Mercury and Jupiter in retrograde.....

I knew something must be up when the usually laid back homeschool group I am part of seemed to be in turmoil over what I thought was absolutely nothing, well at least in the beginning it was nothing, but then the founder of the group reworded the vision statement and I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up.....

She was upset that a new mom "complained" because some of the parents at an event used "adult" language....so she amended the vision statement to say "does not tolerate negativity, cursing in front of children, backstabbing or complaining"....of course when I posted the following in response to the changes, she felt I was attacking her, honestly I was just offering some food for thought....after all where does one's right to not be offended end???

My response:

I think that changing the vision statement is a bit of an over reaction here and honestly see it as being a slippery slope that I personally don't want to start down. Like I mentioned to J, M and D what happens next???....what if say someone came to the gym or another activity who is"offended" by lesbians and a lesbian was there ( not sure if there are any in ***, nor do I care)...would a "only hetrosexual policy" be put in place? What about someone who thinks having a child out of wedlock or being a single parent or being divorced is a sin...would we need to adopt a "only two- parent family"(of course meaning a MAN and a WOMAN) policy? What if someone starts coming to events that is "offended" by breastfeeding or the sight of a bear breast? Should we all have to retreat to the bathroom to nurse and cover up so that they aren't uncomfortable...would a "no public nursing" policy be put into place? What if someone came who was "offended" by the way some of us discipline or don't discipline....would a"discipline policy" be put in place? What about those who are "appauled"that unschoolers don't use a curriculum...would *** adopt a mandatory curriculum for all members? What about those that think having large families is "irresponsible" or those that think having an only child is"wrong"? You can't please everyone.... This really is a slippery slope......where would the right to not be offended end?

Honestly, as the new vision statement is worded, I doubt that I can upholdsuch a high ideal. It is hard to not be negative or complain when dealingwith a sick and dying parent. It is hard to not complain when there isn't enough money to put food on the table or pay the electric bill. It is hard to not be negative when you feel your world is falling apart around you. I have always felt, like J said, that *** is a place of relaxed friendship and I hate to lose that because the vision changes. I am feeling a bit sad, and I am sure that the wording of this email probably isn't as gentle as it could be. It is hard to watch something I care about seem to be in such turmoil over what seems to be something so minor.

OK, so I really don't see the above as an attack, like I said, food for thought. If you are going to "react" and change the entire vision statement becuase someone is upset, then how do you decide what merits changes and what doesn't? And to follow "will not tolerate" with negative and complaining, is very ambiguous...there must be a clearer way to articulate what is meant by such words.

My friend pointed out that Mercury and Venus are both in retrograde, which apparently has a lot to do with miscommunication! So maybe I would be best served by keeping my mouth shut and dusting off some astrology books (OK I would have to go out and buy them to dust them off!).

Basketball season draws to a close......

I will probably sound bitter, but the refs sucked....the one ref only blew his whistle ONCE and it was to call a foul that should have been on Jackson (kid on our team) but instead he blew the whistle and stood there for a minute, looked around and called out Grant's number (Grant wasn't even by the play, it was at the bottom of the left hand side of the key and Grant was at the top)...so Grant fouled out of the game with 2 minutes left...you should have heard the roar for our stands in protest and the other teams in glee.....the kid went to the line and got the game within 2 points......then the kid Jay had to sub in for Grant got flustered and turned over the ball....All Saints (opponent) went down and tied the game....it went to overtime.....10 secs left in overtime the ref (who had called almost exclusively for All Saints the whole game...come on team fouls of 16 to 4 at the end of the game, we are talking 4th graders here and All Saints is very aggressive) calls a foul at midcourt (minimal contact...could have been a block could have been a charge...could have gone either way..but it was the kind of thing she had let go the entire game) that put their best free throw shooter at the line.....All Saints won by 2!

I just hate it when the refs decide the game....it is one thing to lose because you aren't as good of a team, but another becuase the refs mess up! Grant was really upset right after the game, but he got over it pretty quickly! Jay did better with the loss than I expected he would!

Anyhow...now I have that out of my system! Today we rest! Baseball starts Monday!

The season continues....

Grant's team will play in the final 4 game at 11 AM today!

Last night's game was a real nail biter, the game was tied 20-20 with 0.5 secs left on the clock when Grant was fouled and put on the line. He missed the first of his free throws, but the second was NOTHIN' BUT NET!

The other team was so bushleague...the PARENTS actually SCREAMED at the top of their lungs when Grant went to make his freethrows and the assistant coach YELLED as Grant threw up the first one. I screamed at the coach to sit down and he FLIPPED ME OFF! Can you believe it? I hope it made him feel better about losing! Since our entire bleacher saw the incident, it has been reported, chances are if it gets pursued the jerk won't get to coach next year......

Off to get dressed! I have butterflies...wonder how Grant is feeling!

Our newest family member

The newest member of our family joined us Wednesday night, thanks to our friend Julieanne.

Louie is a GORGEOUS purebred male boxer. He is a brindle, big, boufy, dumb! He is about a year old.

We are absolutely in love with him! Poor little guy has had a lot of changes in the last week and is terrified to be alone. He actually DESTROYED his crate trying to get out he was so afraid of being left! So for now we will have to "attachment parent" him......eventually he will gain that independent spirit that all attachment children seem to be infused with.....at least I hope he does!

Dealing with Dad

Just as I do every Tuesday and Thursday, I have to plan my life (and that of my children) around transporting my dad home from dialysis. Now this might not seem like a big deal, actually in theory it seems like a very simple task, but it ISN'T! And quite honestly I am getting a bit sick of it.

Take today for example. Brett was going to go over to his friend, Christopher's, house so that they could work on their physics assignments together. I planned to drop him off around 11:30, go and get dad at noon and then pick Brett back up at 1:30 PM, giving me plenty of time to get my dad settled and fed after dialysis. After picking Brett up at 1:30, we would head to the Loveland Library to pick up Hannah, Emily, Grant, Jacob, Cade and Sophie who where going to attend the 1 PM program they were hosting on Maple Sugaring (Jay dropped them off when he took his lunch break). Sounds like a completely doable plan right? Like I had left myself plenty of time to get everywhere and make everyone happy right? NOT!

So I get Brett to Christopher's right on schedule. I even have enough time to stop at the mall and pick up some perfume Hannah wanted to give her friend Alex for her birthday. I pull into the lot at the dialysis center at 12:10 PM, a few minutes "late" but that shouldn't be a big deal. I walk in and Libby (one of the patient's wives) says that dad is still in the back. I smile and tell her that I have Will in the van and if she could just pull the blinds up when dad comes out. Will had a bit of a snotty nose and I hate to take him in the center when he is sick since so many of the patients have compromised immune systems....Well, I go back to the car, listen to a few songs, clean out some trash (note I said SOME, not ALL) and I keep looking at the window for the shade to move. At 12:40 (a full 1/2 hour after getting there) I walk back in and still no dad...there is NEVER anyone at the desk to ask questions of, so I walk back out the van....sit there 15 more minutes, at this point Will is SCREAMING, he hates his carseat, so I finally unbuckle him and walk back into the center, despite the runny nose. Still no dad! FINALLY at 1 PM the nurse who has walked out to get another patient, says he will be out in a couple of minutes. At 1:10 PM I get him in the van and am heading towards his house. He asks me to get him a burger from Wendy's and asks where the kids are. I tell him and say I have to leave as soon as I get to his house because I have to get them, he gets all weepy......it isn't like I haven't just wasted an hour sitting in a parking lot waiting on him....God forbid I keep him waiting...if he actually gets done on time (noon) and I am not there, he complains the whole way home and then complains to my mom on the phone.....he makes me feel GUILTY for needing to take care of my own kids!

So I give in.....I get him home, into the house, make the rest of his lunch, help him change into his comfortable clothes, tape up all his "tubes", let him eat, get him settled and walk out his door at 1:50 PM. I dash over to get Brett and then make the 20 minute drive to the library. Luckily when I walk in Hannah is looking at books, the kids are behaving and my friend Deanne is still hanging out talking to the naturalist who presented the program. It was nice that she had waited on me to get the kids (although Hannah is prefectly capable of handling them) especially since I hadn't even known that she was going to be at the program.

I know I sound like a total bitch, but damn it when I said I would drive my dad to dialysis 2x a week back in July I NEVER thought I would still be doing it as March rolled in. Don't get me wrong, I am so happy my dad is fighting his cancer and that the dialysis seems to be working, but don't you think that maybe, just once my brother (who works from 4 PM to 11 PM and has NO KIDS) could step in and at least OFFER to pick the man up? It is truely like being an only child, only not being able to reap the benefits (believe me, my brother is the first one over there to get anything FREE!). I know dad appreciates it (despite his complaining if I am not there exactly at noon or if I bring "too many" of the kids with me) but I am feeling very underappreciated! My brother better watch out though...with all the time I have put in with dad, he better not be surprised if he can't "find" me when it comes to dealing with my mom in her old age! ROFL....maybe that would make it all worth it!

So the good thing about having 8 kids....at least they will be able to share the burden of their ailing parents, even if one of them ends up being a complete boob like my brother, there will still be 7 of them to chip in!

And now I am counting the months until Brett has his license...Grandpa duty can be his and I will pay him generously to do it!

Marching onward to the Elite Eight!

Grant's basketball team won a nailbiter of a game (we were losing going into the 4th quarter) so we will be playing in the Elite Eight once again this year! The team Grant plays with is very talented, unlike teams in the past where he has had to be "the" player in order for them to win. A perfect example would be that he only scored 2 points in todays game (far below his usual average) yet the team still pulled out a victory. I can't wait until next Friday night's game, although I am thinking I might need an inhaler, since I could barely breath during the game today! The coach for the opposing team was hilarious to watch, I honestly thought he might stroke out at one point, he was so frustrated when we pulled ahead!

