeks away from Latin, while we wait for our DVD's to arrive. We are hoping that this will help us to get more out of our Latin study. He really loves Latin. All three kids are doing well in Spanish, too. I better get on the ball with it, or they will be taking about me, and I won't know what they are saying! Jack is doing SOooo well in math, and Savannah is finishing up a book on Mammals, complete with drawings and diagrams of course.
This afternoon had it's challenges. We MUST leave the house by 3:30 at the VERY lateset on Thursday in order to get everyone to their lessons on time. Well, at 2:30, I was unexpectedly sucked into what I call " wardrobe madness". This always strikes at the worst time. This is a time when I decide that somewhere, in my closet, hidden among all of my same old clothes, there is an absolutely stunning outfit that is just waiting to be put together. This is absolute insanity. I try on scores of clothing. "These pants with this shirt?"" No, how about this blouse with it?" "A sweater? " "What about these shoes?"-"I never wear these." I always end up leaving the house wearing the same old jeans and sweater combo that I always wear, but my room is now a disaster area! Why does this happen to me?? And WHY do I keep hanging those clothes back in there!? In the middle of "wardrobe madness" Savannah couldn't find her ballet tights. Austin couldn't find his martial arts shirt, and while I thought that Jack was getting ready to go, I entered the living room to find him doing flips across the sofa. I barked out commands to Jack ,rounded up the tights, never found the shirt, grabbed martial arts belts, ballet shoes, got Savannah's hair placed properly on her head, literally threw everyone a snack bar on the way out the door, and we were off! I had a list of things to do in between the picking up and dropping off, but I didn't manage to get even ONE of them done. We ate dinner out (argh!, I am TRYING not to do that), and got back home at 8:30. Race called, the shower curtain fell down on Savannah, and Jack came flying down the stairs screaming, "Mom, the toilet is overflowing, the toilet is overflowing!!!!" Which, it was. This all happened in the space of about 5 minutes. I hung up with Race, fixed the toilet, cleaned up the mess, and replaced the shower curtain. Everyone helped pick up the house a bit. One of Jack's friends from Martial Arts class gave him a Redwall movie (from the book series by Brian Jaques, of which all three of my kids are HUGE fans). The kids all went to the basement to watch. And all is well. The sink is still full of dishes, and there is still a lot of laundry to do,( don't forget about the aftermath from "wardrobe madness") and I am sure that Race has long since gone to bed, but all is well.
We are ready to have Dad (Race) back home. Even if it is just for a few days, it is such a comfort. It is the nature of his job, to have to be away from home a lot, so we will take what we can get. We are really, really proud of him.
Well, let's see, Savannah has art homework (timed sketching, using contour), and ballet homework (French terms).
The boys have Martial arts homework. They have to choose 3 things that they would like to make a habit, to improve themselves. They have to develop the SELF discipline to do these things EVERY day for a month, and keep track of it on a calandar.
Austin:
1. Read my Bible.
2. Work out
3. Work on 1 baseball skill.
Jackson:
1. Clean my room.
2. Walk my dog, Scout.
3. do push-ups.
They chose these things by themselves, and I will try to post about it at the end of the month to see how they have done with these new habits, and the desire to improve themselves. Good stuff.
Tomorrow is Friday, Race is coming home!
Cheers,
Melissa
Thomasina came over and had Vegetable lasagna with us for dinner. We laughed until our sides hurt watching Cheaper By The Dozen. Once again I was reminded of how fast my oldest is growing up. Thom had asked me something about growing lawn grass, and I was in the process of spilling out my entire 3 sentences of knowledge on the subject, when Austin walks by her, and says , in a husky, loud-enough-for-me-to-hear-it voice, "All lies....she's been drinking".
