You Don't See That Every Day

How I spent my Saturday. Sitting. Watching. Waiting. I saw two of my girls off at 7:30 this morning, with G. They headed to a swim meet. I got the other girls ready, and we went to Miss M's last basketball game of the season. And she did SO amazingly well! She had her eyes on the ball. She went after it like it was chocolate. She dribbled it down the court and scored a basket! I was so very proud of her and how far she has come since the first game back in January. I sat and watched her game, while hanging out with this sweet face: After a quick lunch, I headed back out to town. This time to sit with my oldest girl in the state playoffs of Awana Bible quizzing. They had 20 multiple choice questions, of which she only missed one: And then on the speed drills she wasn't able to answer in time. There were others there who hit their buzzer much more quickly. Sometimes (often) before the question was even finished being asked., someone would buzz in and answer it! ...

This week the country of study is Rome. And what famous place is in Rome? Well, there are lots of them, but we picked the Sistine Chapel. Today the girls are finger-painting the underside of the table. Yes, they taped paper on it before starting. We learned about Michelangelo, and his work on the ceiling of the S.C. Little K got up early from her nap and wanted to join the fun. We let her at least lay down with them. I heard various comments about aching arms and shoulders. The girls asked, "How long did this take 'Mike'?" Yeah, we're on a first name basis with the great artist I guess. The final product ... not quite the same as what you might find in Rome. But an original for sure.

It seems my life revolves around food. Feeding 5 little - well, some are not so little - mouths; And making sure the grown-ups around here are fed; and the two dogs need to be fed regularly also ... it all makes for a lot of food buying, prepping and consumption. So anytime I can find a quick, easy, and good recipe, I will try it out and probably make it way too many times! A friend passed this one on to me last week - Peanut Butter Cookies, without flour! The original recipe calls for 1 cup peanut butter, 1 cup sugar and 1 egg. That's it!! Mix it up, pop some spoonfuls on a baking sheet, bake for 6-8 minutes at 350 and they are done! Cool and eat - yum! But it you know me, I had to 'tweak' the recipe. I cut the sugar in half - it was way too sweet and 'granulary'; And then I added a half a cup of oats instead They still taste delicious - better I think! And the kids eat them up as quickly as I let them. Quick, easy and yummy. (it is also posted on my recip...

We got to go out on a date the other night! Thanks to the school my son attends - our name was drawn in a raffle - we had a night at Red Robin! Yum! That bacon guacamole burger is so good, And it was nice to just talk and hang out with my best friend. We didn't even end the evening at Home Depot like we usually do! Today - Saturday - was a work day. After the young girl's basketball game (7 down, 1 to go) we got things done around the house. I finally got out to take down the Christmas lights off the gutters. We are in the process of transitioning the littlest into a bed. All of the others were in beds by 18 months or so. She is almost 2 and it is time! We start with naps in the big bed and then eventually move to nighttime also. And the men of the house went to work upstairs! It's mudding time! Which means it will eventually be time to paint. And then order the carpet and flooring. And then move the kids in! They started in the boy's room: ...

Some people make St. Valentine's Day into quite a production. We don't usually. The kids make cards for friends and sometimes family members. This year the girls made cookies as part of a math lesson and then handed them out to neighbors. But then we got a little treat of our own... I am trying to do home school a little differently now, instead of just bookwork. I want my kids to love learning, not just have a list of work to cross off. Since the oldest girl is studying Greece this week, we decided to find some Greek food! There is a Greek restaurant in town I love to go to, because they make the best lamb ever, and that's the only place I can get it. So I took the girls out to lunch. Now, I didn't realize when I made my lesson plans that it was a 'special' day. A day when many restaurants might be busy. Thankfully, we went at lunch time, and the place was basically all ours. We ordered a couple of combination plates, and I told the girls we all had to ...

Before: It was time to cut hair this weekend. Little K has not had one single hair cut ever. It was not easy. She did not want to stay still at all. But those bangs needed it! So with a little distraction from dad I was able to get the scissors at her and trim across the front. That's all, but, boy, does it look a lot better. And I'm not having to constantly swipe her hair out of her face. After: Her older sister wanted a hair cut also. The tangles and the upkeep was beginning to be a pain in the neck for both of us! She has my curly, tangle-prone thick hair, so the short bob will be great for her. She also decided to send her hair into Locks of Love. Thankfully she had the length needed and we'll wrap it up to send in this week. Before:  After: Now my other daughter wants to do the same thing!