So the basketball season continues on...hopefully I will be posting about a final 4 or championship game appearance this time next week....but I don't want to jinx us or anything!

2022 Olympian???

Today I took the kids (minus Hannah who was babysitting) ice skating with our homeschooling friends over at the Northern Kentucky Ice Center. When we got to the rink the kids were busy putting on their skates and Will (almost 20 months) sat on the ground, pulled his gym shoes off and went over and stood at the window to try to get the desk attendant to give him skates. I guess he figured that was were everyone else was getting their "skoos" and he wanted to get some too! I picked him up and told him "no, babies can't skate" and he started to cry (OK it was more an ear piercing scream). The guy at the desk was so sweet, he smiles and says "I have a pair of little skates if he wants to play with them" and he hands them to me, they had to be the tiniest skates I have ever seen....well Will INSISTS I put them on his feet. He patiently sat there and let me get them on him. Then he STANDS up and WALKS (without falling) over to the ice.....he made it around the rink 3 times (with Emily holding his hand) without falling and then he continued to walk in the skates without a mishap for another hour (Grant on the other hand damn near broke his jaw in a collision with a couple of teens, the medic for the hockey team that practices there even came out and looked at his jaw, cheek and teeth to make sure we didn't need to go to the ER).

So you can all say you knew him way back when he was a baby when he makes the 2022 US Olympic Speed Skating team!

Oh, and I FORGOT my camera and none of my friends had cameras with them, so I had to run down to Walgreens and get a cheapy disposable, but at least I should have some pictures to share eventually!

Sophie also really took to the ice, she pushed this bucket around in front of her to keep herself from falling, but she really had a blast (except her hands and feet were COLD!). It is unbelievable how comfortable all the kids are on the ice, and the only other time most of them skated was back in December at Holiday Fest at the Beach!

Team Showcase

The annual kickoff to our dance season occurred this past weekend. It is called the team showcase and each of the competition routines from our studio preform that day. The studio owner hires professional dancers to come in and judge/critic the routines and then we will spend the next few weeks fine tuning them before we have our first official competition.

Emily has 3 routines this year, an acro/dance number, a ballet number and a jazz number. Because of our typically hectic schedule I hadn't really seen any of her rountines in their totality. When I saw my daughter on stage, I almost burst with pride! She has this new air about her, this confidence, there is really no way to explain it. She has finally come out of her shell! I don't know if it was her experience with the Nutcracker, the wonderful new ballet teacher or the new acro team she joined, but the child was just beaming. She danced beautifully and looked so much like she "belonged" in the spotlight! I think Hannah was as proud of her as I was, she kept seeing "did you see her? did you see her?". Even though I think her jazz routine is far too easy for her skill level, it is nice that she is center stage almost the entire time! Guess her instructor thinks she is worthy of the position!

Hannah is doing a hiphop and a tap routine this year. Hannah always has fun on stage and looks like she enjoys herself. I really like her tap routine, haven't made a decision about her hiphop routine, there are a couple girls on the team that are new to competitive dance and it shows, but I do think that it is something that will get better with time!

The only bad thing was that I had brought Sophie up to watch the girls and right before Hannah came on stage for the first time (our second routine of the day) she covers her mouth and screams "I'm gotta PUKE!"....I grabbed her and ran her outside just in time for her to puke in the grass! Jay ended up taking her home along with the boys, so he only got to see 3 of the girls routines (OK bad mom here, we watched Hannah's routine and the next one of Em's ...only 10 minutes later...before Jay left!).

Next Monday, Jacqui Haas is coming from the Cincinnati Ballet to evaluate the girls on the ballet team to see if they are ready to begin pointe. This is a HUGE deal, met with great apprehension by Emily! She REALLY wants to start pointe and has been working hard on her turnout, but she also knows that most girls are ready for pointe until at least 12 or 13. I will be interested to hear if Jacqui thinks she is anywhere close to being ready! It will be so hard for her if the other girls in her pre-pointe class get approved to move to pointe and she doesn't! I know that Jacqui knows best, guess we just have to wait and see! I just wish the instructor (Miss Viki) would give us an idea if she thinks she is ready or not, but she is keeping very closed lipped about it all (I don't think she wants to get the girls hopes up!).

Snow much fun!

Snowtubing at Perfect North has become an annual event that my kids really look forward to. Cade had himself dressed and ready to go at 10 AM, even though I kept explaining that we wouldn't be leaving until 3 PM. He kept running around the house telling me how many minutes it was until we would be leaving (OK, so I guess that counts as math for a 5 year old right?). I busied myself making a big pot of vegetable soup and getting together all the odds and ends you need to snowtube.....gloves, hats, snowpants, coats time 8 people! Jay agreed to stay home with Will (you need to be 3 to snowtube)! Our friends, the Lelands, rode with us, it was so great to have another adult to talk to on the long drive!

We got to Perfect North at exactly 4 PM, despite my slight "detour" where I ended up on 74 instead of staying on 275. With our move last spring, it meant a new right to the slopes so I got a bit directionally impaired! The kids were so excited when they saw the hills! The snow was a bit wet but that didn't stop them from attacking the hill!

I had been worried about Sophie but she alsolutely LOVED it. She trudged up the hill and across the snow, little red snowtube in tow. It was pure delight to watch her little face as she went down the hills. She even went to the top of the biggest hill to make a long chain! I was so shocked, she just tackled the entire thing! Every time when we could get to the bottom she would catch her breath and say "can we go again?".

As the night progressed and the temp dropped to the middle 30's, the hills got icier and icier and therefore faster and faster...it was an absolute BLAST! We just FLEW down the hills!

I brought soup, rolls, sandwiches, hot chocolate and a bunch of snacks (fruit snacks, fruit cups, cookies and crackers). The kids DEVOURED every bit of it! Tubing seems to make them EXTREMELY hungry! Next year I will have to pack at least twice as much hot chocolate mix and extra fruit!

On the ride home, Deanne and I talked alot about how people precieve unschoolers. We both have encountered people who think unschooling = unparenting, and that couldn't be further from the truth. Because unschoolers let children follow their passions, they tend to be some of the most involved parents around. Just because they aren't cracking an academic whip over their children doesn't mean they aren't invoved in what is going on. Of course it is always easy to have a converstaion with someone who shares your views!

Photos added 2/26:

Sophie and Laura at the bottom of the snowtube run! Sophie always said "do it again" when we would get to the bottom!











Hannah, Brett and Sarah at the top of the snowtubing run!

Our family is growing!


OK, before you all completely FREAK OUT and think I have lost my mind and gone and gotten myself PREGNANT, take a deep breath! The newest addition to our family will walk on all fours and may or may not have a tail! As part of Hannah's birthday present we decided to cave into her desire for a dog! Yes, a dog!

We have applied through the greater Ohio Boxer Rescue (www.goboxerrescue.com) to have an adorable boxer boy (or girl) join our family! Our friend Julieanne and hours of internet research led us to the conclusion that a boxer would be the prefect dog for our energetic family!

Now mind you, as I spend over an hour filling out the application to adopt this dog, I began to wonder....heck I had managed to have 8 kids and no one ever asked me how I planned to feed them or discipline them, no one asked if I was financially stable, no one asked where they were going to sleep and no one EVER asked for any references (eek...I can only imagine what kind of reference my mother would have given..ROFL!). Jay said you could probably adopt a kid with a less detailed questionaire!

So if things go well and they "approve" our application, Hannah should be getting her boxer soon! Of course I also realize that Emily will probably be clamouring for her own dog come her birthday..and I can tell she is already working on her arguments to defend her plea....what kind of can of worms have I opened?????

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HANNAH!

My firstborn daughter is 14 today, where has the time gone? I can't believe that it has been 14 years since she hurried into this world (my shortest of all labors at 55 minutes!). She gets more beautiful by the day! I guess I could get all sappy and sentimental here, but I plan to just enjoy this very special day!

I love you baby girl!

Are the Fates conspiring against me?

We woke up this morning to SNOW and according to the tv traffic is at a standstill....so how does this impact someone who typically has nothing to do on a Saturday morning? Well, Hannah and I were supposed to be meeting my mom to go shopping for Hannah's birthday......but because of the weather we are now stuck at home at least for a few more hours!

Why is this noteworthy? Well this is the THIRD time we have tried to make this shopping trip. Time #1 my father's dialysis machine broke down and my mom had to go pick him up, time #2 Grant had a basketball game that I forgot about and now #3 the weather is conspiring against us! It is so hard to find a time we could go out, since my mom refuses to leave my dad at home alone, the only real time she wants to go is on Saturdays from 9 AM to noon.....

Hopefully the traffic on the expressway will start moving and we will get to go! Hannah is eager to spend her grandmother's money (my mom tends to express love in $$ rather then spending time with her grandkids) and I was kind of hoping that mom might take pity on me and buy me a couple of treats too!

Valentine's Day Party
Tuesday, February 14
1 PM to 3 PM

Julieanne wrote:
Laura and I were talking about it - and we were thinking that the kids can make valentines at gym on Monday or at home, and bring them to the party on Tuesday - and we'll have the kids make mailboxes for their valentines at the party. So we're counting rsvps - and it looks like if we bring 24 valentines for each child to give out, that'll be enough for everyone. Dollar store works, or hand making them.. whatever works for you.For example - since I have two kids, we'll bring 48 valentines - so True and Liam would each give 24 out... Make sense? If you have valentines stickers or something to contribute, the kids would love to use them, I'm sure. Does anyone have empty cereal boxes? If so, please bring them with you.If everyone brings a snack to share, and a drink - like a 2 liter or water - then everyone will have something there you know your kid(s) will like - and no single family has to provide everything for the party.So... 1:00 on Tuesday, Feb. 14.... Melodie's house. : ) And just so we all know, Bret's birthday is two days after this party... : )Don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions...