It was back to the grind stone today. I think that Chemistry is going well for Austin, and his handwriting is really improving as well. We are taking a few weeks away from Latin, while we wait for our DVD's to arrive. We are hoping that this will help us to get more out of our Latin study. He really loves Latin. All three kids are doing well in Spanish, too. I better get on the ball with it, or they will be taking about me, and I won't know what they are saying! Jack is doing SOooo well in math, and Savannah is finishing up a book on Mammals, complete with drawings and diagrams of course.
This afternoon had it's challenges. We MUST leave the house by 3:30 at the VERY lateset on Thursday in order to get everyone to their lessons on time. Well, at 2:30, I was unexpectedly sucked into what I call " wardrobe madness". This always strikes at the worst time. This is a time when I decide that somewhere, in my closet, hidden among all of my same old clothes, there is an absolutely stunning outfit that is just waiting to be put together. This is absolute insanity. I try on scores of clothing. "These pants with this shirt?"" No, how about this blouse with it?" "A sweater? " "What about these shoes?"-"I never wear these." I always end up leaving the house wearing the same old jeans and sweater combo that I always wear, but my room is now a disaster area! Why does this happen to me?? And WHY do I keep hanging those clothes back in there!? In the middle of "wardrobe madness" Savannah couldn't find her ballet tights. Austin couldn't find his martial arts shirt, and while I thought that Jack was getting ready to go, I entered the living room to find him doing flips across the sofa. I barked out commands to Jack ,rounded up the tights, never found the shirt, grabbed martial arts belts, ballet shoes, got Savannah's hair placed properly on her head, literally threw everyone a snack bar on the way out the door, and we were off! I had a list of things to do in between the picking up and dropping off, but I didn't manage to get even ONE of them done. We ate dinner out (argh!, I am TRYING not to do that), and got back home at 8:30. Race called, the shower curtain fell down on Savannah, and Jack came flying down the stairs screaming, "Mom, the toilet is overflowing, the toilet is overflowing!!!!" Which, it was. This all happened in the space of about 5 minutes. I hung up with Race, fixed the toilet, cleaned up the mess, and replaced the shower curtain. Everyone helped pick up the house a bit. One of Jack's friends from Martial Arts class gave him a Redwall movie (from the book series by Brian Jaques, of which all three of my kids are HUGE fans). The kids all went to the basement to watch. And all is well. The sink is still full of dishes, and there is still a lot of laundry to do,( don't forget about the aftermath from "wardrobe madness") and I am sure that Race has long since gone to bed, but all is well.
We are ready to have Dad (Race) back home. Even if it is just for a few days, it is such a comfort. It is the nature of his job, to have to be away from home a lot, so we will take what we can get. We are really, really proud of him.
Well, let's see, Savannah has art homework (timed sketching, using contour), and ballet homework (French terms).
The boys have Martial arts homework. They have to choose 3 things that they would like to make a habit, to improve themselves. They have to develop the SELF discipline to do these things EVERY day for a month, and keep track of it on a calandar.
Austin:
1. Read my Bible.
2. Work out
3. Work on 1 baseball skill.
Jackson:
1. Clean my room.
2. Walk my dog, Scout.
3. do push-ups.
They chose these things by themselves, and I will try to post about it at the end of the month to see how they have done with these new habits, and the desire to improve themselves. Good stuff.
Tomorrow is Friday, Race is coming home!
Cheers,
Melissa
Monday, February 07, 2005
Super Bowl (food)
We had a wonderful Sunday. We met mom and dad for lunch. They had come to visit for Thomasina and Bill’s Super Bowl Party. Dad (Pap-paw) took Jack and Austin to the batting cages. Austin was so excited to be able to show off for his pap-paw! All of those batting cage tokens are really working! He was popping them in the 70mph pitching cage with no problem. Jack got in there and showed his stuff too. He’s a natural. While they were gone, Race packed his things in his car for his trip back north for the week. Savannah got to spend time with her Mam-maw, whom she loves dearly. She showed her, her new writing desk, and told her about some of the stories in her new book that she received from her friend T, for her birthday. The title is “Cat Miracles”. Isn’t that funny. “Oh, Mom, they are TRUE stories about cats saving people and stuff”, Savannah said with the most dire sincerity, as T looked on, wide eyed and nodding in agreement. (snicker, snicker) I have always said that the world could be divided into a few meager categories: Cat lovers, Dog lovers, and then those freaks who just don’t get animals at all.
