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| [I set an assignment for Martin to write a paragraph of at least 8 sentences using 6 of his spelling words: goldfish, tallest, bold, overalls, cold cuts, calling, folded, coldness, old, stall. He didn't quite get all 6 into the paragraph, but nevertheless he received an A+ for what he turned in! It's included below.]
There was a man with blue overalls who went to find gold. He took some cold cuts, bread, bacon, and water with him, as well as his pistol, rifle, and pan. He came to a place where he saw two robbers robbing a man.
Now the man with the blue overalls was really bold, in spite of being quite old;
and he lifted up his gun at the tallest one.
Then he put his finger on the trigger of the rifle
and he said, "you're merely a trifle,"
then he shot them like this, Bam! Bam! Bam!
(If you want to know more, the robbers were dead and the man who got saved thanked the man with the blue overalls for saving his life and he gave him some gold he'd found. Then the man with the you-know-what* went on, searching for more gold.)
[Although hilarious to read, it's really much more effective when you have an 8yo sing-songing it to you. Especially if it's a male 8yo, who is overly fascinated with the Gold Rush and not at all concerned with political correctness.]
*you-know-what = blue overalls (in case you weren't paying attention! *eyebrow*)
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Well...we don't really come from the land of ice and snow, but that line reflects my newest music craze. *mysterious nod* And besides, a displaced Californian in T*xas has to get in their winter experiences when they can. Hurray for below-freezing temps!!
In another week it'll be Christmas, and I'm hosting at my house for the first time. My brother, Bill, and the Dan-man will be flying in Sunday to stay with us ALL WEEK. Joy! My little sister Tina will be driving down from Little Rock to join us, too, so there'll be a houseful of tinies, excellent homemade goodies, lots of noise, very little sleep, etc. And as you'd expect from adult children from my mother's household, we've made up a Baking List that's a mile long. 
The tinies are unbelievably excited. Nearly as much as I am.  But really, after 6 long/short years on our own in T*xas, sometimes even being alone on Christmas (*whimper*), it's a dream come true to host the center of festivities for a change!
Here's the Baking List so far:
Applesauce Cake (Grandma Colleen's recipe)
Dark Chocolate Walnut Caramel Pie
Pecan Pie
Pumpkin Pie
Candy Cane Cookies
Pumpkin Choc. Chip Cookies
Frosted Sugar Cookies
Candy Cane Fudge
Out of this World Candy (Great-Grandma Jessie's recipe)
Rocky Road
Cranberry-Orange Bread
Naturally (naturally!) the Dude's next semester starts in a couple weeks after Christmas, so he's been in cram mode for at least a month, and I've had a huge amount to do. Of course, we'd planned to finish the 19-month old painting project in the hall weeks ago...(I'm quite sure about the time lapse, because we started in on it a few days before little Emily was born!). But despite our insane schedules, something about this week is either making us feel very accomplished or very festive, because we not only started in on the hallway, but primed and painted the main focal wall in the Liver Room, too. *blink* And got rid of the horrid drapes that came with the house. (No, I didn't burn them, as I'd threatened to do of old...mainly because it was too cold to go outside that night...) AND hung the new rod, sheers, and curtains I acquired months ago with our tax return. I'm still rather in shock. 8-l I mean, last week marked our 4th anniversary in this house. Moving here more than doubled our square footage, so not having pictures on the walls due to lack of actual walls (because they were bookshelves) and no hallway has been a way of life since we've been married. Putting pictures up (like normal people, you know) has always been a distant dream of mine, but alas, my decorating style always hovers around "Nonexistent"...rofl I prefer to blame the huge change in living space, instead of guilting myself. (I'm still adapting, Captain!)