Shanda added:
I have a plastic container that has 5 drawers in it that I keep filled with creative things for the kids to use while we're at Museum center meetings. It has watercolor markers, regular sized crayons for the older crowd, larger (but not jumbo) crayons for smaller hands, a drawer of various and sundry stickers, heart doilies and glue sticks. If there aren't going to be enough boxes to go around to make valentines mailboxes, we decorated paper bags one year for valentine collecting. I can bring some of those just in case. It would be great if a few families could bring a few more stickers.
If anyone has purchased valentine's paper products, return them if you're able (except maybe a few plates). Here's what I have: 72 cups, a BAZILLION napkins, about 35 plates.
Heart-themed bowls to put snacks (or whatever) in.
A HUGE container of foam shapes (including hearts!)
A HUGE pack of construction paper
Pink and/or red plastic, DISPOSABLE tablecloths. I would just need to know how many to bring.
Supplies to make foam, star balls. I don't know what the attraction is, but kids LOVE these things. Put 9 pieces of sponge together with a zip tie and you have hours of entertainment!

After getting my dad from dialysis, Emily, Grant, Jacob, Cade, Sophie, Will and I headed to the Valentine's day party. The kids were excited and made valentine's to exchange with all their friends. Sophie got a present together for Bret (a dance costume, tiara, play jewelry, tights, a dance skirt and a bag to put everything in) and the two of them happliy played dress-up the entire time we were there. Emily managed to snag baby Marly and happily cuddled and held her (I think she has the "we need a baby" feeling more than I do!). The kids ATE and made crafts and exchanged cards. There was a nice mix of kids in attendance and even though there were over 20 kids there, there was no crying or whining! The kids played well and the adults managed to socialize. I couldn't believe that my little man decided to "play" rather than hang out with me! He is growing up!

The adults managed to get a tour of the "house in progress" ! The work that is finished is absolutely BEAUTIFUL and the spaces they still need to tranform are HUGE! I am so JEALOUS of all the space and of the beautiful decorating touches they have put on the place. It is going to be great to have this space to use for homeschooling gatherings (She has a whole auditorium on her 2nd floor).

Brett hung out with his pal Christopher when we were at the party. Christopher had surgery on his knee a little less than a week ago and was in need of some cheering up and hanging out! Hannah ended up babysitting so that the mom she babysat for could go to her daughter's Valentine's party at school. It was great that they both had something to do so that the littler kids could enjoy a party just geared for them!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Pioneer Program

I was so excited to find this in my inbox this morning. I have emailed Shelley to try to work out a date that will work for our homeschooling group. We had fun in the past when we visited Caesar's Creek and the new location should add a new twist to the program. I wonder if the same re-enactors will be present at the new location?

Dear Educator,

Every culture in the world requires that young people learn their own history. History provides answers for the future by examining the problems of the past. In essence, it is the study of the problems of human life. Our challenge is to get our youth interested in history at all. When competing with electronic games and television, stories of the past can seem dry, at best.
For several years Frontier Resources has offered a school program designed to capture the interest of the student of Ohio history. The program makes maximum use of Hands-On and interactive learning. We have designed our ‘School Days’ to interest students in early Ohio history to reinforce your classroom efforts.

Frontier Resources is an organization that designs and presents programs to students all over the country. Our specialty is “hands-on history”. Our programs are designed to give your students a taste of the activities, both work and play, of children of early Ohio. These include, but are not limited to:

OXEN- An explanation of the importance of oxen to early America and how children were involved with them is followed by an opportunity for students to try their hand at driving oxen.

SPINNING- An introduction to the problem of cloth supply for the Ohio frontier family involves a chance for students to try to make a piece of yarn.

CHILDREN’S WORK- A view of the importance of children on the frontier while they work to shape a grindstone.

ONE ROOM SCHOOL- An introduction to early nineteenth century learning.

TOWN MEETING- Students experience frontier democracy by taking part in a town meeting and wrestling with a vital issue of the day.

CHILDREN’S GAMES- A look at entertainment on the frontier while students try an outdoor game of the 1800s.

INDENTURED SERVITUDE- Forty percent of the population of Colonial America arrived under terms of indenture. This station examines the lives of the children who found themselves so situated.

This year the program is moving from Caesar’s Creek Pioneer Village, Waynesville, Ohio to Quaker Knoll Campground, Wilmington, Ohio. We also now provide a program that will come to your school.

Our 2006 Spring program runs May 8-12, 15-19 and 22-25, 2006. The 2006 Autumn program is October 3-6, 9-13 and 16-17, 2006. The program takes about 4 hours, running from 9:30 a.m. until 2:00 P.M, or as your busing schedule permits. Cost is $5.00 per student, there is no cost for teachers and chaperones.

Please contact me for more information, or to make your reservation.

Sincerely,
Shelley McClanahan
shelley.mcclanahan@gmail.com
School Days Coordinator

Sewing fun!

By default, I ended up teaching a sewing class today! Our pal Melodie (who taught us to quilt last year) was supposed to help a group of kids work on one of their 4-H sewing projects, but she couldn't make it at the last minute. Out of the 3 adults there, I was the only one who knew how to "sew" (I use this term loosely as I am completely self taught and not very good!). Luckily I brought my serger and the 4-H book and we worked through the first steps of the project as a group. It was hard because each person didn't have their own machine and then one of the machines we did have, didn't want to work (or should I rephrase it, it wouldn't work when Julieanne used it, it only wanted to sew for me!). If we had given any thought beforehand, we would have tried to coordinate fabric/tread so that each person didn't need a different color (it is so hard to change a machine back and forth in the middle of a project)

The girls were so cute, listening to the directions and trying their best to do what they were told. Most of the girls got about 1/2 way through making their environmental tote. The Ridimans had to leave to get to gymnastics, we stayed and Emily managed to finish hers. She was so proud of how it turned out, she used it to carry her clothes to dance class! We plan to have everyone else finish up the next time we get together!

Sophie wants me to finish her bag so she can put her "stuff" in it! Once you know what you are doing, you can make the tote in about 30 minutes. They are fairly cost efficient (I got the supplies to make 2 bags for less than $5...but don't as Kas how much she spent on fabric!). I think that Emily might end up making some and trying to sell them at a craft show next winter...by then she should be able to perfect the technique!

Hopefully the next time we sew, we have enough machines for all the girls...and hopefully Meolodie is there to lead the charge!

Wednesday, February 8; 3:00 PM
Tour of Donato's
Cost: $1.85/child
Max: 20 kids
Where: Donatos on Montgomery Road in Symmes Township. Their # is 489-4500 It's in the same plaza as TJ Max across from Harpers Point.
RSVP: Deanne

The kids were excited about getting to tour Donato's and make their own pizzas. Unfortunately the manager seemed extrememly uncomfortable giving the tour and really didn't do much more than show the kids around. He didn't really talk about the running of the pizzeria or the ingredients. About the only thing he said was that the phones ring off the hook on Fridays and Saturdays. Each of the kids made their own pizza and since they had extra shells, the 4 adults also made pizzas.

Obviously a product of the school system, the manager wasn't smart enough to figure out 15 people at $1.85 each (I had already figured that the 10 of us...Jay had joined us.... would be $18.50...not bad for 10 indivual pizzas and 10 pops) and ended up charging us only $18 for all 15 of us! I guess I shouldn't complain since it made it about 8 dollars cheaper for my family!

After the tour we dropped the girls at dance and then went to Grant's basketball game. His team won 26-21 and is now in the championship game on Saturday at 3 PM.

I began rousing the crew right before 9 AM. We are gotten "getting out of the house" to a science. Everyone can be dressed and ready to leave in less than 30 minutes, given everyone has bathed the night before and that only the teens need to shower. Today was no exception. Everyone was ready to head out by 9:30 AM. I tossed in a load of laundry before heading out the door. We needed to make 2 stops before heading to the 11 AM park program. Brett stayed home and worked on his geometry and physics homework from the co-op.

First stop was at the grocery store to grab items for lunch. On today's menu was pepperoni, cheese, crackers, bananas, grapes and cookies. Then we headed out to the 4-H office to order the rest of the books we needed. Good thing we made the stop because we found out that the shooting sports club that we were interested in attending was meeting today and that if you didn't have a representative at tonight's meeting you wouldn't be able to participate. Hannah, Emily and Grant are all interested in learning about gun safety and target shooting.

We got to the park about 10 minutes early. We were excited that Dennis and Sheila were doing the program. They are both very hands on and prefer to engage the kids in activities rather than lecture to them. The program was about animals and their habitats and they played games with kids for over an hour. The kids had a BLAST.

I had to leave 50 minutes into the program to go grab my dad. My friend Deanne had agreed to stay with my kids until I could get back. They would eat lunch once the program was over to kill time. Dad of course was his piddly needy self and insisted that I stop and get him lunch and then started to pout when I said I had to leave. He suckered me into staying with him for almost an hour. I know it is hard for him, that he wants company, but just for once I would like him to understand that I have other commitments. He is so self absorbed right now that he didn't even think about his grandkids being "alone" at a park.

Anyhow, got back to the park around 1:15 PM and talked with Deanne and the naturalists for a bit, then I headed back towards Eastgate to drop Hannah off at the Middle School for talent show practce. Then the rest of the gang and I stopped to pick up stuff for dinner (chicken, bbq sauce, cole slaw and buns...I had the baked beans and mac and cheese at home). Dropped Emily off at the dance studio and then headed home.

Once we got here I made the boys CLEAN OUT the van, it was just trashed....it looks great now, just needs to be vaccuumed. I ran down to the bank to pay the electric bill. Came home and spent a little "quality" time with Jay while the boys played basketball in the driveway and Sophie rode her bike!

