I'm glad we didn't get these for the kids for Christmas this year!

It Really Makes Me Wonder...

Will there really be a Presidential Candidate that will be worthy of the title and office that they strive so hard to attain?

Like Kylene, and I'm sure many others, I have been thinking about who I would find to worthy of my vote and support for the upcoming Presidential election. I haven't found any that I would definitely say I would be excited about but there has been some thing that I can say that I am definitely not thrilled about. The following is something that I just got in my e-mail found rather disturbing. How can anybody who claims to want to uphold, serve, and lead our country not do something as simple as respecting our national anthem and flag?

Can this be possible? Let's find out about their true colors!

I had heard about this but a picture is
definitely worth 1000 words!

Respect?

Senator Bara*ck Oba*ma, Govern*or Bill Rich*ardson, Sena*tor Hilla*ry Clint*on, and Ruth Har*kin stand during the national anthem.

At least we know there's nothing wrong with his legs - he is standing...

Here's more info on this beautiful (gag me) picture that goes into more detail and even more disturbing facts about a man that could very well become our next Commander in Chief.

Ok, so maybe it's not protocol unless you are in uniform but at the same time don't we teach our children to stand and put their right hands over their hearts when they say the pledge of allegiance (my kids do it for the American Flag, along with the Christian Flag, Missionettes and Royal Ranger Flags as well)? I did it all the way through grade school and still do, why can't he?

The Man That I Adore

Bob has updated his blog! He forgot to mention one VERY important thing...he is doing GREAT in his school work! His test grades haven't fallen below a B and most of them are A's. I'm so proud of him! :)

I just love that guy!

What Will They Come Up With Next?

This week the kids have been playing with Le*gos constantly. They have come up with a new "game" - they invent a lot of games - called Wegos (pronounced "we goes"). They have a ton of the little Le*go guys that seem to have been dismembered along the way so they have collected all of the little yellow heads and they are the Wegos. The rest of the men (and a couple of girls and boys mixed in) that are fully intact - or at least have most of the body, maybe with an arm missing or the little yellow head replaced with a lamp shade or something - are their people. They have built little, VERY imaginative, pet shops for the We*gos families to buy them supplies and toys at, a car dealership, a furniture store, homes and a root beer saloon - bar and bar stools and all. Not that they have ever been in a bar but I think they got the idea from watching Kid Nat*ion. Amazingly enough they have hardly been fighting this week! I am flabbergasted! Not to say that they haven't fought AT ALL but it has been far less than normal. Maybe because they have been working together with a common goal but either way, it has been a wonderful break from our normal hitting, kicking, yelling, name-calling-fun-filled-day! I have also been assigning extra school work for those big fights that end in tears and yelling with nobody really knowing what happened or how, just that nobody did anything to anybody...it seems to help!

Yesterday morning I was cleaning my closet in my bedroom. You are probably thinking how could it need cleaning? She's only been there about 2 months?! The kids decided to use it as a hiding place without me knowing and totally destroyed it...the hanging bar is even off on one end! So I was looking through my boxes of books trying to get rid of more and get the kids books out of mine to put on their bookshelf. I have my books in boxes because I don't have a book shelf. I found a copy of a children's encyclopedia and thought they might enjoy that, they are getting big enough to understand and read most of what's in there so I put it in with their books. Luke picked it up immediately, what kid doesn't like a big new picture filled book? He said it was the "Great Bi*g B00k of Every*thing"- it's been years since he's watch "Stanley"! He was happily looking through it when I left his room after shelving the rest of the books. Some time later I went in to find both him and Jozie looking at it together and they had found the anatomy section. I am NOT prepared for that lesson! So I quickly distracted them with the Wegos and quietly took the book back to my closet.