In other news, little Em is mostly described as "a menace" by her siblings when they meet strangers and begin a rapid introduction of everyone in the family. I've been known to roffle and snort and quickly compose myself enough to explain that this pet name comes from the fact that she's particularly fond of stealing Daddy's pens, antacids, and is obsessed with his (forbidden) laptop. Granted, she's the primary source of random pen scribbles found in books, on walls (at baby-height), and notebooks, but "those who leave their items unsecured, give random babies permission to use and dispose of them at will" I always say. (However, this wise maxim is little consolation when I forget to zip my bag...*cough*)
She proficiently says "uh-oooh", and babbles in Baby-language with proper intonation (and pointing!) when retelling "what happened" or asking for something she needs/wants. But that's about it in the speech area. I'm happy to have her stay baby-ish for a bit longer. She's already far too advanced in other areas for her own good. Oh! Except, she did say "nigh'-nigh'!" of her own accord when I was settling in the 3 olders for Quiet Time the other day. So cute! She says it now simply to get a riotous reaction out of us. Her main obsession at the moment is shoes. Shoes = going through outer doors with permission, going outside, getting into the car! Therefore, shoes are a most important possession, and should be worn whenever possible to model readiness and/or intense desire to Go. (Somewhere! Anywhere!)
Other than that, we're just same-olding around here: the boys are doing well in school, Philip had his FIRST spelling test last week (and aced it!), and Laura finished her Dick & Jane workbook (and proudly showed off her certificate to Daddy). Between AWANAs, Good News Club, teaching the tinies, seminary work, church service, and other side jobs I manage to pick up, I'm keeping entirely busy.
But. We have 4-day schoolweeks, and get 3 (possibly 4?) weeks off for Christmas vacation.
Because we can!
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Pretty much an average day today.
It's a Friday, so I'd planned to "sleep in" till around 6:45 instead of getting up at 6:00. Naturally, little Emily woke up wailing at 6:15. It was chilly this morning (34F/1C), and she doesn't like waking up to chilly. Usually I bound out of bed, but naturally my entire right leg was asleep, so I had to wait and stamp (while she wailed) until enough blood circulated to enable me to walk without toppling over.
She cozied into her blankets after a drink, but I moved Laura into the boys' room...just in case. We have an extra couch in the boys' room...it's christened the Reading Couch, and functions as a spare sleeping spot when the need arises. 
Since I was up, I figured I might as well just stay up and start bread dough and listing and all my normal morning things. Naturally, 30 minutes later, as I settled into the computer with a blanket on my knees, the wailing began afresh. 8-l It was 7:00 by then, so up I clambered, and figured I might as well let her come out and start breakfast while I worked. Scooping her up from her bed, the wails reduced to whimpers as she realized her devious plan was working. I carried her out quickly so's not to wake anyone illegally! In a mild effort to shush her, I kissed her cheek and whispered, "You little pain in the bum!!" She giggled and whispered back, "Dobbydobbydobby!" rofl Cheeky.
The morning continued, kids skipping about doing chores, me keeping them focused on chores and breaking up squabbles. Soon baby Em went down for her nap and I separated the boys under strict and specific conditions. They settled into schoolwork I'd assigned and after 4 trips back and forth for forgotten items, I finally headed toward the shower. When I passed Philip's door, I heard some tunes wafting into the hallway...he'd asked to listen to music but hadn't specified. It turned out he'd chosen Coldplay as a companion to his seatwork. ROFL! That's my boy...
(Speaking of which, Coldplay were in Dallas three weeks ago tonight, touring their way around America. I was uncontrollably morose that evening. The Dude had a conference so was away with a pal of his, eating large cookies, being edified by good teaching and enjoying good fellowship. Naturally! I whimpered and sighed most of the evening. Naturally.)
Back to my typical day...
Got most of the schoolwork done before baby Em woke from her morning nap. There's been 44 cents in our account for a good week or more, but there were 3 items I had to have to make it through another week or more. (Because, naturally, you just can't predict things like income around here...) I had a Eureka! moment and robbed...I mean...borrowed $6.50 in change from Martin's large tea-tin bank. Yessssssssssssssss. All nickels and dimes, tho, because, naturally, I don't give him the quarters! rofl *pinches a nearby penny*
We packed quick lunches and loaded up into The Great Beast for a jaunt around town doing errands so the Dude could record some lectures. (Naturally, the kids have been noisy all day everyday recently...and he's getting down to the wire in these upcoming weeks before the new semester.) Did all of our 5 stops and came home. The tinies were worned out so put themselves down for a Quiet Time. 8-l I bustled about the kitchen putting the finishing touches on the Split Pea Soup in the crockpot and soaking more beans for the Refried Beans I'm adding to our dinner group meeting here on Sunday. (We each bring a bit and have enough to feed all three families. )
Naturally, the moment I finished up in the kitchen, chugged my strong tea and sat down at the 'puter to log in for some listing, the familiar wail reached my ears. *long Napolean breath* Went back to get the tiniest girl and all the others came tumbling out with me.
