Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Halloweeeeeen!

When Trevor decided a few weeks back to be the Ben10 character Four Arms, he and Robert brainstormed about how to pull together a costume.


Robert's worked on it for the past few nights, and here's the terrific final result!


We went up to the mall, where there were a couple of hundred kids trick or treating. That's another reason why I like it here. It's big enough to have a good showing at events like this, but small enough to have easy parking and not be overwhelmed by huge crowds.

We stopped for dinner in the mall too.



And just because I don't get many pics of Holly anymore, I'm posting another one!


It was a nice night, an easy night, and Trevor rated it a "medium" Halloween. But, hey, he got free candy and had an awesome costume. What more do you need?!

As you would imagine, he had an, um, interesting time trying to wash off that makeup. His face definitely has a red tone to it. But that's part of the fun too, especially if you're a nine year old boy!

Mom's latest bright idea!

I don't know if it's just me, or if there are giant odds stacked against regular people attempting any sort of scientific experiments.

I bought Glo-Germ. I'd heard about it on my hs list. Chris didn't have ANY troubles with this. This should have been my first clue. Chris is a pharmacist. I can barely choke down an Advil.

With all this MRSA talk, I thought I could impress my kids with the need to really wash their hands. It's a cute kit, and it ought to be. I paid $10, plus $6 for shipping. It came with instructions, fake germs, and a nifty little blacklight penlight.



Okay, kids, get ready to be grossed out! I poured a few drops of germ lotion on their hands and rubbed it in well. Really well. You want to be sure you get lots of germs in between your fingers, stuck in your fingernails, etc. I'm not sure how real germs really get that far in there, but I was following those directions.

Now wash your hands like you normally do. This won't take longer than five seconds!


Now off to the windowless bathroom, so we can see all those disgusting germs that you missed! (The whole time, I'm thinking, "Haha, you'll never wash your hands in the same way again!! ") We all crowd into the bathroom, and I'm relishing my moment of glory, the moment when all of my mom admonishments to "wash your hands!" are appreciated, and my kids can truly see me for the hero I am!

I pull out the penlight and SHINE!!!

Nothing on the palms. Nothing on the backs of the hands. Nothing between the fingers. I have a little blob of fake germs left in one fingernail. Trevor has a few specks around a couple of cuticles. Holly has a blob on one finger.

My moment of glory--gone. Washed away. Like a germ.

My kids, not knowing how *I* feel, are quite thrilled by this experiment. They've just proven that they can effectively wash their hands in five seconds. Or less.

I'm in shock. I take my little blacklight penlight and leave, all my hopes and dreams dashed. I'm not sharing this little goody now. Sadly, no one else notices. They don't even want to play with my new toy.

My blog is one year old today!

I wrote back then that I wasn't sure of the purpose of doing this, or what my ultimate goal was. I thought something would just happen.

It's been fun, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to have a place to post pictures and comment on the regular days of life. This is nicely convenient, since I'm not very good at keeping photo albums, and our pictures would otherwise disappear into the computer, rarely seen again.

While I don't know any more about the direction of my blog today than I did last October, I'm surprised that I've stayed committed to it for this long. I'm happy to continue blogging, and maybe we'll even reach two years!




glitter graphics
Free Glitter Graphics

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Tuesday

The kids continue to fly through their schoolwork. I've looked at their schedules over and over and can find nothing lacking; and I'm reluctant to pile on more work just because they are working efficiently . . . I need to continue to reassess, if for no other reason, to reassure myself that everything is going as it should. Additionally, I've always scheduled them for "free time" whenever possible. While it might sound silly to actually schedule it, it seems to work well when they know they have time dedicated to doing whatever they want (within reason, of course!).

We had another gorgeous day, and Trevor and I were able to get out for a walk.



Most of the leaves never seemed to have "changed"--just fallen down in the rain last week! I am grateful for the pine trees that will keep everything from being completely bare.



At the last minute in town yesterday, I remembered that we still hadn't bought PUMPKINS! And Lowe's even still had a good selection at a decent price! Trevor's been waiting for this all day; I think he started asking at 7:30 this morning. He drew several different faces on his pumpkin during the day with marker--it worked great, since it washed off easily.

But I think he really wanted to 1) give his pumpkin a lobotomy; and 2) have a good excuse to use a knife!



It was the first year that the kids didn't ask me for any help at all! I don't like this! I've been the chief pumpkin carver for 13 years, and I'm not ready to stop yet. (Maybe I need to buy my own pumpkin. Poor Mom!)



The end result. :)



BOO!