I haven't talked much about my faith on this blog. Maybe I figure those who know me, know what we stand for. But I suppose there are those out there who don't know or don't care. But here's a little glimpse. My Facebook entry yesterday evening said, "I don't believe in coincidence. I do believe God answers prayer." So totally believe it! Earlier in the week I alluded to some challenges we are having with our Boy. He's the oldest of the kids, the first, the guinea pig. So we are finding our way along with him as we navigate the growing up years. Tuesday night he and I had a very emotional, but very good, talk We knocked out all expectations and told him to just relax and have fun. He puts so much pressure on himself to be perfect. (Is this a firstborn trait?!?!) Well, yesterday (Wed) he had another basketball game. This is one area which has been most difficult. He is in a new league with boys who are really good players. He's good, but just...

When I woke up this morning I had no idea what was in store. It has been a busy day and yet I felt as if I have not accomplished anything. It started out as normally as any other day: make the lunches for those leaving the house; grade the homework; eat my breakfast and get the girls moving on theirs; check in with my emails and facebook. And that was when everything changed. Emails can do that to a person's day. A few lines written in another town and sent out amongst the masses can change the direction of the day. My dad wrote to tell all of us that my mom had gone to the hospital. Of course those first few words can make a child's stomach drop. As I read on and tried to explain to my girls what was going on, I got a bit emotional. My 6 year old asked, "How old is Grandma?" And not in the mind to think hard I said she was somewhere around 76 years old. And my girl replied, "Oh, she's not that much older than Dad." And I had to laugh; even with te...

A glimpse into the life of our family this past week: Little K. likes to play 'sleep' on the couch. Her latest words in her ever-growing vocabulary: cloth-wash (for washcloth); tootbrush; The girls got some special towel wraps for shower-head, which they like to wear a lot. Miss M is playing basketball and getting better every week. She actually dribbled the ball up the court this weekend. Little K loves her siblings. So much that she takes any opportunity to lounge on them We've finally hit the back of the woodshed and had to go get some more wood. Our furnace is still our of commission, so wood is our heat source. Puppies are hilarious. Especially when they sleep. Any position seems comfortable for this one. Sometimes we catch her with her head hanging off the step. And I got the box tops ready for the Boy's school contest. I wonder if his class will win. Either way, I'm glad they are all out of the drawer and going to hel...

I ran 5 miles earlier in the week. The furthest I have gone yet in my training. I've got a 6 miler staring at me this week. So today was a bit of cross training and 'rest'. Ha. Like a Saturday is a rest day around here! The Boy and I loaded up a bunch of the junk that has been laying around from the construction. It was one of the first sunny, fairly warm Saturdays that we have had in a long long time. After sorting through the junk for recyclables and actual garbage, the Boy and I headed to the dump. Greeting us at the docking area was a sign telling us all children under the age of 16 must remain in the vehicle. Groan. That means I have to unload everything myself. All the heavy stuff that we had loaded together became my weight lifting workout. All the light stuff became my aerobic workout as I turned and flung them into the pit. It was good exercise. And then I nearly got tears in my eyes. No, not from the smell (although it was a bit ripe.) I saw a family ...

I've always liked playing with numbers.  In college I worked in the school post office keeping the accounts straight for postage, etc. Pre-algebra was my favorite math class. Anything beyond that I hated. I wanted to be an architect back in high school. But that became a little too detail-oriented for me. (Which is also ironic, seeing as I was once an editor, which is highly detailed. As time goes by I get less and less picky about some details.) * - at this point I bet my husband is already laughing while reading this. Right honey? - * Why would he be laughing you might ask? I am the one who uses my fingers to count anything higher than 9 + 4. I'm the one who has made a number of errors in balancing our checkbook. I send the kids to Dad with all math questions. But I still like to play with numbers. Especially when I run. It takes me such a long time to figure certain equations out that it helps the miles go by. What my dear smart husband could do in a few seconds prob...