O.k. back to Sunday.We all ended up at Thomasina’s friend Bill’s house for a Super Bowl Party. Thomasina did all of the cooking, so it was FABULOUS! They had a whole bar set up as well, with marguerita fixin’s as well as some excellent wine to choose from. She made chili, crab dip with toasted French bread, DELICIOUS hot wings, quiche, all sorts of chips, dips, and cheeses that I never even got to. There was cheesecake, lemon tarts, and an UNBELIEVABLE Blackberry wine cake that I did manage to procure the recipe for (thanks mom). **Who was playing again?? ;-) **We got to meet Bill’s wonderful family, and everyone was so nice, and complimentary. We had a lovely time, but had to leave too soon, so that Race could make it back up north for work. It was a great day. Thanks Thom and Bill for having us all come over. Everything was great!
Cheers!
Melissa
O.k. back to Sunday.We all ended up at Thomasina’s friend Bill’s house for a Super Bowl Party. Thomasina did all of the cooking, so it was FABULOUS! They had a whole bar set up as well, with marguerita fixin’s as well as some excellent wine to choose from. She made chili, crab dip with toasted French bread, DELICIOUS hot wings, quiche, all sorts of chips, dips, and cheeses that I never even got to. There was cheesecake, lemon tarts, and an UNBELIEVABLE Blackberry wine cake that I did manage to procure the recipe for (thanks mom). **Who was playing again?? ;-) **We got to meet Bill’s wonderful family, and everyone was so nice, and complimentary. We had a lovely time, but had to leave too soon, so that Race could make it back up north for work. It was a great day. Thanks Thom and Bill for having us all come over. Everything was great!
Cheers!
Melissa
Happenings from the weekend..
Well, Race was able to get home late on Friday night. He was not supposed to come in at all for the weekend, but he just left work and came on anyway. His co workers were working on a project, and everyone was supposed to stay. We had planned this weekend for the kids for weeks, SO...He came home! We were so glad!
On Saturday, Race took our boys to the batting cages, while I took Savannah and her best friend to ballet rehearsal. About the batting cages: My dad,(Pap-paw) has seen to it that the boys are NEVER without batting cage tokens. They live several hours away from us, so he calls them in, in $50 increments. Now, this has made the boys very well known over at the cages! Imagine my surprise when the little high school gal behind the counter one day said, "Well hello Austin, I guess that you have come to get your tokens?" She knew him by name? Anyway, the boys are becoming quite the little hitters because of all this practice. Baseball sign-ups are this month.
The girls are rehearsing every Saturday, for Stravinsky ballet "The Petrushka". The artistic director at the dance school is AMAZING. He makes EVERYONE want to dance. Very talented guy, and such a motivator. This is a huge commitment, having to go every Saturday for two hours until June, but I could not be more pleased with the results that all of this is having on Savannah. Good stuff, and she looks forward to it.
After Rehearsal, we met up with Race and the boys for lunch. It is always fun when you have an "extra" child with you,(savannah's friend T, was coming home with us). It adds a whole new dynamic. They giggled, and Jack showed off, and they giggled some more. Too cute. And I must add that we are SO incredibly thankful that Savannah has this friend. She is a sweet girl, from a sweet, caring, Christian family. Thank-you, Lord.
After lunch, we went our separate ways. Race took the boys skiing. I took the girls home for a girls night. After stopping at the store first, and letting them pick out snacks and munchies girls were plowing through the crowds at the store grabbing chips, cookies, pizza and sundae makins'. They would plow through, find something, then politely discuss it between themselves to be sure that was what they BOTH wanted, then throw it in the basket, and plow to another isle. I followed with the basket and the $$.