Monday, October 29, 2007

Weekly menu

Dinner:

quiche, spinach salad

french onion soup, bread, salad

???

chili dogs

husband delight

pizza

sloppy joes


Lunch (with or for):
smoothies
grilled PB&J

On the back burner:
grilled flank steak
fondue
Indian butter chicken
"seafood night" -- not sure what this is, but Robert promised Trevor
chicken souvlaki, coucous
shredded beef tacos
BLTs
manicotti

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Too many books?

Can one have "too many books"? It doesn't sound like a bad thing. In my world, it would be like having too much ice cream. Impossible.

I don't know that I have "too many books," but I'm trying to read too many at the same time. You can see my sidebar. I'm currently reading Parenting Is Heart Work, and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. There are several others there waiting to be read. Hold on to Your Kids has been there since last November.

Not only am I having trouble keeping up, I'm two months behind. According to my Daily Bible, it's August 20.

And we usually have at least one read aloud going for school. Just to keep my life from being too boring, I'm taking on more there this week too. Our read aloud is Otto of the Silver Hand. I'm hoping Trevor does okay with it.

Holly's beginning the Beautiful Feet curriculum tomorrow, and we'll start The Story of Liberty. While she'll be doing some of her own reading, the curriculum encourages a parent to read out loud when possible.

And somewhere along the way, I got the brilliant idea to read a children's version of Moby Dick to Trevor. He's learning about whales in science, so it just fits well. (Nevermind that he's told me he's not really interested; I've never read Moby Dick, therefore, I think Trevor will find it very interesting.)

Once again I'm drowning in books. And I don't think there's such a thing as "too many" really, but I wish they came in Mint Chocolate Chip. Or Rocky Road.

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Saturday

Eek, no time to post! Here are some pictures of today. I can't believe we've had 6" of rain in the past three days, but it was bright, blue and 60s again today. I'm figuring it's a last hurrah for summer, and we bbqed burgers for dinner. :)






Friday, October 26, 2007

Wacky week at my house

After weeks of summer weather that I'd hoped would never end, it's rained. For three days. And we have five inches of rain and a brand new swimming hole in our back yard. Actually, the rain has been quite pleasant. The wind doesn't blow, and the temps have been in the high 50s. We've had our bedroom windows open the whole time and no need to run the heater.

* * *

I don't think either of the kids has ever gone to the street to get the newspaper--until now. They find it great fun for all three of us to pack under the umbrella. Of course, it's only fun if *I* come along. It passes for fun around here, lol.

* * *

We've also continued to do some school work on the front porch.


Notice my coat. Trevor's in shorts. It was a little too cool to comfortably do art, so Holly and I did that in the car at her request. That gives new meaning to the term "carschooling" when you do it in the driveway.

* * *

For the past ten years, regular white milk has not passed Holly's lips. She can manage chocolate milk, but that's about it. She discovered soy milk a few weeks ago and likes it. This might not seem wacky to anyone else, but I never would have guessed this in a million years. And with the price of milk right now, it's not a big leap to soy milk.

* * *

Trevor discovered that Transformers is on at 6 a.m. That's a little early for all of us. But for the past three days, he's set his alarm and woken up to watch. At Holly's request, he wakes her up too. He shines a flashlight in her eyes and finds it great fun. And Holly, who's never (ever, ever, ever) been one to get up early, gets up with him. This is the same girl who sets her alarm every morning for 7:15 and stumbles downstairs an hour later. I had (have) reservations about them doing this, but there are advantages. They go to sleep earlier at night. They've also been totally ready for school at 8:30, flying through their schoolwork. I can't complain.

* * *

Trevor. I've known this kid for nine years now. My sweet faced boy.


At least I try to remember him this way. He's enjoying driving me absolutely nuts with the most hideous faces.



This one looks like something out of a Mrs. Piggle Wiggle book.


That's his tongue over his upper lip.

* * *

The faces are so awful, but it's hard to not laugh sometimes. He continued at dinner, where his reading/viewing influences are showing up. And it's not pretty.

Trevor: (Burps at the table.)

Mom: (Turns expectantly.)

Trevor: "Better out than in, I always say!" (Thank you, Shrek.)

Mom: (Mouth dropping open.)

Trevor: "Must be a barge coming through!" (Thank you, Calvin & Hobbes.)

I laughed so hard that I almost cried. Then I threatened to send him to his room.

* * *

While Trevor's been busy showing off his marvelous memory, Holly's been training the cat. To fetch. Holly throws something for Pumpkin, and Pumpkin will chase after it, pick it up and return to Holly, waiting to go catch it again.

Good thing the cat now knows how to fetch, because our dog sure doesn't.