Sophie came in and helped me make dinner. She loves pouring the sauce in the pan and dumping the cans into the pots. While dinner cooks she and Will read books. Jacob sits on the living room floor and uses the calcultor to add up the value of his baseball cards. For the game he plays with his brothers, his team can only have a value of 5000, so he arranges and rearranges his cards until this team comes in right at 5000.

After we eat dinner, Grant and I head out to the Shooting Sports meeting. Deanne, Julieanne and I all though that this was an INFORMATIONAL meeting and were quite shocked when the man in charge walked up to the kids and asked it they wanted to do archery, shoot rifles or shoot pistols. They all chose rifles and he sent them over to the range they had set up. Within minutes, no waifer signed, no gun safety riot act preached at them, the kids were FIRING RIFLES (OK they were shooting pellets, but they were SHOOTING!!!!). Grant hit the target 3 times (out of 5) on his first try! He hit the target 4 times the second try. There are 4 more sessions set up, plus we were told they would also have additional opportunities that would come up periodically. Although Grant had a GREAT time, it is frustrating as a parent how hard it is to get ALL the information about anything invovled with 4-H. It is such an "old boys club" that eveyone just assumes you know what is going on. Not the case for this frazzled, busy mom!

Hannah and Emily were dropped off from dance shortly after Grant and I got home. We are fortunate that one of the instructors from the studio lives less than a mile from us and has to drive by our house to get to work. She brings the girls home on Tuesday nights and drives them to the studio on Thursday mornings. I told the girls about the shooting sports and Hannah was THRILLED to learn that there are a BUNCH of boys and only a couple girls in the club. Fortunately she will be able to make all the rest of the scheduled club meetings. I think it is vital that my daughters know how to handle a gun, it isn't just a boy thing!

Cade brought me a book to read him and babbled on about the park program. He is such a bright kid, he remembers just about anything you tell him. He was going on about what animals need to leave and about playing the predator/prey game. The rest of the evening was fairly quiet. Hannah taught Sophie a cute cheer and she "performed" for us! I ended up laying down with Will around 11 PM and he finally fell alseep just as the news went off....

I got up to brush my teeth and sneak some computer time...thus this post.....

Another "normal" day here!

Our day today:

I have been asked to sit on a discussion panel in a couple of weeks to explore different methods of homeschooling. So I thought I might journal here a bit about what our days are like, so that I can have something concrete to look back at before the meeting.....so here it goes...

Brett got up early this morning and woke me up to find out what time I would be picking him up for the co-op he attends every Monday. I mumbled "3:45" and fell back asleep. I stayed in bed until almost 10 AM (OK, I had been up until about 2 AM with Will). When I got up I found Cade in the living room, getting his shoes on. He said "today is gym day right". We go to the gym every Monday from 12-3 PM and he counts the days......

Everyone else woke up over the next 30 minutes and started getting ready to go to the gym. We finally piled into the car about 11:30 AM and stopped by the bank to deposit money so I could make the phone payment. We grabbed lunch at Taco Bell and then went to the gym to eat it and play with our friends. 5 other families showed up! The boys play basketball while the girls sit and make collages out of a stack of magazines I drug along with me.

Right before 2 PM, I left the gym with Hannah to run her over to Glen Este Middle School so that she could practice for their talent show. Each year, she goes and participates in the talent show with her friend Chrishauna (who is a student there). Chrishauna's mom has gone to extraodinary lengths to get permission for Hannah to participate in this school sponsored event. She and Chrishauna are doing their hip-hop rountine from this year in the talent show. They have practice 3 times this week and the show is Friday night. Luckily the trip from the gym to the middle school is only a 5 minute round trip drive. I return to the gym to enjoy another hour of adult company.

At 3 PM, we leave the gym, I stop and run a couple errands and then pick Brett up at 3:45 PM. From there I head to the dance studio to drop Emily off for her Monday classes (Leaps and Turns, Ballet Technique and Jazz), Hannah will be joining her at the studio after talent show practice. We leave the dance studio and head to the house, where Brett deposits William in the crib for his nap and Jay quickly walks out the door with Brett, Grant and Cade in tow for Grant's basketball practice.

I manage to snag some computer time while they are gone since Will is napping and Sophie is happily playing Polly Pockets.

The boys get home and the house gets loud. They play a game of basketball in the playroom (we have 2 of those small indoor hoops and they play "full court"). After they finish Cade brings me a shark book to read him. Sophie joins us for the reading. She picks a storybook for us to read next.

Jepordy comes on and Jay, Brett and I play. Since it is teen week, we actually manage to answer just about every question but one or two. Jay leaves to pick up the girls from dance. The boys and I watch "wife swap"....I find the show hilarious and the episode is of particular interest as one of the families was a homeschooling family with 8 kids who lived on a very tight budget and clothed the kids in hand me downs......but that would be were the similiarities to our family ended. They homeschooled to shelter their kids, only having them leave the house for church and 2 other times a month for social activities....my social butterflies would never stand for that! But the show was good for a few chuckles and sparked some interesting conversations between Brett, Grant and myself.

Once the girls were home we had dinner, frozen pizzas and salad, and the boys watched WWE wrestling. I read a couple more books to the little ones.

Around 9:30 PM I FINALLY got in touch with our friend Amber who is in charge of the Junior Greenthumb program. The kids keep bugging me to find out when we get to start our containers for the local garden show. Spent quite some time talkign with her about the garden program and also 4-H (she is a 4-H advisor and was giving me the scoop on some of what is going on). She said that the kids can start their seeds and plan their containers. They are really excited.

The house begins to quiet as the midnight hour nears.....

Fun site

This link came through on a list that I am on, I couldn't help but share it: http://www.paulsadowski.com/birthday.asp. The funny thing is that I have always thought of "13" as my lucky number...an ironic point, according to this is that I was concieved on the day Hannah was born (I doubt it is right since I was about 3 weeks early, but I found it ironic).......

Here is what it said about me:
You entered: 11/13/1969

Your date of conception was on or about 20 February 1969 which was a Thursday.

You were born on a Thursday under the astrological sign Scorpio.
Your Life path number is 4.
The Julian calendar date of your birth is 2440538.5.
The golden number for 1969 is 13.
The epact number for 1969 is 11.
The year 1969 was not a leap year.

Your birthday falls into the Chinese year beginning 2/17/1969 and ending 2/5/1970.You were born in the Chinese year of the Rooster.

The date of Easter on your birth year was Sunday, 6 April 1969.
The date of Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent) on your birth year was Wednesday 19 February 1969.
The date of Whitsun (Pentecost Sunday) in the year of your birth was Sunday 25 May 1969.
The date of Whisuntide in the year of your birth was Sunday 1 June 1969.
The date of Rosh Hashanah in the year of your birth was Saturday, 13 September 1969.
The date of Passover in the year of your birth was Thursday, 3 April 1969.
The date of Mardi Gras on your birth year was Tuesday 18 February 1969.

As of 2/5/2006 9:56:05 AM EST
You are 36 years old.
You are 435 months old.
You are 1,891 weeks old.
You are 13,233 days old.You are 317,601 hours old.
You are 19,056,116 minutes old.
You are 1,143,366,965 seconds old.

Your age is the equivalent of a dog that is 5.17925636007828 years old. (You're still chasing cats!)
There are 281 days till your next birthdayon which your cake will have 37 candles.
Those 37 candles produce 37 BTUs,or 9,324 calories of heat (that's only 9.3240 food Calories!) .
You can boil 4.23 US ounces of water with that many candles.

In 1969 there were approximately 3.7 million births in the US.
In 1969 the US population was approximately 179,323,175 people, 50.6 persons per square mile.
In 1969 in the US there were approximately 1,800,000 marriages (9.3%) and 479,000 divorces (2.5%)
In 1969 in the US there were approximately 1,712,000 deaths (9.5 per 1000)
In the US a new person is born approximately every 8 seconds.
In the US one person dies approximately every 12 seconds.

Your birthstone is Citrine
The Mystical properties of Citrine:Citrine is said to help one connect with Spirit.
Some lists consider these stones to be your birthstone. (Birthstone lists come from Jewelers, Tibet, Ayurvedic Indian medicine, and other sources): Yellow Topaz, Pearl, Diamond

Your birth tree is Chestnut Tree, the Honesty
Of unusual beauty, does not want to impress, well-developed sense of justice, vivacious, interested, a born diplomat, but irritable and sensitive in company, often due to a lack of self-confidence, acts sometimes superior, feels not understood, loves only once, has difficulties in finding a partner.

There are 323 days till Christmas 2006!
There are 336 days till Orthodox Christmas!

The moon's phase on the day you wereborn was waxing crescent.

Cool Virtual Owl Pellet Disection site:

http://www.kidwings.com/owlpellets/index2.htm this site is VERY COOL, you can disect owl pellets online. Someone sent it to me prior to our owl hike and I lost the link. I found it today when cleaning out my mailbox! Check it out!

Another great owl study site: http://www.carolina.com/owls/index.asp

Now if we can just spot or at least HEAR an owl on our next hike!

Ronald McDonald House

I went down to RMH with Hannah and her friend Sarah for our monthly volunteer time. Although I usually resent the idea of giving up what little free time I have, I always enjoy myself once we get down to the house. Helping someone purely because you can and expecting nothing in return is such a wonderful feeling.

When we walked in I was surprised to see one of the families that had been there back in December. When I had talked with the mom in December they had thought they would be going home anyday and now 2 months later they are still sitting there. Her daughter Bailey had a bone marrow transplant and had some setbacks, but things now look up, they may be heading home on February 20th (my Hannah's 14th birthday!). Bailey was so surprised we remembered her (she has this infectious voice and is so talkative, she would be impossible to forget). Bailey mentioned that it was her sister's 13th birthday and I could just see the pain in her mom's eyes. For just a minute I allowed myself to imagine the hell of being torn between your sick child and the rest of your family, it was more than I could bear. The family lives in Minnesota. She and her daughter had been in Cincinnati since August, she had missed her other 3 children returning to school, halloween, thanksgiving, more sports events, school events, just everyday things than I could even count. Her family came down for Christmas but could only stay for a week and now a month later she is still looking at another 3 weeks before their reunion.