At home the girls covered the living room with blankets, pillows, and sleeping bags. They had a stack of girl movies to watch. After playing outside, and upstairs with Savannah's toys, they settled in with chips and "The Princess and the Pauper". I made myself scarce, grabbing some computer time.
>Jump ahead to 10:30pm<
Well.......who knew that the digestive tract of OTHER little 11 yr old girls couldn't handle downing a 1/2 can of Pringles?? In our house, 1/2 a can is for light wieghts. T wasn't feeling well. For real. She needed to call home. We ended up hauling her out to Sheetz, to meet her mom. Poor girl.
When we got home, the guys were back from skiing. THAT hadn't gone really well either.Jack forgot his ski jacket. They begged for snowboards. They got 'em. They couldn't use 'em. I think that both of them fell and hit thier heads really hard at least once. Poor boys. Poor Race. But they made it through. At home we salvaged the evening by making ice cream sundaes, and crawling into the blankets and sleeping bags and finishing Mulan2. The guys were forbidden to make thier usual obnoxious comments during a girls movie, because it was technically still Girls Night. All was well.
Sunday was a whole nother blog in itself. I will get to that later. It's Monday, and we have lessons, library, and Modern dance class, I'd better get with it! Right now, there is a kid who woke up with a bad dream, and flopped into my bed this morning. He is currently VERY annoyed and grumpy because his hair is sticking up, and it is making him uncomfortable "no matter HOW I lay", (said with groggy, scratchy, morning voice).
Cheers,
Melissa
On Saturday, Race took our boys to the batting cages, while I took Savannah and her best friend to ballet rehearsal. About the batting cages: My dad,(Pap-paw) has seen to it that the boys are NEVER without batting cage tokens. They live several hours away from us, so he calls them in, in $50 increments. Now, this has made the boys very well known over at the cages! Imagine my surprise when the little high school gal behind the counter one day said, "Well hello Austin, I guess that you have come to get your tokens?" She knew him by name? Anyway, the boys are becoming quite the little hitters because of all this practice. Baseball sign-ups are this month.
The girls are rehearsing every Saturday, for Stravinsky ballet "The Petrushka". The artistic director at the dance school is AMAZING. He makes EVERYONE want to dance. Very talented guy, and such a motivator. This is a huge commitment, having to go every Saturday for two hours until June, but I could not be more pleased with the results that all of this is having on Savannah. Good stuff, and she looks forward to it.
After Rehearsal, we met up with Race and the boys for lunch. It is always fun when you have an "extra" child with you,(savannah's friend T, was coming home with us). It adds a whole new dynamic. They giggled, and Jack showed off, and they giggled some more. Too cute. And I must add that we are SO incredibly thankful that Savannah has this friend. She is a sweet girl, from a sweet, caring, Christian family. Thank-you, Lord.
After lunch, we went our separate ways. Race took the boys skiing. I took the girls home for a girls night. After stopping at the store first, and letting them pick out snacks and munchies girls were plowing through the crowds at the store grabbing chips, cookies, pizza and sundae makins'. They would plow through, find something, then politely discuss it between themselves to be sure that was what they BOTH wanted, then throw it in the basket, and plow to another isle. I followed with the basket and the $$.
At home the girls covered the living room with blankets, pillows, and sleeping bags. They had a stack of girl movies to watch. After playing outside, and upstairs with Savannah's toys, they settled in with chips and "The Princess and the Pauper". I made myself scarce, grabbing some computer time.
>Jump ahead to 10:30pm<
Well.......who knew that the digestive tract of OTHER little 11 yr old girls couldn't handle downing a 1/2 can of Pringles?? In our house, 1/2 a can is for light wieghts. T wasn't feeling well. For real. She needed to call home. We ended up hauling her out to Sheetz, to meet her mom. Poor girl.
