Back to the Real World

Tomorrow we all go back to school. We have gotten in the habit of staying up late and sleeping in. We have watched several movies, got a lot of cleaning done, and enjoyed the break. I feel like I did at the beginning of the school year. I'm not ready!

We celebrated Thanksgiving at my grandma's this year. It was interesting I guess. We are a family with a lot going on. There are different issues that certain members are facing and it affects us all. Christmas should be interesting to say the least. Pray for civility among certain members, and peace this holiday season. We can use it.

M's family is suffering some separation also. Since his mom passed away, one of his brothers has isolated himself from the rest of the family. I know this hurts M. He has always been the one to reach out to this brother, but he gets no where. M's oldest brother, his wife, M, the kids and I all went to Fat Jack's Pizza on Thanksgiving Night. It was different to say the least.

My house is ready for decorating, but I am too sick to do it. Saturday morning I woke up with the flu. Nice. The kids were the most disappointed because Saturday was supposed to be the day for decorating. But, being the wonderful kids they are, they have accepted the idea that we will do it tomorrow, the first day of December. I told them that makes more sense anyways, right?

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

What I Heard All Day

Today C1 and C2 played together all day.

They played Stuart. They took turns being Stuart and acted out different scenes.

All day I heard "Doooon't!" and "I don't wanna say!"



At least they weren't crashing my Cleaning Party!

Cleaning Party

I have told the kids that this week, with our time off from school, we are going to clean and get some things done before we get out any Christmas decorations.

Then Friday or Saturday, we can start decorating.

When C2 came in the door after school he asked what we were doing tonight.

"Cleaning party!" I said.

"Not me!" he replied, "I have a life."

Sign of the Times

When I was in school we had fire drills and tornado drills.

They still have those in the schools today, but now sadly enough, they also have to have "lock down drills."

Each classroom is to close the blinds, lock the door, turn off the lights and sit quietly in the corner on the same wall as the door.

We had one of these drills on Friday.

After the drill this conversation took place between two of the Kindergarten students in our class.

Student 1: That was kind of scary.
Student 2: I wasn't scared.
Student 1: I was.
Student 2: Why? I was with you.
Student 1: You sound just like my mom.

Did I mention Student 1 was a boy and Student 2 was a girl?

Even at the age of 6 the girls are taking care of the boys.

I didn't tell her it NEVER ends!

Go Bucks!!!

Today is the BIG game!!! Ohio State vs Michigan. If you live here or have ever lived here, you know what a BIG deal this game is. I admit that Ohio State football is the only sport event we watch. We are not a sporty family.

BUT WE LOVE OUR BUCKEYES!

At the end of the first quarter, OSU 7-Michigan 0.

Yeah!

Mabel and Midnight

Today C1 needed a picture for school for her computer class. They are learning how to scan pictures.

Anyways, she wanted to take this one:



This is Mabel, one of our cats, and Midnight, our rabbit.

Midnight died last spring and we are all still feeling it. I can hardly look at this picture without tearing up.

Mabel and Midnight were lovers special friends. He would chase her all over the house until she would lay still long enough for him to "go at it".

Out of all the cats, Mabel is the one that really noticed Midnight's absence. She would go to the spot where his cage was, and just sit. That made my heart break even more.

Next spring, we hope to get another baby bunny.

Hint, hint S!!!

My Baby's Driving!

Monday was B's fifteen and a half year birthday.

That means he was able to get his permit packet and study for the permit test.

Today, he took the test. He passed. He's driving.




I'm not ready for this!

Hee! Hee!

I have M, C1, and C2 cleaning up the kitchen after supper.

I said I have to do something in the bedroom then, when we are all done, we can watch a movie.

What they don't know?

I'm on the computer!!!

Shhhh!

One Of The Best Parts About Thanksgiving?

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade!



This commercial is too cute!

I LOVE that Charlie Brown is the one that actually catches it!

He's usually such a loser:(

Everyone Else Is Doing It...

It's bad enough that we have this in ALL the stores, and have since the beginning of October.


But when C2 starts to see this around the town,




he cannot understand why we don't have ours up.

It is totally killin' him.

We drive around with him seeing more and more Christmas decorations up and telling me that is not too early and me telling him how crazy all those people are. We will not be putting ours up until after Thanksgiving. Thank.You.Very.Much.


And I totally blame these people for the snow we had yesterday


Yep. It's all their fault.

I'm Moving South!!!

Yes! It is snowing!

Anyone that knows me knows how I feel about fall, winter and snow.

I.do.not.like.them!

M called about an hour ago to see if we had noticed what was happening outside. Having my nose in a book and C2's eyes glued to the TV (I purposely dug out a movie I knew he would watch (yeah, I'm that kind of mom)), we had not. Of course right away he wanted to go out and play. I assured him that it was too warm and wet for any of it to stick.

Boy, was I wrong.




Now he is waiting for C1 to get home so they go out and play.

They will come in wet, cold, and complaining about being wet and cold.

But, this gives me more reading time so I'll deal with it when it happens.

Right now they are so excited, I can't stand them.

So, A, when can I move in?

Is This The Brady's Vacation Home?

I stumbled across this house for sale this afternoon. I think it's in New Zealand?

Anyways, it cracked me up.

It's almost as if it is a musuem of the 50's or 60's. I would love to see what the sellers actually look like.



I will say, it is spotless!!!

Daily Guidepost

Every morning I start my day with a reading from Daily Guidepost.