Through thick and thin, the thing I always know I can count on is having my family to cuddle up with, to lean on each day. Because I have them I know I can get through anything. I can't imagine not being able to touch or hold my children for 1/2 of a year, I have a hard enough time when I am away from any of them even for a couple of days. As much as I rsent the time it takes each week to deal with my dad and the dialysis, I am close enough (only 20 minutes away) that I can help out. I can't imagine having the closest member of my family 10 hours away.

So I came home with a renewed sense of how important having my family around me really is to me! OK so Will still annoyed the heck out of me when I was trying to check email last night and he kept crawling into my lap and pulling up my shirt. But I wouldn't trade it for the world....and I PRAY that I never have to!

Chinese New Year Celebration

Wednesday, February 1; 1pm
Chinese New Year Celebration!!!
Chinatown Buffet 1015 U.S. State Rt. 28, Milford
Organizer: Kathy Ridiman
Cost: $5.79 for adults, cheaper for children 4-12, children under 3 free.
Join us at one of the largest buffets around!! The food is hot and wonderful! Large variety of choices! We plan to have lunch and do some crafts to celebrate the Chinese New Year. Please RSVP to Kas so that we have enough supplies for all of the kids.

RSVP: Ridiman, Riesenberg, Day, Webel, Leland, Malott, Richmond, Hensley, Star, Kennedy

Directions: Take I-275 to the Milford/ Rt. 28 exit (#57). If coming from points east, turn right onto Rt. 28/if coming from points west, turn left onto Rt. 28 (you will pass a Lowes on your right)...at the traffic light that would let you into Lowes, turn LEFT onto Rt. 28......you will pass a KMart, Ameristop, Swifty Gas Station...the Chinatown Buffet is located across the street from the Ford Dealership. If you get to Gold Star you have gone too far!

What a wonderfully fun way to learn about another culture. Kas came up with the idea and I helped with securing the restaraunt. There were crafts for the kids, a game for the teens (where they tried to guess who was what zodiac sign) and it seemed fun by all. The group was LARGE but it was amazing how quiet they were while they ate! Grant was really protective of his red envolope, hoping his money will multiply so that he can buy the gayboy advance game he has been wanting!

Next year we have to remember to have someone show us how to use chopsticks and we must have Julieanne teach us some chinese.

Tuesday, January 24; 6pm
What: Owl Night Hike
Where: Sycamore Park/Batavia.
Organizer: Laura Riesenberg
Dress for the weather (low of 43 if you can believe the extended forcast) and if you have a flashlight, you may want to bring it (please don't feel you need to go buy one, we may not even use them!).

Ironically the kids received this month's copy of Your Big Backyard yesterday in the mail and it has a couple things on owls in it as well as a beautiful picture of the great horned owl. The book of the month is called OWL MOON by Jane Yolen about a young girl who gets to go owling with her dad for the first time. It also gives tips on going owling and recommends the website Journey North's Owl Listening Guide: Who Gives a Hoot? at http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/spring/OwlDictionary.html to hear the call of 4 owl species and a mourning dove, which can sound similiar to an owl.

Owl coloring page link: http://www.kidwings.com/teacher/coloringpages/main.htm

Please contact Laura at theriesenbergs@cinci.rr.com if you would like to attend! Also, feel free to come out even if you decide at the last minute, just be on time since I won't know to be waiting on you!

Directions: Take I-275 to the Batavia/Rt 32 exit (#63) and exit towards Batavia....follow out to the Main St. Batavia exit (you will pass all the stuff in Eastgate and then a Speedway and then a Salvation Army, just keep going and head down the hill)....follow Main St. to Foundry (this is either the first or second light) and turn right onto Foundry....follow it about a mile or so and you will see the sign for Sycamore Park on your left hand side.... We usually meet at the shelter that is straight ahead as you pull in.

The weather was perfect (a bit windy, but warm for January) and we had a GREAT time hiking in the dark and calling for owls! It was unbelievable how QUIET so many small children could be. Unfortunately we didn't get any owls to call back, but it was a fun time and we know how to "call" for the owls if we happen to be out on a dark winter night! Cade wants to go and try again, he was really disappointed he tried to hard to be perfectly quiet, he had spent the whole week reading his owl books! They are having a public program again in a few weeks, maybe we will go and try again!

Absolutely Awesome Activity!

Our friend Julieanne set up a tour of James Coffey's house for us. Her husband George maintains aquatic tanks for people and James is one of his clients. This man's basement is a reptile lovers DREAM! When you walk in there is a tank with a crocodile (about 4 ft), alligator (maybe 3 1/2 feet) and a caimen (the smallest, maybe 3 feet), it is so weird to walk in and be greeted by such fierce predators! James showed us a bunch of animal skins, pelts and skeltons, the kids were really fascinated! We headed into the next room where there were boas, an albino python, a huge fishtank, and a huge tank full of lizards. He had done an amazing job of building enclosures for all of his creatures. There were also display cases full of embolmed animals and more skeltons. He uses the animals to make replicas for display, teaching purposed and movies. We watched as he fed crickets to the lizards! He answered all the kids questions.

Next we headed into the back room. A HUGE tortoise was happily munching on an apple. Our attention was soon drawn to the 4 tanks FULL of mice, dinner for the snakes! Emily and Hannah both commented that it was a good thing our friends the Ridimans weren't with us because they would have wanted to rescue the very cute little mice! Kas has many a story of her girls "saving" rodents from being fed to larger predators at the pet store and I doubt yesterday would have been any different, I know Tabby would have charmed the grandfatherly James out of at least the cutest of the bunch! Besides the tortoise, the room held numerous snakes (probably close to 20) and box after box of tarantulas! James had just recently finished working on a book on tarantulas and shared some of his knowledge with the kids. There were also some more reptiles (a blue tongued skink and a leopard gecko are the only two whose names I can remember!). We saw numerous skins and sheds from his assorted "zoo"!

Like I said, an absolutely awesome outing! Cade was in heaven and I could see the wheels in Miss Emily's head just a turning (she wants to do animal rescue when she is older). From the outside of the house you would have never guessed the treasures that it held!

Once we were finished we headed up to pick up my dad from dialysis. It was the first time I had more than two of the kids with me and I could tell it was overwhelming for my dad! Unfortunately our schedule is starting to fill up on Tuesday mornings, so it is likely it will happen again soon. I will have to figure out a way to "bribe" the little ones into being quiet at dad's! Guess I could always threaten to go back and feed them to the alligator, crocodile and caimen!

On an amusing sidenote, James is missing his one thumb. Of course we all "assumed" it must have been lunch for one of his many "pets" but when one of the kids asked he said he lost the thumb to a punch press when he was younger and working!

Santa Baby!
Here are some of William's 18 month photo shoot. I didn't realize that I hadn't posted any of his pictures!

It is so hard to believe that it has been a year and a half since this wonderful little man entered out world.

Will RUN and CLIMBS like a pro. He amazes me constantly with his speed and fearlessness!

Although he will drink from a juice cup, he

prefers to nurse. He feeds himself with a fork and spoon. His favorite foods are grapes, yogurt and "candy"!

We are still really stuggling with his allergies. Red food dye really seems to make him react the most behaviorally, but his skin and digestive track seem more sensitive to apples, tomatoes and citrus. The poor guy's little bottom gets red and blistered if someone makes a mistake (or misjudges ingredients). I am so grateful though that he isn't in daycare so I don't have to constantly deal with

worrying about if someone else will forget and feed him something that will set him off!

Will has an impressive vocabulary. He can say all his siblings names, words for most foods and even says some sentences. His favorite sentence is "Mom boob boob now". Have to love a little man who knows what he wants!
He still LOVES to be carried, and luckily he isn't too heavy (most 18 months old we meet are far bigger than he is). Most of the time I can't say I mind it, it is nice to still have a "baby" to cuddle and snuggle with!

Scrapbooking!

I feel like a kid in a candy store! Last night I attended the montly scrapbooking gathering hosted by the church we just recently joined! It was so much fun to be in a room full of women who shared my passion for scrapbooking and to glean inspiration and share stories with other women.

I actually managed to get 4 layouts finished and another one started. I stayed the entire time (from 7 PM to midnight) and spent way more time talking than actually working but it felt so good to nuture myself and my interests! It has been hard as of late with taking care of my dad and just our daily lives to find time for myself! I am counting the days until next months gathering!

So grown up!

When I look at Sophie I still see her as a toddler. But today during a visit to Boonshoft Museum in Dayton it was revealed to me just how grown up she is.

The kids had all scattered to play in the exhibits. Sophie had followed Emily and Grant and I sat and mingled with some of the moms, talking about nothing and everything at the same time. Suddenly, over the speaker an announcement was made. "Sophia would like Laura to meet her at the front desk". Emily and Grant came running up to me saying they couldn't find Sophie but that they thought she was at the front desk. They scurried off to claim her as I followed. Sophie was standing there waiting for us with her hands on her hips. The woman asked how old she was and I responded "three". She then told me that Sophie had come up to the desk and got her attention and said "My name is Sophia and I am lost. My mom's name is LAR-LA." She said she didn't even cry or anything!

I can't believe that my 3 year old is that capable of taking care of herself! I half joked that Brett at 15 wouldn't have even paged me, he would have just sat down and "pouted" and waited for me to show up (OK probably not, but he took my ribbing well!).

I told Sophie over and over again how proud I was of her! OK so your thinking none of this would have happened if I had just kept better track of her and you are probably right, but it is good to know she is slightly self reliant...well at least in a three year old way!