When we got home, the guys were back from skiing. THAT hadn't gone really well either.Jack forgot his ski jacket. They begged for snowboards. They got 'em. They couldn't use 'em. I think that both of them fell and hit thier heads really hard at least once. Poor boys. Poor Race. But they made it through. At home we salvaged the evening by making ice cream sundaes, and crawling into the blankets and sleeping bags and finishing Mulan2. The guys were forbidden to make thier usual obnoxious comments during a girls movie, because it was technically still Girls Night. All was well.
Sunday was a whole nother blog in itself. I will get to that later. It's Monday, and we have lessons, library, and Modern dance class, I'd better get with it! Right now, there is a kid who woke up with a bad dream, and flopped into my bed this morning. He is currently VERY annoyed and grumpy because his hair is sticking up, and it is making him uncomfortable "no matter HOW I lay", (said with groggy, scratchy, morning voice).
Cheers,
Melissa
Thursday, February 03, 2005
On the road.....
Ooooooo….well, I haven’t started off too well with this blogging thing, now have I? It is February already! I will just start again from here. On Saturday we had cake and ice cream for Savannah’s 11th birthday. She was delighted with her presents, and especially loved her new “postmasters desk”. It fits perfectly in her dormer window, so that she can look out and draw or write to her hearts content. We couldn’t do a more formal party, because it was snowing and icing, and Race had a terrible case of food poisoning that the nice folks at a local Italian eatery in D.C. were nice enough to give him, just before he took the Amtrack home for the weekend. Savannah’s little soirée with myself and her brothers, somehow morphed into “Barbarian Birthday”. Very funny. I really can’t articulate what went on here, but it WAS funny, and I guess that’s one of the nice things about having a “just the fam” party. Everyone was acting silly, and having fun…….except for Race, who was still writhing and moaning in the bed. Thankfully, the food poisoning was short lived. On Sunday afternoon, we headed up to Mom and Dads. When we got there, we realized that we were probably going to be in the way because they were having the inside of their house painted this week!
Race and I had to drive up to Washington to pick up his car from the parking garage for his office. It was great to see where he works, and to be driven around in Washington, D.C. by your husband, and have him actually KNOW where he is going! Cool! We ate dinner across the street at a pub called The Dubliner. Excellent salmon, and Oh-my-gosh-excellent Baileys Irish Cream Cheesecake!! (Yes, food will be a recurring theme on this blog).
Monday was spent at mom and dad’s skating center. My sister Em, has several friends meet her up there once a week , so that all of their preschool-n’ under aged kids can play together. We all met up there, ate pizza, and watched the kids play. My kids always love to see their little cousins, Q and W!
Tuesday, we went to breakfast with mom and dad, and then the kids and I took off for Baltimore, to visit the aquarium. No real problems getting there, and the Aquarium was unbelievable! It was much more than any of us expected. They have a dolphin show! We spent about 3 hours there, and then looked around the inner harbor a bit, got some coffee, looked at books in the book store, etc. I was dog tired when we finally pulled out of the parking garage, took a wrong turn, and saw the very ugly under belly of the inner city of Baltimore. “Roll em’up an lock em kids”. Can I take a moment to set the scene for you here: Me with my blonde hair (out to here), in my shiny, black suburban-(of course we had just had her washed that morning), tooling down the dark, inner city streets of Baltimore. The kids had a movie playing in the back, which is also visible from outside the car. We are the ONLY car on these roads. These people don’t HAVE cars. My head flipping back and forth-left, then right, then left again, frantically looking for some sign…some clue…where is the interstate!! Passing boarded up row houses, with small little children scampering out from in front of them, and greasy windowed, corner store fronts with young people flying in and out of them. I am on my cell phone talking (o.k., shrieking) to Race who is telling me to keep my face turned away from the window, so that they won’t know that I am white?!?! ARE YOU HELPING ME HERE? From the back seat I hear, “Mom, look at that girls tall pink boots.” Which, incidentally had a matching bolero style jacket. “She looks cold.” “Why is she just standing out there like that?” To which I reply hysterically, “Because she has made some very poor choices in her life, and I’m NOT talking about those pink boots!’ “ Now, be quiet, and watch your movie a minute, and let me see if I can find the right road.” To which I hear, (from Jack, of course) “Yyyyeahhhh…….cause I don’t think this is the way.” At some point, I see a couple of police cars sitting on the side of the street. I pull up and stammer and stutter something about the Interstate 95. It will be forever burned into my brain, the fact that the POLICEMAN, called me “sweet baby girl”. I kid you not. His exact words were, “Oh Noooooooo.. Sweet Baby Girl, you are in the heart of the inner city, you keep going down this road, you not gonna like where you are.” Now, I’m not knocking the guy, ya know, cuz, God bless him, we would be a statistic by now if it weren’t for him. My innocence and naivety must have been glowing from inside the darkened windows of that suburban. A little slice of seldom seen Americana.