Yesterday's was from one of my favorite authors, Julia Attaway. Julia is a stay at home mom in New York City with five children. She home schooled her children for eight years before enrolling them in private schools last year. Her stories I can often relate to. She also writes with a touch of humor.

Julia writes:

"Mom, make my hair extra neat today. Francois is teaching, and he doesn't like messy buns."

I dutifully sprayed on a little more water and twisted Mary's hair a bit tighter. I find it funny that Mary is aware of the preferences of her various ballet teachers. Then again, it's funny that I know anything at all about putting up hair.

Before I had a daughter in ballet I knew nothing about buns. Hair wasn't on my radar; I would have happily gone through life clueless about the subtle distinctions in using bobby pins and elastics. But life with children takes funny turns, and I find myself at middle age with a remarkable amount of knowledge about things I never imagined I'd know.

I know about learning disabilities and cleaning snake cages and organizing reenactments of the Revolutionary War. I can test for a broken bone and distract a nap-deprived toddler during rush hour. I know (sort of) what a vector is, and I've learned an astonishing and heartbreaking amount about anxiety disorders. None of these things were on my list of hoped-for accomplishments in life.

Yet somehow this pile of oddities has a lot to do with who I am today. I've grown more from doing what's plopped in my path than I have from pursuing my own interests. In a way, that's as it should be. I see what I want, but God sees beyond that to what I need. There's a lot that goes into learning how to twist a bun into place.

Lord, whatever I want for myself, help me want what You want for me more.

So much of who we are is not what we planned for ourselves. It's what God planned for us when He created us. We often complain and wonder "why?" Because it's God's plan, and in the end there is a reason why we are where we are.

Like the old saying goes, "If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans."

So what knowledge do you have Internet that God has unexpectedly given you?

Gotta Love The 80's!

Earlier this week some friends and I were talking about the 80's.

I said, "That is so funny because I almost did a post about that! I was going through pictures on my computer and came across one of my cousins and I in the late 80's and thought it was so funny."

Well, here it is:


This is me, my cousin L, and my cousin T.

It was 1989.

Our hair is big.

Our shirts are layered.

You can't see them, but I'm sure our pants are pegged and our flat shoes match our shirts.

We were young and carefree.




See the pillow in my lap? It's because I thought I was FAT and was hiding myself.

I wish I were that fat now!

Puzzled

OK. I talked to some friends today about this and they suggested that I just post the question.

WHO is coming here from Sidney, Galion, and Bellville??? I have determined that it is the same person. You come from the PTO site, but I have a feeling you just go there to come here.

T, if it's you, please let me know. Even if it is you C, I'd appreciate it if you would let me know.

Thanks...

If it's someone that for some reason just enjoys hearing about my mundane life,

Welcome...

Another One Bites The Dust

Another weekend gone.

I did not get anything accomplished that I wanted to.

As my old boss from Value City used to say, "I'm so far behind, I think I'm first."

Tomorrow, I need to bust butt to get caught up!

I Want One!!!

Do you think M would mind if I brought one of these home?



The hippos at the zoo have always been one of my favorites.

I had no idea there were pygmy ones!

Pouty Baby!

One night last week, M put this baby bib on Saki.

Immediatly he ran behind the couch to hide.


M said "He knows he's goin' on the blog!"

And Now We Wait...

Just Do It!

I Wish Winter Would NEVER Come!

It has been unseasonably warm here for the last few days and is supposed to continue for a couple more.

We're talking mid 70's. And sunny.

Right after everyone got home from school today, we headed to the park.

C1 brought her friend L, C2 brought my cousin's son B.

We picked up my grandma and were off.

To be outside with no coat or jacket the first of November, really is unusual. But we are not complaining!




My gram gets quite a kick out of the kids anymore. She just laughs at almost everything they do.


Gram thought we needed to take a hike in the woods. I was all for it! I LOVE the woods.



GREAT weather we had, but with the time change, it now gets dark by six o'clock. This cut our time at the park short.

But I am thankful for the time outside in the sun, giving my grandma a break from a nerve racking situation, and enjoying the moment!

I think we all benefited from this trip to the park.

We Did It!

Early this morning B left for a one night camping trip with the Boy Scouts. C1 had spent the night with my mom so it was just C2 and I here.

"Can we do something?" he asked.

"Sure," I replied. "It's a beautiful day. What do you want to do?"

"I want to build that marble thing of B's" he said.

Oh man! I thought. I don't want to build that!

But I knew he really wanted to. Just the fact that he came up the idea so quick means that he had been thinking about it for awhile.

With B gone, today really was the perfect day.

My mom got this kit for B for Christmas maybe four or five years ago. He really got a lot of use out of it. But, he always had to do it in his room. Four or five years ago, C2 would have been three or four and C1 just six or seven. There would have been no way he could have built that in the living room. It just would not have worked.

So, because he always had to do it in his room, he pretty much did it by himself. I would always go up to see how he was coming and make suggestions, but could not stay long with two young ones dying to get their hands on it.

He never seemed to mind and really did make some really cool tracks that went all over his room.

So, here is the picture on the box,


and here is C2 with ours.


Altogether it took us about two and a half hours.

C2 was VERY excited that we got it to work. I think I really impressed him.

When we finished though I couldn't help but feel a little sad. I felt so bad that B always did it by himself. This was really hard. I know in my mind that that is what he wanted, because he didn't want C1 and C2 to mess it up. But in my heart, because that time with him is now gone, I am sorry.

Happy November!

Can you believe November is here already!?!

You know what that means?

54 shopping days until Christmas!

Get busy!