My mom says that I should be teaching them some of that stuff now. Obviously they know the difference between a b0y and a gi*rl, they have grown up with that difference but I almost feel like if I go into more details I am taking away their innocence, know what I'm saying? Kinda like Jodie feels about the "sleeping" deer in her neighbors garage. It's part of the reason that we chose to homeschool - they grow up too fast and know things that they shouldn't know until they are way older. I know it's a little old fashion but at the same time I want them to enjoy just being a kid.

Remember?

Recently Rebecca had a post about music that brought back memories and I happened across this one tonight - Bob wanted to hear some Stryper and this was one of them. I remember requesting this one quite a bit - probably for some boy! Old Rockey didn't disappoint very often!

My Verses of the Day

"I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth." 3 John 1:4

"Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." Proverbs 22:6

Here's a little girl who's parents have taken these verses and made them real. And it also shows you that they are never too young to start learning the scriptures! My kids didn't learn Psalm 23 until last year when they were in AWA*NA. They were 6 and 7 then but this little girl looks a little younger than that. She's just so cute I had to share it when I found it!

Pa's Long Rifle

Today for Reading we read chapter 3 in Little House in the Big Woods, Pa's Long Rifle. I think Luke almost liked this chapter better than Jozie. She could care less about our day of gun safety and the mechanics of a gun but as I write Luke is watching an N*R A video - that I thought was Gun Safety - about the 10 best guns in history. Jozie found it boring and asked to call her Amma on the phone - just like a girl, she'd rather talk on the phone!

Bob had his shotgun out the other day for pheasant hunting (I now have pheasant in my freezer but I'm not sure what to do with it!) with his buddies from school so tonight I'm going to try and get him to give a short gun safety demonstration and show them how his gun works.

Making Butter, Shots, and That Pesky Time Change

On Friday we had a fun project from our Prairie Primer and we got to make butter. Of course Luke wasn't that interested because he couldn't taste any of it but Jozie jumped (literally jumping to shake it!) right in and then got tired of it just as quick. So I was the one who got to do most of the work because we started it after all, I knew we had to finish it. Once we got the cream to the really thick state and it started to separate Luke decided he wanted to give it a shake and of course, took all the credit for making the butter! But Friday night my right shoulder took the tole for about an hour of shaking 3 cups of cream! By Sat. afternoon I could hardly move, it even hurt when I breathed! I was cursing the butter. Last night I hardly slept and all of Bob's snoring didn't help matters. I slept with the heating pad but it's not exactly easy to get it on a shoulder and up to my neck. I don't know what time it was but I finally found a comfortable position and despite Bob's serenade I slept for a couple of hours....only to get up this morning and get ready for church and get there to find out that we were an hour early! Bob and I were both rater shocked. At least we didn't plan on being there for Sunday School and find the doors of the church locked!

I'm usually on top of the time change, I can't remember the last time that I didn't realize it was happening but this year it caught me completely off guard! That's what I get for making my own butter!

This year in the state of SD all children are able to get the flu shot for free. I thought it sounded good and decided to make an appointment for the kids yearly check ups and at the same time have their flu shots done. I didn't think much of it except for I was a little worried about Jozie and her shot. She has an irrational fear of needles (well, of anything that will cause her pain, really). The last time she had blood taken to have her iron checked and to check for lead it took me and 2 nurses to hold her down and then the 3rd nurse to take her blood. Well, I kinda figured that she has grown up and it shouldn't be that bad this time, right? Wrong. She wouldn't take her arm out of the sleeve of her shirt so the nurse went and got 2 others and it took 3 of us to hold her and then the 3rd nurse gave her the shot. 4 people to give an 8-year-old a flu shot. Nice. To make things even better, we have to go back next month to get the second one because this is their first year getting a flu shot. Luke had to finish his chicken pox vaccine and the flu shot and had one in each arm. He didn't cry. He wasn't glad to get them and was definitely glad to get it over with but he didn't even care. I don't know how 2 kids can be so completely different.