* * *

It's been an interesting week.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Tuesday

Trevor is currently learning about medieval monasteries. We've kept our history pretty low key this year, so I jumped at the chance to have a Monks Supper tonight. (Thanks to SOTW Activity Guide.)

Trevor helped a lot making the soup, and it was FUN! It made me realize, once again, that although I spend a lot of time with my kids in school, I need to be working more at fun time outside of school. We all would benefit from that, I'm sure.

We also had sliced cheese, sliced apples, beer (as in the diet, root kind), and bread and butter (although monks only had butter for special occasions). It was too bad that Robert and Holly didn't care for the soup--Trev and I both thought it was terrific, and we both had seconds. I could eat this often.

* * *

Lentil Soup

2 T. oil
2 c. green lentils
1 T. minced garlic
2 small onions, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, sliced
3 carrots, sliced
1 potato, cut into 1" cubes
8-10 c. water or chicken broth (I used about half and half)
2 bay leaves (remove before serving)
1 T. chopped parsley
1 t. thyme
1 t. oregano
1 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper

Heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add oil; when hot, add garlic and onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, about 7 minutes until the onions are translucent. Add the remaining ingredients. Bring just to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cover. Cook two hours, stirring occasionally. Can blend/puree before serving, but I just mashed it up with a potato masher to keep some of the texture.


* * *


It had been warm and drizzly all day; I am loving this weather. It was a nice change from the sun, and since it was 70 degrees, we still sat on the front porch to do some school work. Robert and I spent too much time watching the awful pictures of the California fires. We have friends who evacuated late Sunday night.

Trevor's chess club met tonight, so we had a bit of a drive. I snapped this right by the church where chess club meets. I would love to spend a day or two just driving around and taking pictures.


Hmmm. Maybe three days.

Big Burritos

Emily asked that I post the burrito "recipe." There really isn't one; we recreate Qdoba's Vegetarian Burrito. We used to eat a lot of Chipotle and Qdoba. It didn't matter so much which one; my favorite really hinged on which had better customer service in the long run.

It will come as no surprise that we don't have one of these nearby. In fact, the nearest Qdoba and Chipotle both are in North Carolina. (Just shoot me now!)

* * *

Giant Burritos

Big white tortillas, heated briefly in microwave.

6 cups of hot white rice (about 2 c. dry), cooked with 1-2 T. lime juice, and 1/2 t. dried coriander or a few tablespoons of chopped fresh cilantro, or both.

One or two cans of black or pinto beans (your choice); drained well, and heated in microwave.

One package of shredded cheese.

Salsa(s) of your choice.

Sour cream.

Two or three avocados, mashed up with salt and pepper added.

* * * *

Set up ingredients, assembly line style. When everyone has added what they want, pretend to attempt to roll up the burrito. IF you really can roll it up, there's not enough stuff inside, so go back and add more. If you can't roll it up, you have enough filling and are ready to eat. Serve with a knife and fork.


*The difference is that Qdoba/Chipotle can roll up these burritos. However, I can't.

Monday, October 22, 2007

Weekly menu

Dinner:

giant burritos

Monks Supper (from SOTW, lol)
and dessert: Molasses Crinkle cookies from Strawberry Shortcake Murder

out to dinner

Emily's Tortilla Soup

galoush

cheeseburgers, cabbage ramen salad

smoked pork chops, mashed potatoes, corn

Lunch (with or for):
smoothies
grilled PB&J

On the back burner:
grilled flank steak
fondue
"seafood night" -- not sure what this is, but Robert promised Trevor
chili dogs
butter chicken

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Shrimp in Garlic Wine Sauce

This is a recipe that I've made for a long time. (Debbie in SJ: Do you remember giving me this recipe, and do you ever still make it?) I prefer it with rice; the rest of my family prefers pasta. That would be because Holly doesn't eat the shrimp part, so I serve it all separately, lol. Jean left a bag of frozen vegetables that steam right in the package; the peas with garlic and mushrooms were really good! I never would have bought them on my own, but I might now.


1 lb. raw large shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 T. flour
1/4 c. oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 T. chopped shallots, or a second garlic clove, or a little minced onion
pinch of salt
2 T. lemon juice
1/4 c. dry white wine
2 T. butter

Sprinkle flour over shrimp and toss well. Heat 12" saute pan over medium heat; add oil. When hot, add shrimp in one layer. Brown lightly on one side, turn over and add garlic, shallots and salt. Brown on second side. Deglaze pan with lemon juice and wine. Reduce liquid, swirling pan to make sauce. Add butter, swirling to melt, and remove from heat. Serves 3.

Can serve over rice or pasta.