We ended the evening eating dinner with Race at the Olive Garden. It felt good to be safe. We all stayed the night in the hotel where he will be residing for the next few weeks while he finishes his class. An overly tired Jackson had us all in stitches with all of his latest dance moves. And just before I drifted off to a coma like sleep, I heard him tell Austin, (with whom he was sharing a bed for the night), “I am sleeping with you tonight. I hope I don’t wet you”. Then maniacal laughter, followed by a pounding from Austin, then a threat from Dad…..and at last…Quiet.
Race had to go to class the next morning, so we were on our own again. We headed back south, which shouldn’t have taken long, except that for some unknown reason, it took us over an hour to get across the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. We meet mom, Em, and her boys at the skating center again. We got to see W walk, and Q proudly told us all about his new reading skills. Too Cute!
I ended the day with a late night dinner with my friend Janelle i downtown Fredericksburg. We didn’t even sit down to eat until 9 pm! She and I have been friends since the first grade, so no matter how long it has been since we last saw one another, it is as if no time at all has elapsed. She saw me through all of my years with small children, where I would dash out of the house for the all-to-infrequent, dinner out with friends with dried baby spit up on my clothes. And now it is her turn. It is always fun. Getting together with her always feels like a favorite blanket that you would never want to be without. We missed Thomasina though, she SHOULD have been there. We had a wonderful aged cheese plate with a glass of 20 yr old port that was to die for! One of the cheeses was called “Drunken Goats Cheese”. O.K., could someone PLEASE see to it that a small hunk of this is waiting for me tomorrow sometime before dinner? And one of the cheeses (aged Goulda, I believe), smelled a lot like feet, but really it tasted quite good. (Makes you want some, doesn’t it?)
And today we returned HOME. It is always so good to come home. It was snowing. The dogs (Scout and Jeb) and cat(Herriot) were happy to see us, and the fish(Frodo) and gecko(Gandalf) are STILL living. Can’t wait to sleep in my own bed tonight! Hoping that Race will be home for the weekend. We all miss him.
Race and I had to drive up to Washington to pick up his car from the parking garage for his office. It was great to see where he works, and to be driven around in Washington, D.C. by your husband, and have him actually KNOW where he is going! Cool! We ate dinner across the street at a pub called The Dubliner. Excellent salmon, and Oh-my-gosh-excellent Baileys Irish Cream Cheesecake!! (Yes, food will be a recurring theme on this blog).
Monday was spent at mom and dad’s skating center. My sister Em, has several friends meet her up there once a week , so that all of their preschool-n’ under aged kids can play together. We all met up there, ate pizza, and watched the kids play. My kids always love to see their little cousins, Q and W!