My Confession

So it's been some time since I have posted. Some things have been happening in our home that have brought me to the edge of my sanity. No, it's nothing life threatening or relationship threatening - it's just been a trial for me and has made me realize just how lonely I am here on my great SD Sunset Prairie. There are days it feels more like a dark valley. Don't get me wrong, I will NEVER look back and wish we were back in my mom's basement again but there are times that I just feel so alone. I know, I have my family - Bob is great and I don't know what I'd do without him or the kids - but a girl needs more than that, wouldn't you agree? It's been too long since I got to spend time with friends...dinner with Jennie and Janice, W*l*Mart and coffee with Kristin or even just grocery shopping with my mom. I guess my original euphoria of having my own home and starting a new chapter of my life has worn off and I now realize that I need something more. I need friendship. I need girlf*iends to laugh and cry with and talk to and listen to. Not that my bloggy friends aren't great, but I need more. I don't even want to go grocery shopping by myself anymore, I would rather take the kids (well, maybe only one) with me just so that I'm not physically alone.

I'm not looking for sympathy or anything, and no, I'm not depressed. Just looking for my place here in my SD Sunset, Small Town America where I can be myself. I think most of you know me well enough to know that I am shy. Shy enough that I have a hard time talking to people and I think sometimes others see me as stuck up or proud. Trust me, those things I am not...but how do I get past that and where does the courage to go up to someone else and introduce myself rather than waiting for them to do the same come from?

So, that is my confession. That's why I've had a hard time posting lately.

This is me.

Rain in October

That isn't such an uncommon thing. It's fall and it rains and by the end of the month - in some places - that rain turns to snow. BTW, it hasn't snowed here yet but I wouldn't be surprised to have it by Halloween...remember trick or treating in the UP wearing snow pants and parkas?

Anyway, rain in October here brings about stir crazy kids in a tiny apartment! It's been raining here all week and I've been encouraging the kids to read in their free - a.k.a. "I'm bored" - time but lets face it, how many 3rd graders want to read for hours a day? So I say sure, turn on the TV, check out the cartoons and if they are appropriate for you guys go ahead and watch...bad idea. How many parents enjoy the commercials on cartoon channels this time of the year? Every last one it seems is one toy or another and every other one - depending on if the toy is for a boy or a girl or occasionally for either - I hear, "I want that for Christmas mom!" or "Mom, look quick, that's what I want!" or one of their favorites, "I WANT THAT!" The worst part about it is that there isn't anyplace else for me to be if the kids are watching TV. I could clean but other than that I don't have a whole lot of excuse to spend in my bedroom and there's just no place to even sit in the kitchen. I like rain but come on! My kids only want to play outside and I can't let them!

So after so much of, "I want that!" commercials, I turned the TV off and told them to go and play in their rooms. They played pretty good until about the time I was making supper - like I have nothing better to do while I am making supper - to start trouble. I guess Luke had the bright idea to play catch in his bedroom because I wouldn't let him "go outside and play baseball in the park" in the rain. I don't know how but Jozie ended up getting her head in the way of the baseball and almost ended up with a black eye! Why do kids think that just as long as they have the physical ability to do something they can do it anywhere and anytime they want? Shouldn't it go without saying that you don't throw a hard ball around your bedroom where there are windows and walls that can be broken or dented?

I tell ya...some peoples kids!

I hope it doesn't rain tomorrow!

A New Job

Today I finished my application for a new job. Since Bob is going to school full time and can only work a limited number of hours a week, that means it's up to me to "get a haircut and get a real job!" Ha, ha, ha... Anyway, it's for an internet based company called Live*Ops. You basically train to become an agent and then they send you a script and a phone call from someone who has called about a product - I won't be doing any calling - and then you get paid by the minute for the time you are on the phone. If you sell something, great, sometimes the clients give bonuses if you do but if you don't it's not a big deal either, the point is just to keep the customer on the phone as long as you can so you can get paid for your time that you work. You choose your hours - when and how often you work.