A catch up day

The church-search continues to be a bit overwhelming. We know where we'd like to go, but we don't want to be driving an hour to get there. Robert and I were both not feeling well last night, so it was an easy decision to stay home today. Again.

After being on the run for three days, it was great to have no plans. I didn't get dressed until well after lunch. (But at least I got dressed!)

I am SO not missing Colorado! Colorado = snow; freezing temps. Here = low 70s, low humidity, clear blue skies.

I spent an hour and a half talking to my dad and my sister on the phone. That kind of uninterrupted phone time is a luxury!

Robert set up the new bookshelf and I unpacked the rest of the book boxes. Yippee!!!! It's pretty . . . pretty ugly, but it's done, and I can find things. (If I only knew exactly what was there . . . )


Trevor and I walked down to the creek. He's having a harder time finding salamanders. I'm thinking they've buried themselves a little deeper as the weather's cooled. I'm beginning to have a better sense of direction and am not as worried that I'll get lost down there, never to find home again. :)

I made an old recipe for dinner that I'll post. Holly and I made cookie dough, the Molasses Crinkles from the first Hannah Swensen book. (Actually, I made the dough, and she pulled out her school notebooks, remembering work she'd done in 2nd and 3rd grade. It was so sweet!!!) We settled in to watch The Next Iron Chef.

You'd think I'd have had time to finish their school schedules, but that's the one thing I have to do before going to bed tonight.

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Chess for success!

Trevor competed in his first chess tournament today. We drove up to Roanoke. (Trevor made a face for his picture, so I'll use this one instead, haha.)



Seventeen kids competed in his age group (4th-5th graders). They played four games each, and Trevor earned two points (out of a possible four). He placed 11th and won a trophy! This was an excellent first showing!!!



It was a fun day, doing something totally different for us. We are very proud of him!

Friday, October 19, 2007

It's all about ME!

I desperately needed a haircut. I took a chance on a salon I found online and got my hair cut yesterday. I had to drive over the scary mountain. The trees are changing there, and it was beautiful! The hair place was totally awesome, and they did a great job on my hair. Huge relief for me, as it's one less thing I have to!

To celebrate, I ate half a giant box of Good n Plenty on the way home.

I already have three overdue library books. Oops! And the computer won't let me renew them if they are already overdue. I wonder how much they charge?

I'm reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to the kids. This is SUCH an awesome book! I'm even looking forward to watching the Gene Wilder movie version again when the book is done.

Robert set up the newest bookshelf downstairs, and I am almost done finally unpacking every book! Yippee!

Embarrassing thing #1: The night before we moved from Colorado Springs, friends invited us to dinner. I spilled something big time on my pants, and Christine lent me a pair of hers. They've been sitting in a mailing box here for over a month, and I still haven't sent them back.

Embarrassing thing #2: Holly's riding teacher was married in the beginning of September. I finally got her gift and card three weeks ago. It's still sitting here at my house. The longer it sits, the more embarrassed I am, but I still can't just write an extra note and put it in the mail. Besides, all I have is lined notebook paper.

I desperately need to get to the post office.

I went to a homeschool moms get together tonight. I. must. have. IRL adult female company! I made Ree's Cream Cheese Stuffed Jalapenos. I drove to the scary mountain but didn't have to go over it. It was still scary. It was drizzling and almost dark. I saw three different deer along the way (nervewracking!). And three cars total on the ten mile stretch of back road that I once (twice?) said I'll never drive again.

I enjoyed talking to the small group of moms, especially because most were following a classical curriculum for their kids (even if most of their kids are younger than mine).

The drive home wasn't too bad. At least the moon was out. (Dad, there are no streetlights for at least 12 miles west of me. And that IS the main road.) I saw two unrecognizable animals dash in front of my car, each different, both bigger than a squirrel and smaller than a raccoon. I saw four more deer out waaaay past their bedtime. I saw a total of three cars on the 12 miles home.

I ate most of the rest of the box of Good n Plenty.

I'm no longer dreading deer season quite as much.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Slowly falling

Suddenly I'm noticing a lot of leaves on the ground. Some of the trees have turned red, but most remain green. I'm sure they are still hopeful that it will continue to be warm, with lots of daylight.

I went for three walks today. The first was while the kids were still in bed. At 7:30 a.m., it was about 60 degrees. I could still see some of the morning haze.


It's getting too dark to walk after dinner, so Holly and I walked before.



Trevor thought it would be great fun to walk at almost dark. So we took a giant flashlight--and a cell phone, just in case. It wouldn't have done much good. We ran into Robert and Holly as we headed back towards home. The kids thought this night time walk was fun. I did not like it at all, I was too worried that a car would come along and not see us! Well, I have to worry about something, I guess. At least it wasn't cold outside, and the flashlight worked great!