Architecture By Children

The kids are somewhat excited about an architecture program I signed them up to participate in. Each child (or team) is responsible for coming up with a design for a museum. Today we met with our architech for the first time and he spent a lot of time going over the ins and outs of the projects. In November we went on a behind the scenes tour of a local museum (the tour really sucked!) also as part of the program. I was surprised at today's meeting how many families with younger kids had signed up to participate and how few teens were doing projects!

Emily is leaning towards a dance or pet museum. Hannah hasn't decided yet (she and Em may work together). The boys are all thinking sports or video games and I am hoping Brett will be inspired to follow through on a forensics museum (we even have a "catchy" design in mind). The projects have to be finished by April, which means they have to start working on them pretty soon (of course we have the geography fair coming up beforehand!). I love to sneak all this learning in with engaging fun projects!

Now if we can just figure out how to make our model out of toilet paper tubes, cereal boxes and foam board we will be SET!

The Annual Family Picture
I can't even begin to explain what a horrible pain in the butt the family picture was this year. One would think that if you actually get 10 people dressed and to the studio on time that the battle is won. But NOT when you are dealing with JC Penney. We ordered the second frame from the sitting, by far the best of the pictures. Then I get a call a week later saying they can't print it because of fog on the film. It took daily calls to their customer service center for 11 days straight to FINALLY get them to agree to send out a different frame and then when it FINALLY got here (on 12-22 much too late to send out the pictures in the christmas cards) they forgot to include the individual pictures I had ordered of Brett and Will and they didn't include the custom black and white I ordered. I am still working on getting that straightened out. I have NEVER been quite so frustrated with the customer service department anywhere. So this picture is no where as good as the original one, but at least it preserved our family as they were in the year 2005. I am sure everytime I look at it that I will be reminded of what a pain it was to get the final prints in my hands!

I finally get it!

During Christmas services the pastor made a comment that I had never thought about before. He said that Luke was quite skillful in telling the tale of Jesus birth. He said that he used the manager as a SYMBOL because Jesus would feed the world (as a manager would feed animals). It had always struck me as quite odd that Mary would have laid her newborn son in the place where animals fed (rather than keeping him in her arms)....suddenly the light was turned on! It all makes sense!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Trip Downtown to see Holiday Displays

Julieanne wrote:
Hey all,For those of you planning on coming downtown to see the trains and other holiday displays with us on Wed, here is the link to downtown's parking info - you can click on a map of the remaining $1 parking lots, now that fountain square is under construction. If the link isn't working, just copy and paste it into your browser.
http://www.gototown.com/cgi-bin/listevent.cgi?evnt_id=6970

As a recap, we're meeting at 10 am at the Cinergy Train display (free), and then we'll walk around to see the other displays, then have lunch. Then we will go see the creche display at the cathedral (also free) - it's a collection of unusual manger scenes, Native American, Mexican, etc. Laura R. sent me the link for those who want to preview it...Here is a link to the article and some pictures....hours are 12-2 weekdays, I figure we can get there during that time (they will arrange tours if you think we won't be there by then) and it is free....look at the pics at the bottom I love "New Life and Old Skins" and the Adobe one....
http://www.catholiccincinnati.org/tct/dec0905/120905manger.html

Then we'll likely head to Krohn Conservatory (also free) to see their holiday display.If you plan on coming, you can rsvp me so we'll know to look for you. If you're not able to come at the last minute, call my cell... 513-205-7348 so we won't wait on someone who can't come. And keep an eye on the weather... if it's below 20, or if it's raining, it's cancelled.Have a wonderful holiday season!

What an absolutely AWESOME day! Unfortunately Grant was sick with a stomach bug and Brett volunteered to stay home and watch him and keep Will, but the rest of us had a GREAT time!

We started at the train display and then went to the Westin to see their decorations. Then to Towere Place to visit santa (Cade had to make sure he knew that he wanted the ESPN game center) and lunch. We then went up to the cathedral. It was so funny to go into the cathedral which such a diverse group of friends. One of the families is Wiccan and I thought she might be put off by the suggestion but she really marvelled at the artwork involved in the nativities! The kids spent more time looking at the nativities than they did the trains and lights! The cathedral (which one would think would be stuffy and formal) allowed them up close to the nativities, allowed them to touch the cases and gave short narratives about each piece of work. I am definitely adding a trip to see the nativities to our annual holiday activities list (this was the 4th year they had them on display...they feature different ones each year).

We then went up into Mt. Adams to Krohn Conservatory to see the live nativity and their holiday flower diplays.

It was a GREAT DAY! Hopefully everyone will be healthy next year and it can be a true family outing!

Children as accessories

Jay and I went out Christmas shopping last night, in search of the elusive ESPN game center that is the ONLY thing on Cade's Christmas list and a couple of PS2 games that Brett had requested. I had called around to many of the local stores (including all the local Toys R Us) and decided it was best to venture out and see if we could find one. We lucked out on our 3rd stop and found it! Cade is going to be so excited! The christmas shopping is finally on the "downward" slide, more finished than not!

OK, but back to the topic of the post.....after shopping, Jay and I decided to stop and have dinner. Until we were sitting at the bar, I had forgotten that we had ventured into the more affluent neighboring community, that was until I overheard the patrons at one end of the bar. They were greeted by the bartender who made a comment about it being a while since they had been in and then saying "congratulations". It was to this that the woman commented "yeah, she is 3 weeks old and can you believe this is the FIRST time we have managed to leave her?". She made another comment later about the au pair being up with the baby all night the night before. As I watched her chain smoke and down 5 martinis, I found myself thinking how different her attitude towards her child was versus my own. Of course, with my firstborn, I didn't even have a baby at home with me at 3 weeks post partum. I was spending my days standing over an isolette in the newborn intensive care nursery. My parents watched him once in his entire first year of life, other than that, he was with me constantly. Hannah never stayed with anyone until she the day her baby sister was born. Hannah was 2 1/2 at the time. Because I spend so much of my time wtih my kids and with like minded moms, it often doesn't occur to me that many parents chose not to be with their children. Thier children are more accessories, like a nice purse or gorgeous shoes, that "finish" a look, not thier life, their soul, their everything!

We spent a lot of time people watching last night. Woman with silicone breast, beautifully sculpted faces (too bad plastic surgery can't fix hands to hid their true ages)...I wonder what they saw when they looked at me. Did they see a plump, happy woman enjoying her husband's company or could they tell from that often distracted look in my eyes that my thoughts were wandering to the kids at home. Could they sense that we had spent our evening searching out that gift that would make our son's christmas moring special?

OK...so maybe my babble makes no sense. Maybe I seem self righteous. Maybe I am so full of myself I just can't see things the way they really are. But too often, not across a bar, but in the places I go, I see how people don't put the priority on their kids, that it is on things! I hope. despite my many flaws, that my kids realize that THEY are my biggest priority.

Quick Fudge:

I was listening to the radio this afternoon and the host shared this recipe that I plan to try once I collect the ingredients from the grocery. I hope I wrote it down correctly!

4 cups granulated sugar
14 oz can evaporated milk
2 sticks butter
12 oz semisweet chocolate chips
7 oz jar marshmallow creme
1 tbsp vanilla

put sugar, evaporate milk and butter (cut into pieces) into a microwave safe container. Heat 18-20 minutes, stirring occassionally until mixture reaches softball stage. Remove from microwave and stir in remaining ingredients. Pour into 9" square buttered pan. Chill until set. Cut into squares for serving.

Addendum: OK I tried making this fudge Sunday morning.....make sure you use a HUGE bowl, as my mixture bubbled over and down the sides of the bowl! It is sitting in the fridge right now "setting" so I have no idea how it will turn out, but I will say from licking the bowl that the mixture is quite YUMMY!

Ornament Making

On a whim, we invited a couple of our homeschooling friends over to make christmas decorations. Hannah got all the crafts together and saw to it that all the kids (or shall I say girls) got to make one of every ornaments. The boys (my 3 younger ones plus one other) decided that they would much rather play video games and rescue heroes over making decorations.

It was GREAT! The moms (myself, Julieanne, Lisa and Melodie) managed to actually sit and TALK for almost 4 hours while the kids kept themselves happily busy. Melodie had her beautiful new baby Marley with her and of course I had to hold and cuddle her! Will loved her, kept saying "ba-bee" and petting her head (of course if it was his sibling I am sure his reaction would be quite different!). Brett sat and held and cuddled her too, it is so funny to see how great he is with kids and how excited he was to hold a tiny baby again!

Julieanne brought some venision stew with her to share. I had never had deer meat before and decided to try it. I thought it would be "gamey" but it honestly tasted just like beef stew. So one more thing that my adventurous palate has tried!

The ornaments the kids made were quite cute and I love to see them decorating my tree. I am thinking ornament making might have to be an annual event in our home. I think I can handle it as long as I can keep the group mostly female!

Holidayfest at the Beach Waterpark

I decided to undertake the organization of a trip for our homeschooling group to a local amusement park for their holiday event. The Beach agreed to open just for our group (how exciting to have the whole place to ourselves) and I was surprised when over 200 RSVPed for the event.

It was quite cold as we headed out, not even 20 degrees. We dressed warm and I prayed we would "survive" our day in the cold. We did more than survive, we had a WONDERFUL time! Despite some whining from the younger crew (either from hunger or cold) everyone seemed to have fun!

There was iceskating, a sled run, live nativity, pony rides, pedal boats and a carousel. Of course my favorite place was the HEATED tent (warm enough that even though it didn't reach 30 outside, you could have your coat off).

Everyone who attended seemed to have a great time! Hopefully we will plan a return trip next winter! I couldn't believe that the time went as quickly as it did and we were disappointed we had to leave at 3 PM to make it to dance, we would have gladly hung out for another hour, skating and riding the carousel and just hanging out with our friends!