I must confess that I'm not thrilled with the prospect of phone sales but this is the only work from home job that I actually know someone who does it and it works for them. It's not a scam or a pyramid scheme, it's simply a job. :P What I'd really like to do is start an ebay store to sell my used homeschool curriculum (which isn't much right now) and also some extra stuff that my FIL has stored in his house. He said he would give me a percentage of whatever I can sell. I'm just a little bit lost on how to get the whole thing started and worried that I would end up spending more in shipping and such than it's worth.

A lot of people make money working from home - why can't I? But who knows what is legit and what isn't? Obviously stuffing envelops is out of the question and medical billing - from what I understand you have to have experience and education to do that. Does anybody know what would really work? And what really wont?

Keeping Busy Doing Nothing

I haven't had much to post about lately but I thought I would let you all know we didn't fall off the edge of the earth (though we DO live close to it!). I have been busy with a couple of knitting projects that are NOT washcloths - after about 20 of those I figure I should broaden my knitting horizons! I have started a baby blanket and made a baby gift to send to a friend. I will admit, I did make one more washcloth (and I have 2 more to do for specific people) but it had some cable stitches in it and it was fun to do something with a design on it rather than just a plain knitted one.

I have also been busy catching up with my friends on OTH. I finished season 3 the other day and plan on starting season 4 soon.

The kids are finding multiplication fun (for the time being) and a nice change from add and subtract in math. They are also excited to be able to write their names in cursive but can definitely use some practice there! They have discovered the books on Luke's bookshelf that have been there for quite some time and are the same ones that we had in IN. They are hungry for pizza and BookIt! is a great motivator! I have also told them that if they want to watch TV, they will read first. They weren't thrilled about that at first but this afternoon I was upstairs only to come down and find them reading to each other! I was excited! They were even helping each other when they got to words that they struggled with. Did I say I was thrilled? :) Jozie keeps asking me to work on Science but despite my best efforts to find a wonderfully comprehensive science program I ended up with one that they like but it only has one lesson a week. :P I'm thinking we will probably accelerate it and do it 2 times a week then move on to something else new. I will admit that I was hesitant to send it back because the kids liked it from the moment I opened the box but the next time I wont hesitate - even if the kids like it...it doesn't always mean that it will be the best.

Well, I just heard the weather man on the news forecast snow for tomorrow so I'm going to bed. I'm not ready for it and if it does come I plan on pulling the covers over my head and staying there until it's gone! See you in the spring! OK, it was a nice thought for the moment it came into my head. Not to practical though...maybe someday!

What's On My TV?

So recently I have become a One Tree Hill addict. I started watching it in Indiana with my 'Lil Sis' and now I want to know what comes next. I'm not really sure why, who really cares about high school drama? Maybe it reminds me of what high school could have been like if I had been involved in that kind of thing...maybe I feel like I missed out? Is this really what high school is like now? Even in the popular crowd I don't remember this much drama when I was there! It makes me glad I homeschool that's for sure!

At any rate, I was looking online for the episodes that I have missed (I'm somewhere around the end of season 2, there are 2 more seasons after that and from what I understand, season 5 is starting soon!) and I found a quiz to see which One Tree Hill character you are the most like. I would have to say it is pretty accurate except for the part that Hailey left her husband to go on tour with a musician that had a thing for her...I'd never even consider it.

Just a fun little quiz that I thought I should explain before you all ask, "Why do you really care which One Tree Hill character you are?"

It's All About the Glory?

For lunch today Luke was pretty hungry so he decided to go for 2 frozen burritos. He was waiting for them and watching the microwave when it stopped so I told him to turn them over and put them in for another minute and 15 seconds. He did and stood and watched it again and said, "Mom, aren't microwaves the best counter backwards? Well, second best because God is the best. HE knows all the numbers in the world and he never gets confused and sometimes the microwaves get confused and blow up, right Mamma?!" Just about then he remembered his burritos and said, taking a big whiff, "Aahh, doesn't that smell glorious mom?!"