Fed them a snack, checked the soup again, and put some Wiggles on for the girls so the boys and I could finish up the week's schoolwork. Naturally, little Emily-*nnie is just very fussy at the mo' and instead of being her happy self, shuffled about the Liver Room and kitchen whining and whimpering. At the most interesting bit of my library-book-inspired Science lesson, her wails became too loud to talk over. The boys and I managed to finish up, but naturally, Martin was a real slowpoke with his notes today, and dinner began a bit later than I'd planned.
Philip and Emily ate up with record speed. But Laura was sleepy and focused on spinning round in her seat instead of eating her beans. Martin's seasonal allergies are back, and the poor guy has a throat irritation which he's been perceiving as throat shutdown. He gets in a fearful state and can hardly swallow. Naturally, he was the last one at the dinner table while we tried to talk him through some of his fears.
We had a real breakthrough with him, however, as we talked about fear based on facts, telling yourself the truth, etc. and getting him to drink water to "prove" to his mind his throat could still function. He swallowed some Pea Soup, and smiled triumphantly. Woot!!
And naturally, at that precise moment, Laura threw up all over the table.
So yeah, pretty much an average day...
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So I'm sick with a cold, caught from little Emily. Usually I don't get
sick much, but here I am...feverish and pitiful. It's only an Evil
Cold, as opposed to a Death Cold, but still belongs in the category of
Debilitating Colds, just in case you were wondering.
I've been down for a total of 2 1/2 days going on 3. (Three!!) I did
manage to do 4 1/2 hrs. of listing yesterday...from the couch, with my
arm hung over the Dude's laptop. But I've still got 14 hrs. to get
done in the next couple of days. Thankfully, my debilitation is timed
rather neatly over the weekend, and he's been around to pitch in with
stuff for the most part. I've already cancelled our Good News Club
appearance for tomorrow, and will probably not make it to AWANAs
Wednesday because I'm guessing there will be some tiny sickies in the
house by then...we'll see...
Election Day would be
tomorrow, of course. *long Napolean breath* We live in a mostly-small
town, so if I head out mid-morning, I should beat the rush and not
sneeze on anyone. My husband doesn't vote, because he's a British
citizen, and this is always one of those things I feel a bit awkward
doing. Back in California, it was more of a community thing, and I was
used to conferencing with some of the men I knew and trusted.
Here...the Christian political environment is a bit different. lol
This will be only the 3rd time I've voted since living in T*xas. I did
try the first year we lived here, but I went to the library for voting
place info and they looked at me like I had 10 heads. 8-l rofl And
once I got caught in traffic or something and didn't make it out again
in time...(planning these things around 2 or 3 tinies,
working/schooling husbands and one shared vehicle is really quite a
trick! Right, Sarah?)
Anyway, I'm excited to see what the results will be. I have misgivings
about both presidential candidates, but I also think that good will
come out of whoever ends up in office. Either way, I'm not fretting
about it, because I know that whoever gets in will be within God's
providence. What a concept, eh? Too much fear-mongering, I say.
In other news:
Little Emily has been walking with confidence for about 2 weeks now.
She "runs" by leaning forward, until she falls over from giggling too
hard. She's doing all the pre-language babble, can sing "E-i, E-i" to
Old Macdonald Had A Farm, and Happy Birthday is the song that can
usually make her forget any of her troubles. She's also becoming a
master pouter. It's really hilarious. When she is refused something,
she puts on a pouty face, then glances up to make sure you're watching,
and resumes the pout. In the church nursery, and in "public" she's
completely quiet and fairly still. The ladies who keep the nursery
during AWANAs on Weds. were triumphant because she very nearly laughed
aloud last week. hehe! But at home, she's not past dramatics! Last
night found her collapsed on the floor in a heap of sobbingwhen I
caught her in the bathroom climbing on the stool to reach the baby
powder and promptly removed her from temptation. My hands were full,
it was bedtime, and 3 other needy bodies were calling to me...I did try
to soothe her and set her down to walk again, but she stayed in the
same collapsed shape no matter where I placed her. Hallway, bedroom,
she kept the same form. In fact, it was so convincing a performance
that Daddy came in to see what all the hullaballoo was about. ROFL
She has also turned into a picky eater (typical for this age group of
budding do-it-myselfers), and once she's decided against something,
that's it. She lets out a squeal and puts out a "talk to the hand!!"