Here are the details, more for me next year, but just in case you are interested:
When: Tuesday, December 6th; 10am - 4pm
What: Holiday Fest at the Beach Waterpark (open to homeschoolers only)
Where: Beach Waterpark Mason, Ohio

Cost: UPDATE: Platinum pass holders get in FREE, regular pass holders need to pay admission price Admission $6.50 but ages 5 - 12 get in for $5, not $6.50!!!, optional lunch $6, Parking free

Organizer: Laura Riesenberg
Laura writes: The park has agreed to open the park EXCLUSIVELY FOR OUR GROUP on Tuesday December 6 from 10 AM until 4 PM. The offer is incredible (includes everything) and we will have the park entirely to ourselves. This should be a great activity for everyone...toddlers, preschoolers, elementary schooler and especially the teens.
There are activities for ALL ages, including teens...here's what your admission includes:

Skate Rental, Carriage Rides, Paddle Boats, Toboggan Slide, Santa’s Maze, Pony Rides for Kids, Live Nativity, Polar Pearl Palace, Santa’s, Sleigh, Holiday Lights and Dazzling Animated Lights Displays, South Pole Petting Corral, Holiday Railway, Festhaus Pavilion, and Christmas Shoppes.

Admission $6.50 per person (ages 5 - 12 are $5) , children under 4 free (although if they chose to skate, they will need to purchase a skate pass for $4). Free Parking! Typically, admission and the all-inclusive pass to Holiday Fest at The Beach is $18.00. Your school’s proposal includes a savings on admission of $11.50 per person. Parking is $6.50 per car on any operating day, but will be waved for our field trip.MEAL $6 per person (optional)*Holiday Fest at The Beach Catering Staff will serve the All-You-Can-Eat buffet style meal in an exclusive pavilion during a specified time frame which includes your choices of..Nathan’s World Famous Hot Dog or a ¼ lb Hamburger or Cheeseburger, mac and cheese, Bag of chips and drink $6 per person

*participants are welcome to pack lunches, but meals will need to be eaten in the picnic area outside the park. The only food that can be consumed within the park, is food purchased from the Beach.

All You can drink wristbands $3.00

I will need to know approximately how many families will want meals. I need to arrange this ahead of time. So if you think your family will want lunch, please let me know how many meals you might want.

Please RSVP to Laura or Cindy. Cindy can take a van-load from her house if you arrive by 9:00.

BREAKDOWN!

As I was heading to take Brett to the Monday co-op and the other kids to their spanish class we ended up stranded on the side of the expressway! The alternator on the van died and the van wouldn't run! It was really quite scary to be sitting on the side of the expressway with all the the cars and 18 wheelers FLYING by, it was also amazing to see the volume of traffic at 9 AM on a Monday morning. We had just replaced the battery the day before, hoping that it was what was causing the problems with the van, but obviously a simple fix wasn't to be! A state trooper did pull over to see if we needed help, but at that point I had already called Jay so I told him we were waiting on my husband.

Jay came and "rescued" us, we got the van restarted so I could drive it to Pepboy to have them replace the alternator and he ran Brett to the co-op. The other kids ended up missing Spanish. Not that there is a good time for a van to break down, but it didn't make the morning any better that my shoulder and elbow were killing me (still from that damn accident over 6 months ago) and I had a urinary tract infection flaring up!

Well, at least the problem is fixed and "knock on wood" the van will keep running for a while! We just put new front brakes on the darn thing last week. I swear the stupid thing hasn't run right since we got it back from the repairs after the accident. There are many days when I wish I just had a horse!

Sickness....

Sickness has found its way into my house. Late last week Emily had strep (which I suspect she caught from her friend) which she has so graciously shared with her father. Will somehow managed to pick up a stomach bug that he has now shared with Sophie, Jacob and Cade. I love nothing more than cleaning puked in beds in the middle of the night.

I am hoping that the ilnesses are shortlived (the stomach bug seems to be passing rather quickly) and that we are all healthy heading into the holidays....we have spent many a holiday with sick kids (I can remember one christmas Hannah was so sick she didn't even open her gifts).

The only "nice" thing about being home with illnesses, is that we have managed to get the christmas tree up. Now I am sure once Will is feeling more like himself, that he will try to "undecorate" everything that we have up!

Hoping everyone in cyberland is healthy!

Some Thanksgiving Recipes:

Here are a couple of my favorite recipes. For me, Thanksgiving dinner wouldn't be complete without them.
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Boston Chicken Cranberry Sauce
Serves/Makes: 6

1 pound Can jellied cranberry sauce
1 Jar Smucker's Simply Fruit (10 ounces) Orange Marmalade
1/4 teaspoon Ground ginger
2 cups Fresh cranberries -- sliced
1/3 cup Walnuts -- chop fine

In 2-quart saucepan, over medium-to-low heat, use rubber bowl scraper to stir together jellied sauce, marmalade and ginger until melted, about 6-8 minutes. Add the sliced cranberries, keeping sauce on low. Stir often. Continue cooking and stirring often until cranberries are no longer white and taste tender to the bite (not soft, but not too crisp). Stir in walnuts. When cooled to lukewarm, refrigerate, covered and use with a week to 10 days. Should freeze well to be used within 4 months.

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Grandma's Stuffing

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium onions chopped
½ cup chopped parsley
1 pound mild Italian sausage, casings removed
1 pound ground beef
1 6-ounce box Kellogg’s Croutettes Stuffing Mix
¼ pound margarine, melted
1 cup milk
6 eggs
3 tablespoons grated pecorino Romano cheese
¼ pound salami, sliced thickly and diced
½ pound mozzarella, diced
Salt to taste
¼ teaspoon pepper

Sauté onion in olive oil until soft. Add parsley and stir until soft. Add sausage and ground beef and blend well. Continue to stir and cook until no pink shows. Allow mixture to cool to room temperature.
In a separate bowl, mix croutettes with margarine and toss lightly. Stir in milk. In another large bowl, beat eggs and add grated pecorino, diced salami, mozzarella, salt and pepper. Fold in cooked meat mixture and croutettes.

Stuff mixture into turkey cavity and roast according to directions. Or, place stuffing in a large casserole and bake 1 hour at 350 degrees, until lightly browned on top.
Makes 8 to 12 servings.

Will's 16 month picture!

I'm not ignoring you....

Life just seems to get in the way every time I want to sit down and journal....so here are the highlights of the last two weeks...

Monday, November 7: Surprise baby shower for a fellow homeschooling mom who is expecting baby #5...as a matter of fact, today (11-20) little miss Lilly should be making her appearance, that is if baby's had any idea of what duedates were! It was great fun, we had a "recycled" theme, as Melodie (the pregnant one) loves thrifting and rarely buys anything new. She ended up with quite a haul...clothes, nursing gown, baby sling, diapers, wipes, blankets, baby einstein dvd. She was so surprised when she walked in. I was just glad we had a chance to celebrate with her!

Tuesday, November 8: Brett's 15th birthday! The day started out with a park program (orienteering with compasses) and then some of the teens met up with us to celebrate Brett's birthday. At one point I looked up and saw Brett surrounded by 6 teenage girls, not another boy in sight, and thought to myself, "what more could a teenage boy want?". We had a huge turkey dinner (rivaling Thanksgiving) at Brett's request. Hard to believe that it has been 15 years since he entered my life!

Wednesday, November 9: We made a trip to Dayton to visit Boonshoft Museum. It was certainly worth the hour drive. 4 other homeschooling families joined us. The kids LOVED the animal grossology exhibit and we came home with a recipe to make animal "scat"...can't wait to do that some cold winter afternoon.

Thursday, November 10: 4-H meeting!

Sunday, November 13: My 36th birthday! Jay spoiled me with a serger and a gorgeous Vera Bradley backpack....God that man is so good to me! I could add that this is my first even numbered birthday since I was 20 that I haven't been pregnant (I was pregnant at 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32 and 34)...but I have a theory it would somehow JINX me....although the likelihood of me being pregnant is almost nil! The last time I "complained" about this (birthday #34) I had a + pregnancy test less than a week later!

Monday, November 14: Spanish class, open gym, dance class

Tuesday, November 15: Worked on projects for the biography fair. Picked up dad from dialysis, he was sick (nauseated) so I had to spend most of the afternoon with him. Grant had basketball practice that afternoon.

Thursday, November 17: BIOGRAPHY FAIR! I was in charge..here is what I posted to our homeschooling group!

Biography Fair!!
Location: Loveland Community Hall
ALL Ages invited to participate
COST: None
Organizer: Laura Riesenberg
Each child picks anyone, living or dead, and does a presentation about their life. The child choses how to present the information. They can write a report, make a display board, a photo montage, a video. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination.. The great thing about this opportunity is that any age child can particpate and present their research to the best of their abilities. No competing!

There is a great article online that explains the biography fair in detail. http://www.home-ed-magazine.com/HEM/HEM155.98/155.98_art_bio.html

Contact Laura is you are interested at theriesenbergs@cinci.rr.com

We will begin setting up at 6:30 PM, presentations to begin at 7 PM.

RSVP: Riesenberg, Hensley, Leland, Green, Ridiman

Please bring a nut-free snack to share. No popcorn please! I will provide drinks, cups and napkins.

Directions to the Loveland Community Center:
Take I-275 to the Loveland-Indian Hill exit (#52). Turn left at the bottom of the exit ramp onto Loveland- Maderia Rd. Follow Loveland-Maderia road until you pass Kroger on your left and Castle Skateland on your left. You now go to the 3rd traffic light (W. Loveland) and turn RIGHT onto W. Loveland. Follow to the second traffic light and turn RIGHT onto Karl Brown Way, the Community Center is on the left, parking in the lot right past the Community Center.

Friday, November 18: Bowling with our homeschool group!

Saturday, November 19: Craft at local library and Liam's birthday party.

