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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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!

Absolutely Awesome Teen Activity

Two of the moms from our favorite homeschooling support group, Magdie and Cindy, organized an absolutely AWESOME activity for the teens. I was so excited to get to participate in the activity with Brett and Hannah, one of those nights that made me glad to have teens and even happier that they have such a great group of homeschooling friends to hang out with!

Prior to the event, the organizers divided the kids onto teams and assigned each team a driver (although none of the participants or drivers knew who was on the teams). Once everyone was told what team they would be on, each team was given a digital camera, a list and 10 minutes to come up with their plan of attack. We were given exactly one hour to complete as many of the listed activities as we could (points would be deducted if you returned late!). The final catch, no activities could be preformed on the host family's property! We were given the list at 5:35 PM and permitted to leave at 5:45 PM....the fun was on!

Here was the list:
Take a picture of your team in/on a shopping cart (5 pt)
Collect an unusual, clever or creative item along the way (5 pt)
Take a picture of your team by a police car (10 pt) (10 pt extra is including a police officer)
Take a picture with a total stranger. Your team must be in the classic "YMCA" pose (15 pt)
Take a picture behind a counter with a restaurant worker (20 pt)
Take a picture of your team riding a lawn mower (15 pt)
Take a picture of your team wearing halloween masks (10 pt)
Collect a napkin or a menu from an Italian restaurant (5 pt)
Take a picture of a horse (10 pt)
Take a picture of your team in a shower (5 pt)
Collect a sample of play sand (5 pt)
Take a picture of your team climbing a tree (10 pt)
Collect a bag of hot sauce (10 pt)
Take a picture of your entire team on a playground slide (10 pt)
Take a picture of your team at a graveyard making scary faces (20 pt)
Take a picture of your team doing the chicken dance in front of a stopsign (15 pt)
Collect a photocopy of your driver's hands (15 pt)
Take a picture of your team holding different kinds of balls (10 pt)
Take a picture of your team next to construction equipment (5 pt)
Take a picture of a team meember sitting on a beauty or barber shop chair (10 pt)
Collect a real estate magazine/book (5 pt)
Collect a feather (10 pt)
Take a picture of one of your team mates drinking from a waterfountain (5 pt)
Tkae a picture shaking hands with a bearded man (15 pt)
Collect a picture of someone wearing a wedding dress (10 pt)( 20 pt if you can get one of your teammates in a wedding dress!)
Take a picture of a bus (5 pt)
Take a picture of your team on a fire truck (20 pt)
Take a picture of a team mate riding on a kiddie ride (5 pt) (10 pt if you get 4 members to ride!)
Take a picture of your team with a scarecrow (5 pt)
take a pciture of yoru team in a swimming pool or hot tub (20 pt)
Collect a cornstalk (10 pt)
Take a picture giving an older person a hug (15 pt)
Take a picture of your team holding up traveling books (each team member must be holding a book from a different country) (15 pt)
Take a picture of your team mates with paper cones on their heads (10 pt)
Take a picture in front of White Castle acting sick after eating a slider (15 pt) The White Castle sign must be in the picture!

Our team started out by calling Target to see if we could take pictures in the store...when they told us "no" we went to plan "B". We would hit the local strip mall with a children's resale shop in it! Our first stop was White Castle and then the police station which just so happened to have a metro bus on layover at the bus stop...then to the strip mall. We used a children's rocking horse as our horse and a toy firetruck with everyone's foot on it as our firetruck picture! We grabbed an assortment of balls for the ball picture, then headed to the chinese restauraunt for our behind the counter picture (a funny picture would have been me trying to explain to the kind chinese worker what we were doing and that he needed to be in the picture)..the kids struck the YMCA pose behind the counter. We grabbed masks off a display at the $1 store, ran into BIG LOTS to copy my hands and snagged a picture next to their scarecrow display. used a stopsign in the parking lot for the chicken dance picture, found a bearded man as we ran back to the car. Then it was off to the park to knock out the water fountain pic, slide pic, playground sand, a picture with an older man (who was walking his older dog... Gumbo), as we left the kids snagegd their "unusual" item, a pooper scooper bag from the walking trail. We stopped at a pizzeria for their menu and snapped our paper cone picture there (at which point our camera died!!!), then ran into UDF (convient store) to grab a real estate magazine. Our final goal, to find a riding mower before reaching our host family's house (luckily one of our team members had a digital camera with him!). We pulled onto the street and I told the kids to get out a run and look in all the open garages...if they spied a riding mower to go and ring the doorbell....we were in luck...the first open garage had one, and although the homeowner looked quite baffled, he let us snap the photo! The kids SPRINTED down the street and LANDED on the front lawn EXACTLY at 6:45 PM...we were the second team to arrive, the team behind us was a minute late (thus losing one point) and the final team was 7 minutes late (thus losing 7 points).

Everyone munched on pizza and drank sodas as they hooked up the cameras to the tv for everyone to watch and the judges (4 parents who didn't drive) to score each team. The pictures were HILARIOUS! I am hoping the host family emails me some of them, they are perfect "blackmail" pictures!

Our team WON by a WHOOPING 12 points (it was really one by 5 points because team #4 came in second and had the 7 point penalty)...the prizes were just little trinkets and junk the host family had laying around but the kids LOVED it! Brett said it was the BEST teen activity every and Hannah loved it (btw, Hannah looked so PRETTY ...she just had on jeans and a sweatshirt but she looked so nice...her hair us just pulled up in a "sloppy" bun and she had on a little eyeshadow and mascara...she is really blossoming into a beautiful young lady!).

The only things I would change are that I would make sure each team had two cameras (although ours was the only one that died!), I would add a few more things to "collect" and I would try to burn a copy of the pictures for each family to take home after the event.

Following the scoring, the teens stayed and hung out for a couple hours. I had to leave and pick up Will (I had asked my mom to watch him because Jay had to take everyone else to Jacob's football game...which he WON by the way, their first victory of the season!). My mom said Will cried the WHOLE time, poor baby, he has NEVER not had one of his siblings or mom or dad with him. At least she didn't say she would never watch him again, just that next time he had to bring one of his siblings with him! Apparently they even took him for a walk, and he was "happy" when they were walking away from their house (we guess he thought they were walking him home) but when the turned to go back he threw himself on the sidewalk and screamed hysterically....he screamed the whole walk home (my mom thought someone might even call the cops he was screaming so loud!). He survived though and nursed happily when he saw me!

Like I said, I hope I have pictures to post soon!

It was an absolutely GREAT night!