Check It Out...

If you wanna know how things are going on the college front check out the 38 Year Old Freshmen - he's eager for some adoring fans! :)

For My Home-ec. Teacher

I have a home-ec teacher - a.k.a. my sil - who doesn't know what the Magic Loop Method is so I am going to post a few links here, here, and here, and the booklet from Knit Picks for her to check it out for me and explain a few things that I can't figure out. :) Like how do you actually join the stitches in the round to make it one continuous loop! I never claimed to be the smartest one in the bunch! I even watched to video from Knitting Help.com for double pointed needles and I STILL can't figure out how they get the end stitches together! Help!

Knots

This morning I told the kids they weren't going to be watching cartoons before school. For some reason I let them do that the last couple of weeks and it hasn't been working out for the good. I told them we would read one of our history books instead about traveling west in a covered wagon and neither of them were happy about that. Jozie threw herself into a chair in a huff, decidedly against any such foolishness and Luke sat on the stairs trying to avoid listening. But after a page or so Jozie was on the floor on her belly listening to me and looking at the pictures and answering my questions - the cartoons soon forgotten! Then shortly after she came over to me, Luke brought a knot book that was on the steps and pretended to look at that as I read. They were both disappointed when I stopped and said it was start school!

Jozie took a little longer with her math than Luke did (she usually does) so while she was still working he found a rope and started to make knots he found in the book. He was VERY impressed with himself and even LET ME TAKE A PICTURE of him when he lashed 2 of my knitting needles together! He couldn't find 2 sticks outside so those were acceptable.

"That's pretty impressive Royal Ranger work, huh mom!"

I'm sure we will have to leave the knitting needles as they are so he can bring them to Royal Rangers with him on Wednesday night to show to his commander.

Jozie couldn't be outdone so she got out her knitting and started working on that again and sat there humming as she worked. She counted her stitches and she now has 16 (I think she is supposed to have 9 or 10)...at least it's not in knots! Looks like I have some unknitting to do now!

TGIF!!!!

That's about how I feel today. Most of the time Friday is like any other day of the week but for some reason this week has been extra taxing on my nerves...maybe it's that monthly thing, who knows?

The kids have been having problems with math this week...don't ask me why it's been mostly review, they can do it it's just that they hate math and hate sitting to do it. I will admit that 4 pages of about 25 problems each can get tedious...maybe next week we will see how they do by only doing odds or evens like I used to do in school.

And laundry? Who doesn't have a washer and dryer of their own? I do! BUT they are in my brother-in-laws garage, NOT in my apartment where they belong! And it costs at least $20 a week to do laundry! At LEAST! I NEVER used that much worth of electricity and water per week when I did laundry with my own washer and dryer! It's absolutely absurd! I thought we were living in these apartments because they are cheap and we are supposed to live cheaper...not so! It cost $1.75 per load to wash and dry which may be cheap by laundry mat standards but the load size is about half of my washer that's in a garage! And you find out the hard way if you overload the washer because when it's time to dry - they come out damp and you have to re-dry them for another $0.75!

So, you can probably sympathize with me and my laundry woes...anyone with more than 2 children can REALLY understand because I'm sure you have even more laundry than me to do!

Hmmm...

This really makes me wonder if what these people are pedaling is for real...I just found some random pictures of people and put them in the meter and this is what I got...




I also did it with my kids...it was really kinda fun.

The fake one was funnier though!

Things Luke Says to Get Out of School Work:

Luke: Mom, are these all right? (showing me his math workbook)
Mom: (after checking them over) Yep, looks good!
Luke: Good, they were a bit of a challenge for me because my eyes are bothering me today! - Which translates: Good thing I don't have to do any over again because my eyes hurt from the crying fit I just had because I didn't want to do my math today to begin with!