Tuesday, we went to breakfast with mom and dad, and then the kids and I took off for Baltimore, to visit the aquarium. No real problems getting there, and the Aquarium was unbelievable! It was much more than any of us expected. They have a dolphin show! We spent about 3 hours there, and then looked around the inner harbor a bit, got some coffee, looked at books in the book store, etc. I was dog tired when we finally pulled out of the parking garage, took a wrong turn, and saw the very ugly under belly of the inner city of Baltimore. “Roll em’up an lock em kids”. Can I take a moment to set the scene for you here: Me with my blonde hair (out to here), in my shiny, black suburban-(of course we had just had her washed that morning), tooling down the dark, inner city streets of Baltimore. The kids had a movie playing in the back, which is also visible from outside the car. We are the ONLY car on these roads. These people don’t HAVE cars. My head flipping back and forth-left, then right, then left again, frantically looking for some sign…some clue…where is the interstate!! Passing boarded up row houses, with small little children scampering out from in front of them, and greasy windowed, corner store fronts with young people flying in and out of them. I am on my cell phone talking (o.k., shrieking) to Race who is telling me to keep my face turned away from the window, so that they won’t know that I am white?!?! ARE YOU HELPING ME HERE? From the back seat I hear, “Mom, look at that girls tall pink boots.” Which, incidentally had a matching bolero style jacket. “She looks cold.” “Why is she just standing out there like that?” To which I reply hysterically, “Because she has made some very poor choices in her life, and I’m NOT talking about those pink boots!’ “ Now, be quiet, and watch your movie a minute, and let me see if I can find the right road.” To which I hear, (from Jack, of course) “Yyyyeahhhh…….cause I don’t think this is the way.” At some point, I see a couple of police cars sitting on the side of the street. I pull up and stammer and stutter something about the Interstate 95. It will be forever burned into my brain, the fact that the POLICEMAN, called me “sweet baby girl”. I kid you not. His exact words were, “Oh Noooooooo.. Sweet Baby Girl, you are in the heart of the inner city, you keep going down this road, you not gonna like where you are.” Now, I’m not knocking the guy, ya know, cuz, God bless him, we would be a statistic by now if it weren’t for him. My innocence and naivety must have been glowing from inside the darkened windows of that suburban. A little slice of seldom seen Americana.
We ended the evening eating dinner with Race at the Olive Garden. It felt good to be safe. We all stayed the night in the hotel where he will be residing for the next few weeks while he finishes his class. An overly tired Jackson had us all in stitches with all of his latest dance moves. And just before I drifted off to a coma like sleep, I heard him tell Austin, (with whom he was sharing a bed for the night), “I am sleeping with you tonight. I hope I don’t wet you”. Then maniacal laughter, followed by a pounding from Austin, then a threat from Dad…..and at last…Quiet.
Race had to go to class the next morning, so we were on our own again. We headed back south, which shouldn’t have taken long, except that for some unknown reason, it took us over an hour to get across the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. We meet mom, Em, and her boys at the skating center again. We got to see W walk, and Q proudly told us all about his new reading skills. Too Cute!
I ended the day with a late night dinner with my friend Janelle i downtown Fredericksburg. We didn’t even sit down to eat until 9 pm! She and I have been friends since the first grade, so no matter how long it has been since we last saw one another, it is as if no time at all has elapsed. She saw me through all of my years with small children, where I would dash out of the house for the all-to-infrequent, dinner out with friends with dried baby spit up on my clothes. And now it is her turn. It is always fun. Getting together with her always feels like a favorite blanket that you would never want to be without. We missed Thomasina though, she SHOULD have been there. We had a wonderful aged cheese plate with a glass of 20 yr old port that was to die for! One of the cheeses was called “Drunken Goats Cheese”. O.K., could someone PLEASE see to it that a small hunk of this is waiting for me tomorrow sometime before dinner? And one of the cheeses (aged Goulda, I believe), smelled a lot like feet, but really it tasted quite good. (Makes you want some, doesn’t it?)
And today we returned HOME. It is always so good to come home. It was snowing. The dogs (Scout and Jeb) and cat(Herriot) were happy to see us, and the fish(Frodo) and gecko(Gandalf) are STILL living. Can’t wait to sleep in my own bed tonight! Hoping that Race will be home for the weekend. We all miss him.
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