Skipping the Rambling

You'll be relieved to have me simply post pictures and skip the 1000 words.

Here's what my weekend looked like.



And then on Sunday.




And, before you ask; no, I did not make the cookies. I could have, if I had the time and talent. As it is, I just have connections to people with the time and talent.

Also, if you are in the neighborhood, drop by for some tiramisu. I begged the owner of a local Italian place to let me buy a pan of his Godiva cocoa sprinkled tiramisu for the baby shower. He reluctantly agreed and gave me a fair price for what I thought was going to be a 10x13 pan of deliciousness. Turns out, he only had a monster size pan and so made me enough tiramisu for the whole neighborhood. Seriously, the pan barely fit in my refrigerator. I feel a little bad...as he probably lost money on the proposition; but I did tell everyone where it came from, so I guess he could just consider it an advertising expense.

Oops...sorry. I guess I just can't help a little rambling.

The Simple Woman's Daybook

Since I seem to have no time to think up clever, pithy blog posts (especially like my dear friend Micki) I'll steal an idea from another homeschool mom. Here is: The Simple Woman's Daybook

Outside My Window -- it's dark, not even any moonlight. Is it a new moon?

I am thinking.... how glad I am that one of my dear friend's husband is running for a State Senate seat. I'm thinking how glad I am that it's her getting to be the congenial trophy wife and not me. We attended the Brunswick Stewbilee in 90+ degree weather today. I got to go home after only and hour and a half of sweat and misery. She stayed for hours "meeting and greeting". Lord bless 'em...that's all I got to say.

I am thankful for.... great kids. Really, they are so much better than I deserve.

From the learning room.... I started reading Robinson Crusoe to Hannah and Victoria. I didn't exactly love it when I read it for the first time a few years ago and but it seems a bit more palatable the second go around. Hannah in particular seems to be enjoying it.

From the kitchen.... Hannah made cherry turnovers for dessert tonight. Quite yummy!

I am wearing.... shorts and a tank top. Yes, I know...it's supposed to be autumn. Southeast Georgia didn't get the memo and thinks it's still the peak of summer.

I am reading.....Paul Johnson's A History of the American People. I love his style...In talking about the original settlers he says, "America had the liberty of vast size. That was a luxury denied to the English; the constraints of their small island made dissent a danger and conformity a virtue. That indeed was why English settlers came to America. A man could stand on Cape Cod with his face to the sea and feel all the immensity of the Atlantic Ocean in front of him, separating him, like a benevolent moat, from the the restrictions and conformities of narrow Europe. And, equally, he could feel behind him---and, if he turned round, see it---the immensity of the land, undiscovered, unexplored, scarcely populated at all, a huge, experimental theater of liberty...Here was the dominant geopolitical fact which bore down upon the settlers from their first days on the new continent: if they did not like the system they found on the coast, and if they had the courage, they could go on. Nothing would stop them, except their own fear." The man can turn a phrase: benevolent moat, dissent a danger and conformity a virtue...love it!

I am hoping.... I can really implement Ambleside Online with Hannah this year, and even some with Victoria. I'm sensing the need for some beauty in our lives...studying some composers, artists...doing the things I've always wanted to do in our school but haven't. We're going to slow down and smell the flowers along the way, and maybe sketch then as well.

I am hearing.... a Georgia Tech football game. Go Yellow Jackets!

A few plans for the rest of the week.... Ummm...well...the week ends in less than 30 minutes, but for next week, I'll be planning a baby shower to be held here next Sunday afternoon, doing a normal school week, teaching a Bible study at Carenet on Monday, attending the Kingsland fundraising banquet on Thursday, and watching Hannah's second horse show of the season on Saturday.

This is written in the tradition of The Simple Woman's Daybook.

How's that working for you?

Generally I eschew daytime television and pop psychology, but I have to admit Dr. Phil's words are echoing in my head today.

The school day was moving along normally until 10:15 when Kevin asked for the denatured alcohol to put into the bunsen burner for his chemistry exper- iment. It was no where to be found, so I was tempted to tell him to just use the stove. But, it's the beginning of the school year and I'm still feeling like I need to do everything by the book, so I decide to run to Wal-mart and pick some up. But, as I pull up to the first stop light, my aversion to Wal-mart kicks into high gear and I talk myself into going to Winn Dixie (for all you yankees-that's a grocery store). It's closer and a less painful shopping experience. After hunting down a few groceries, I wander around the newly renovated store looking for the item I came for. No luck. So I ask a group of employees where I might find denatured alcohol. They look at me like I'm not speaking English, but one finally pipes up and asks if you drink it. I resist saying "only if you're suicidal". After an all out hunt involving 3 employees, one who thinks they used to have it but doesn't remember seeing since the remodel, I give up and follow their suggestion to try the Family Dollar just a few stores down in the strip mall.

Family Dollar was a bust, so I head to Wal-mart. But on the way I have to pass Target, and I'd MUCH rather shop at Target than Wal-mart, so I turn in. Here I only stump 2 employees with my odd request. After a bit of roaming around by one employee and another checking the computer for the item (but she confessed to not knowing how to spell it, so it COULD be somewhere in the store), I realize I need to go home and check on lunch progress.