unmistakable in any language.  hehe
She'll be 18 months old this weekend. How is this possible?? Since
she's had free reign to explore the entire house (master bedroom and
bathroom by appt. only!), and recently shown comprehension of
boundaries, we're now setting firm boundaries for a couple of specific
areas that are within her reach - Dad's laptop, the tiny corner
coffeetable (top only), and all cupboards except the one with plastic
kid dishes in the kitchen. I'm reminding the other kids not to tell
her "no", that will come with time! Instead we say, "don't touch" and
redirect her elsewhere...unless she makes an effort to persist in the
forbidden area, then she usually only gets a tiny flick on the hand or
something. She's very stubborn, but not making a big deal out of it +
being serious and consistent is already making a difference in the week
or two I've been enforcing. In my opinion, parents feel social
pressures too strongly, and they just don't allow for the developmental
phase their toddler is in. I try to watch for comprehension and
ability to respond before laying down the laws of the house. Of
course, this phase will be an easy one for me...it's the incessant
crying that comes with the older toddlers (3/4) that exasperates
me...especially when I have older ones who are past it. I have to
remind myself to have patience and not ask too much when mine get to
that phase! lol (Laura's coming out of this stage...I think/hope!
*whimper*)
Time to go start browning the onions for the broth part of the Chicken
Soup I'm making (for myself...lol). We're very much in Extreme Frugal
mode here at the mo', but I remembered that I had 3 chicken thighs left
in the freezer! Woot! I've rediscovered boneless, skinless chicken
thighs, which work well as The Poor Man's Chicken Breasts. 8) And, of
course, I'm making a huge pot of soup for which most people would use
half a dozen chicken breasts. rofl But with a well-flavored broth,
whole grain noodles, and vegetables, the lack of chicken will not be an
issue. Heck, this soup will be so good, I'd serve it to company...
Title of this blog comes from the lyrics of a Rufus Wainwright song sung by Jamie Cullum for the movie "Meet The Robinsons":
I have a feeling,
you will be reeling
when you are bad and the circus comes to town,
and you see me leaving
dressed up as a magician or something like that.
Brilliant.
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So I'm trying out the new grain mix I got yesterday. This is a good one: oats, unprocessed wheat bran, milled flaxseed, soy grits, untoasted wheat germ, cracked whole wheat. Like
many grain mixes, it's intended to be a hot cereal, but I usually just
put a cup's worth into my bread dough along with a couple other
grains/seeds. Great nutrition for the bread and tasty as a hot
cereal, too! I was feeling the need for some extra nutrition, and made
a bowl up for myself. Philip had a bite and reacted with a loud "MMM!!!" and a jump-bounce for added punctuation.
Yesterday,
I used the 12 cash dollars that were left for the week and replenished
my breadmaking cupboard. Woot!! We've been relegated to "albino" bread with only oats and cornmeal recently. *whimper* Needless to say, it was satisfying to make a batch of "real" bread this morning...completed by molasses, Hodgson Mill
Multi Grain Hot Cereal (mentioned above), and flaxseed. My
usual additives are rolled oats, wheat bran (Hodgson Mill, usually) and
a couple of Bob's Red Mill grain/cereal mixes, but I couldn't find the
wheat bran at our little store! 8-l The cereal mix looked great,
tho, especially at $2.49 for an entire box. I
did learn this week that milled flaxseed enables the body to absorb
more nutrients than plain flaxseed. Interesting! Flaxseed is still
great in small amounts for added crunch. We love it. It gives
mult-grain bread that lovely "hearty" look, too. (I usually throw in
about 1/4 cup...)