Book Review - Parent Effectiveness Training by Dr. Thomas Gordon

What possesses me to continue reading parenting books? What magic advice do I hope to find?
Whatever it might be, it won't be found in this book. PET promises:
Using the timeless methods of PET will have immediate results . . . you'll find PET a compassionate, effective way to instill responsibility and create a nurturing environment in which your child will thrive.
Note: The author is a recipient of the 2000 Lifetime Achievement Award from the California State Psychological Association. He's a Nobel Peace Prize nominee.

What should have been my first clue that this book was not for me?????????

The book tells us that parents' attitudes and methods leave much to be desired. Parents fall into two categories: too strict, and too lenient. But wait! There's another option! Give up your power struggle. When you have a conflict with your child (whether they are 3 or 30), it can be resolved by allowing the child to brainstorm several solutions. From there, parent and child work out a solution acceptable to both. Parents are not to show a united front during problem solving. One parent typically doesn't agree anyway and both should enter into problem solving as "free agents."

Simplify the job of "training parents"! Everybody wins! Parents and children "possess equal or relatively equal power"! After all, you wouldn't treat your friends this way. And who wants their kids mad at them? Parents are strongly advised to not pressure "kids to live by certain rules," and parents must accept what they cannot change. Parents can prevent conflicts by "modifying themselves." Schools would do well to adopt this attitude too, as "students are blatantly denied civil rights" and "due process of law" in the classroom.

The author even claims that PET develops reasoning skills in children so superior that he "would not be surprised if future research determines that children in (these homes) develop mental capacities superior to children in (homes not using the method)."

* * *

To be fair, the book had some good ideas on how to be a better listener, how to actively listen to what your kids are trying to tell you, and to not be defensive as a parent and how to respond in a way that is less likely to put children on the defensive. It teaches you how to easily recognize that some problems are owned by the children, and must be handled by the children. Some problems are owned by the parent, which require the parent to handle. Since reading the book last week, I have found both of these points to be helpful, and I've noticed my kids responding more positively too.

But overall, this was an awful premise, one more encouragement for parents to pass on their responsibility to someone else--in this case, their children. I am saddened to think of the kids who are raised in this way. It's a great book to solve conflicts for roommates--but that's not the relationship I want to have with my kids. And it shouldn't be the relationship they want to have with me either.

Monday, October 15, 2007

There Are Zebras on the Ceiling

With apologies to Jack Prelutsky . . .

There are zebras on the ceiling dancing upside-down ballet.


A giraffe is in the foyer, and it will not go away.


There's a chicken in the kitchen playing checkers with a quail,


and the turtle's running races with a very speedy snail.


My father's growing feathers,


and my mom is ten feet tall.


A weasel and a wallaby are whistling on the wall.



The cheese has turned to butter, and the butter's turned to bread.


The tub is full of buzzards, and a bear is in my bed.


The furniture is shrinking, and the den has disappeared.


My sister's sprouting antlers, and the puppy has a beard.


A marmoset is marching with a mallard and a mouse.


It's just another normal Monday -- I just love it at my house!

Weekly menu

Dinner:

pizza

tacos

YOYO

pork with lemon and caper sauce, couscous, Caesar salad

BBQd Chicken Divine, watermelon salad, sweet potato fries, fried cabbage

breakfast (eggs, sausage, hash browns)

shrimp scampi, rice, _______

"seafood night" -- not sure what this is, but Robert promised Trevor


Lunch (with or for):
strawberry soup
smoothies
grilled PJ&J

On the back burner:
grilled flank steak
fondue
galoush
Molasses Crinkle cookies from Strawberry Shortcake Murder
will it ever get cold enough to make Emily's Tortilla Soup?

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Quote of the Day

Trevor: Mom! This is the first Starbucks we've been to in Virginia!

Mom: That's because we're not IN Virginia, dear.



Sure enough, we're back in North Carolina. But just to take Robert's mom to the airport.


New shopping. Target. Panera. Cold Stone. Starbucks. It was JUST like being in Colorado Springs. (To be fair, we have all these stores in Roanoke, but we haven't actually been to them yet.)

We also stopped in Office Depot. My three 6' bookshelves are no longer enough to hold my curriculum-junkie books. I have several boxes left to unpack and haven't found cheap bookshelves that match my basement decor. But I did one better, finding a matching bookshelf on clearance for $25.

I think I might be getting to like NC a little!

But only a little. I was v-e-r-y happy to get back home. Stickville has won my heart. No contest.

:)