But, on the way out of Target's parking lot, I pass a hobby store that I had heard has science supplies. Ah, I think to myself, "Maybe THEY have some," so I whip into a parking space near the door. Turns out they don't stock the item, but the nice man behind the counter did know what denatured alcohol was...and knew that the people who fly model helicopters use them to remove stickers. Exactly! I'm getting closer...at least I've found someone who knows what denatured alcohol is?

I return home to find everything going smoothly, help feed Caitlyn, who had just gotten up from her nap, and suggest just using the stove to heat the beaker. But, seeing the burner, the stand, the thermometer and Kevin's sad puppy dog eyes, I volunteer to go to Wal-mart. After all, I don't want to squelch his enthusiasm for chemistry, right? Really, I fear he doesn't care about chemistry, but does want to play with fire.

So, I head to my FIFTH, yes fifth, store in my quest to find something I should have already purchased. After looking a couple of places I think it might be, I head to the hardware department, thinking it might be near other adhesive removers. I immediately see an employee and hold my breath as I ask for denatured alcohol. To my great surprise, a second employee overhears me and says "behind the paint counter". What! Someone who knows what I'm talking about AND knows where to find it. I could have hugged her....really! I can't help but think, "why didn't I just come here first?"

My family knows how much I despise Wal-mart. When someone wants to go there I groan inwardly (and usually outwardly). I'd rather take a beating than shop at Wal-mart. But, I confess, today my aversion wasted the better part of an hour. I'm willing to swallow my pride and admit "this might not be working for me".

The New Normal or Same Old Chaos?

School has officially been in session for a month, but we are still looking to find our groove. I'm hoping this isn't how the whole year is going to feel, and we can settle into a routine soon.

Alyssa continues to work at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center and has added a bit of nanny-ing to her schedule. For the first time in twelve years I am not her primary teacher, as those duties have been relegated to the local college and an online instructor.

Kevin continues to work at Grandy's and volunteer at Braveheart. Combined with his church activities and social schedule; working, volunteering and school keep him fairly occupied.

Hannah continues to love her horseback riding. We're going to attempt to get her to the barn more often this year, so she's thrilled. She's decided to try her hand at Western riding, so we'll shove all the English paraphernalia to the back of the closet and make way for the cowboy hat and spurs. Stay tuned for updates as her first show is a week from Saturday.

Victoria just keeps dancing which means I keep on costuming. Nutcracker is in full swing, so I forbid her from auditioning for a lead part in the Christmas play at church. I confess, I am a mean mom!


And last, but certainly not least, is little Caitlyn. She is a joy from the time she arrives until she is picked up. A few "Hannah-like" behaviors have begun to emerge, so she might end up being more of a challenge than first suspected. But hey, I've got some practice under my belt, so I'm not intimidated.

All in all, we're surviving the new school year, and with Patrick's "banquet season" (3 fundraising banquets in 3 weeks) fast upon us, chaos my not give way to normal until...the holidays. Yeah, right.

Father of the Year

Okay, so most of you sports fans have probably already seen this; but in case you haven't, check it out here. This guy deserves an award for his reaction to his daughter's shocking throw. Really, this guy must be a gem!

And then, if you have a tissue handy, check out this article about Albert Pujols. See why he's so popular around our house?

Which Season Is It?

Every year about this time I grow nostalgic. As a rule, I love living in the South. But when the beginning of school rolls around and we're still running the air conditioning twenty-four hours a day - every day, I begin to long for autumn in Ohio. I just can't seem to help myself. I miss waiting for the school bus on crisp, fall mornings. I miss new sweaters and football games. I miss seeing the fog roll off the pond when the cool air brushes against the warm water. And the leaves. I miss deciduous trees. Don't get me wrong; live oaks, with their massive spreading limbs, have their charm. But they don't change colors. I daydream of playing in the mountainous piles of leaves in the neighbor's front yard.

Really, do you think kids can grow into normal, healthy adults when they've never bundled up and huddled together on freezing bleachers at a football game? Aren't you scarred for life when, instead of sweaters and coats, you wear shorts and flip-flops to the season opener? No matter how long I live here, I can't wrap my mind around wearing tank tops to football games in the end of September. It just doesn't compute. The calendar says it's fall, but the temperatures are unmistakably summer-like.

Eventually, fall arrives here too and gives way to a winter of sorts. And then I decide I'm glad I'm not in the North. Really, wearing coats and gloves is way over-rated. No boots to find. No snow to shovel. No gray, dreary skies for days or weeks on end.

So, I've come to expect my season of nostalgia. And like all other seasons, it too will pass - only to come again next year.

After a rousing grammar lesson involving colons, semi-colons and ellipsis points, Kevin suggested to Victoria that she seriously consider not growing up; that she simply stay the age she is right now. Without missing a beat, she quipped; "I considered that when I was seven."