Sunday, November 20: Tour at Cincinnat Museum Center for the Architecture by Children Program. Talk about a BORING tour. I actually left about 1/2 way through it and took Sophie, Cade and Jacob down to play in the Children's museum. Em had pictures for the Nutcracker for the local papers before our tour and practice following our tour...luckily the ballet is only about 3 minutes from the museum!

Genealogy project

Emily decided that she wanted to tackle the 4-H genealogy project this year. It is a fantastic project that you can continue to build on for up to 6 years. We had no idea where to begin, so I called my uncle (my dad's older brother) who had researched my surname back to its origins in England.

Emily and I went over to his house on Tuesday October 18 and he spent 2 1/2 hours showing us records and recommending books and websites. He told Emily she was welcome to copy anything she wanted and that she could borrow any of the books he had.

He pointed out some of the "interesting" things on one branch of her family tree. We are related to Abraham Lincoln, we are related to Camila Hanks (who rode with Butch Cassidy) and we also have Choctaw blood. Emily and I can't wait to dig deeper into everything.

We hope to trace my husband's family. We know very little of his heritage. Emily is going to draft a letter to her aunts and uncles to get what information they know and also she plans to go and interview her grandmother. We have already come up with the information sheet thanks to some samples my uncle gave us.

My uncle said his favorite free genealogy resource is www.cyndislist.com .

We can't wait to see where this project leads us!

Open Gym Halloween Party
I send out the following email:

What: Open Gym Halloween Party
When: Monday, Oct 31 noon-3 PM (festivities most like from 1 PM to 2:45 PM) Where: Union Township Civic Center Gym
Bring: individually wrapped candy to share (see suggestions below) and a bag for trick or treating!

Join us on Monday, October 31 during Open Gym for a fun filled Halloween celebration! Children are invited to wear their costumes if they would like! Planned activities include trick or treating (to "box" houses the kids will be decorating!) and games(eyeball relay race). We are asking each family to bring a bag of individually wrapped candy (or two if you have a larger family) to share. You can also bring a snack if you wish (cookies, pretzels, fruit). If you would like to plan a game for the kids to play, feel free!

Please be aware that we have children attending with the following food allgeries/adversions: nuts, apples, red dye #40 and popcorn. We ask that you not bring any items with nuts, apple or popcorn to the gym. Also avoid bringing gum as it is not allowed in the gym. Since red dye #40 is hard to avoid, please just be certain before handing anything to Will Riesenberg that you check with me or one of his big sisters!

The following items are nut-free and would make great choices for sharing: individual bags of pretzles (avoid bags of chips as many are fried in peanut oil!), tootsie rolls, tootsie pops, dots, charm suckers, jr mint, charleston chews, andies mints, sugar babies, sugar daddy's,nerds, laffy taffy, airheads, bottle caps, sweettarts, crunch bars, plain m&m's, fruit snacks, individual bags of animal cookies, individual bags of oreos.

Will is able to eat: blue, vanilla, yellow and green laffy taffy, white, blue and green airheads, tootsie rolls (the chocolate ones), green and yellow suckers (as long as they have no gum in the middle!) and any chocolates (although the m&ms must be seperated to remove the brown and red ones).

What an absolute BLAST! Deanne brought cardboard boxes and the kids spent probably 30 minutes decorating them. It was amazing to see them work as teams on their creations. You have to love the ingenunity of a group of boys who decided they needed a window in their "house" and went about cutting one with a butterknife!

After they finished their houses, the kids had an eyeball relay race. Then the trick or treating began. The kids quickly worked out who would be "homeowners" first and who would trick or treat. Then they switched rolls! We really managed to sugar everyone up! Almost every kids had on a costume (I think Will, Dylan, Hannah and Sarah were the only ones without them!).

Julieanne even made dye free suckers for Will. I feel so blessed to have friends who will go out of their way just because they want to!

Happy Halloween everyone!

Breastfeeding witch causes a stir....

My friend Julieanne sent me this link (http://cbs4boston.com/topstories/local_story_300112352.html) and I just had to share it. Made me laugh this morning!

Of course, I suppose, I actually know some breastfeeding witches. I have a few wiccan friends who have breastfed their babies!

Happy Halloween eve all!

Minor medical crisis with dad

Mom called just a bit ago, she had to have dad emergency transported to the hospital.

Apparently when dad was getting dressed, he managed to pull out his catheter. Because of the location, he can easily bleed out. When mom couldn't get the bleeding to stop she called 911! The operator thought it was a urinary catheter and when the ambulance got there and saw all the blood he lost they were pretty freaked out. They lit up the ambulance and sped off to the hospital.

By the time mom called, the bleeding had stopped. They are just waiting on a surgeon to place a new catheter (can't do dialysis without it!).

On top of it all, dad is schedule for surgery on Wed (11-2) to place a fistual for dialysis and a port in his chest for chemo. The surgery will take 3 hours.

Prayers are much appreciated!

Teen Halloween Party

Friday, October 28; 5:30pm – 11pm
Teen Halloween Party
Ages: 12 and up
The Freson Home/Fayetteville (carpool from the Day home) = IF YOU NEED A RIDE, PLEASE LET CINDY DAY KNOW

Bring: a pumpkin to carve and a side dish or dessert to go with dinner, flashlights, warm clothes (it is supposed to drop to freezing ).

The Fresons have a beautiful log home with acres of woods. Once there, we will roast hot dogs, carve pumpkins (there will be prizes for the best creations), take a night hike in their woods, roast marshmallows, and watch (hopefully) the Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, Part 2.

If you can bring your teen to the Day home (Anderson Township), we’ll transport him/her the rest of the way. Carpool leave at 5pm. If you need a ride , LET ME KNOW!

Contact Tammy or Cindy if interested in attending.

Once again I had to priviledge to accompany the teens on one of their activities! 23 teens attended the party and it was an absolute blast. The ride out took almost 40 minutes and I had a van full of teenage boys, it was great fun listening to them talk, especially the candor with which they spoke. Once we got to the house, we were greeted by a ROARING bonfire and lots of food.

The kids had a blast carving pumpkins, eating, playing sardines and just hanging out! The only suggestions the boys had when heading home was that we ditch the movie next year and just spend more time playing games (they all were eyeing the pool table) and that we needed some music. I suppose if those are the only two suggestions, then things are good!

4-H Halloween Party

This is one of those entries that could most certainly have a different title, maybe something like "Radical Homeschooler follows the crowd" or even "What the heck was I thinking?" but for simplicities sake, the title stands.

Our 4-H advisor knew what she was doing in planning a Halloween party for our October meeting. It was the one way to guarantee that she would have everyone there to nominate officers! Disguise it as a party and they will come!

I should have thought better of the whole thing as soon as we piled out of the car, we being me, Brett, Emily, Grant, Jacob, Cade and Sophie. There was a bonfire roaring and small children barely 2 years old were throwing paper in it while parents ignored the activity. Several slightly older children took pleasure in setting the paper on fire while they were holding it and then as the paper was consumed in fire, would toss it into the air. The Riesenberg children were ordered to stay away from said fire under threat of death. I had to walk away, my friend Deanne even commenting that it must be bad for me to walk away since I am really laid back about stuff....The truth is, I am laid back about just about EVERYTHING except things that might permanently scar my children!

So the fire should have sent me running, but NO, we stayed. Our advisor kept promising a "haunted" hike in the woods with a reward of CANDY for all that traveled back to tell the tale. OK, so naive me, I am thinking flashlights and marked paths. Deanne and I get puzzled looks on our faces as hoards of children are turned lose into the pitch black woods with NO flashlights...They are told to find the "flashing" lights to get their candy. Deanne and I quickly grab ahold of our gang (her son and 5 of mine) and think it really can't be that bad, but we will accompany them to be sure.....Good thing we did, because we got completely LOST in the woods and if we hadn't stumbled over someone who knew the way back, you all might have seen on the news about a massive search for 2 homeschooling moms and 6 small children! It was ABSOLUTELY NUTS! I just can't even BELIEVE that I went into the woods! The odd things was not one other parent got up and went with their kids and half of them were up in the woods SCREAMING and CRYING....Deanne and I ended up leading one of them out with us! We left shortly after emerging from the woods, who knows how long it took to return (or maybe I should say how long it took the parents to wander in and find them!).

Brett came with me. He ended up sitting and hanging out with Sarah (Deanne's daughter). He really cracked me up at one point. He commented to Sarah at one point that normal teenagers wouldn't be hanging out at this party and I turned around and said "yeah, your right Brett. Normal teens are making out in the backseat of a car right now." Brett replied "yeah, that's what I would rather be doing!". Gotta love that kid!

A confession

Until this past Friday night, I had never spent a night ALONE....never not once. First I lived at home with my parents, and even when I left home at 18, I moved into an apartment with my husband. Even when I was in the hospital having one of the kids, someone was always there with me, albeit a newborn baby or hospital employee. But Friday marked new ground. I spend both Friday and Saturday night sleeping alone in a hotel room.....

You ask, how can this be? A woman with 8 children and a husband, alone in a hotel? Well I snuck away for a weekend of rubber stamping! It was an absolute BLAST, such fun women to be around and such great projects to work on. When I first planned on taking this trip over 6 months ago, I never thought that Will would still be nursing so often! My swollen breast served as a constant reminder of what I had left behind!

The hotel SUCKED! It was filthy, the poor maids didn't even have vacuum cleaners. I would have hated to see what a black light would have shown in those rooms. One gal found pubic hairs in her bed! YUCK! They served a buffet lunch, but my idea of lunch certainly isn't half cooked chicken and elmer's glue tasting salad dressing.

Yet despite the accommodations, I had a wonderful time. I feel revived and rejuvenated, ready to take on the world....Well, that is after I spend some more time cuddling with my baby, a hot shower, and a good night's sleep!