Someone called me "crunchy granola" today, when they saw the pix of me
in a bandana from our camping trip last week. I had to do a pahahaha,
because I actually like to call myself "semi-granola". hehe And I
used to wear bandanas everyday when I was a teenager...although it had
nothing to do with my nutritional beliefs, and everything to do with
hair-control. My love of bandanas has deep roots from going to camp at
Ironwood when I was a boyish 9 and 10 year old. If I remember right,
we wore the bandana around our necks to celebrate/identify our team's
color. I don't think I took that bandana off for the next month, at
least. rofl Imagine my devastation when returning to Ironwood 4 or 5
years later for Teen Camp...no bandana camaradarie. (WTM?!) I'd
brought 3 different colors with me, too! But teenagers were apparently
supposed to be too cool for that. *sigh* The bandanas could not be
denied, however, and came out a couple years later when I wore them as
headbands everyday. It must've been a little while after I got married
that I finally stopped wearing them. lol
But back to the grains...
This "new" trend found everywhere of recommending that our diets should
include plenty of multicolored vegetables and fruits, and only whole
grains makes me applaud and snigger, alternately. I mean, honestly.
The huge marketing ploy for non-foods
that's gone on for the last 6 or 7 decades has done serious damage to
our nutritional culture. Well, that, combined with the insane amounts
of corn and soy grown in this country and frantic efforts to find more
uses for the corn* especially. And of course, these factors coupled
with our Western urge (also a marketing scheme) for instant
gratification - even in the form of tasty foods - has created a losing
combination for the children of our society...and the adult children
have grown up to feed their own children chocolate milk and items from
the "Cereal" aisle for breakfast in preparation for 7 hours at school
(with a 15-20 minute lunch break of equally unmentionable "foods").
Then there's the after-school snack of pure sodium followed by the
thrown-together dinner of overprocessed foods (because who has time to
plan meals??), and we've pretty much propogated an entire society of
undernourished individuals who rely on "energy drinks" to get through
the day. Now that's something to be proud of. *long Napolean breath*
*ever read the labels on your "fish" sticks or Hamburger Helper? Oh yeah.
But in case some of you are slightly traumatized to see yet another
kind of conspiracy theory on my blog, let me shift gears for a moment.
For about the last month, I've been doing another-other computer side
job, which is while you guys never see me around anymore(!!). Anyway,
even tho I now have hardly a spare moment to myself, I've gotten an
unexpected blessing out of this (besides the money, man! ha). You see,
while working, I've gotten caught up on my music-listening, and
listened to some TED talks and Veritas Forum
talks. Somehow these few hours of brain stimulation each week have
improved my moods! lol I suppose it helps to tap into the world that
I know rages on despite my in-house To Do lists. (One of the downsides
of working from home...! ) But it's also great to remind me of
some of the issues I have cared about for years. Speaking of which:
one of the best TED talks I've heard so far is this one, by Chef Ann Cooper,
and it wasn't just because I agree with her (see also the above
tirade...*cough*). Honestly, with as much hooey and monotoning
that goes on in many of the presentations by the deep-thinking
scientists and philosophers, this lady pretty much shows them up with
her little School Lunches lecture! Not that I have anything against
deep-thinkers or monotoning, because, let's face it...I am married to a
professor... ROFL
In other news...
We survived our camping trip to Arkansas last week. The trip will have
to be an entire blog of its own, because it was indeed that...erm...interesting. 8-l
Since we were camping with and spending time at Tina & Stephen's
house (AKA beloved sanctuary of the Wii remotes), the tinies have been
discussing, asking about, reenacting and been generally obsessed with
video games. It's a usual symptom of spending time with my little
sister and her hubby, but I kid you not: I could die happily without
hearing the words "video + game" in the same sentence ever again.
*whimper* 8-l (Oooo!! There was an excellent video presentation
within a game designer's TED talk
the other day actually. Fast-forward to the 10th minute, and watch
it. Extremely well done, only 8.47 mins long, and I daresay quite
compelling. *feels justified*)
But my morose opinions aside, the upside of the tinies' obsession with
"Mario Party" et al. is that they now turn normally boring chores into
Mini Games. Whoever sets off first has to jump and virtually punch the
number ball, and Martin, of course, explains the game and assigns stars
and/or coins to the winner(s). I mean, honestly. Only my kids could
be quirky (inventive??) enough to make a game...out of a video game!
8-l rofl
*laughs in spite of herself*
Ah, me.
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