Home Sweet Home

Movin' On

2007-05-09T19:52:00.000-04:00

I'm full of surprises this week - I've moved! I'm having a little housewarming at my new home myhomesweethomeonline.net. I know it all runs together; what it says is MyHomeSweetHomeOnline.NET

Do you know how difficult it is to find an available URL with "home sweet home" in the title that isn't already taken by a real estate company? Next to impossible. That's actually why I changed the name from Home Sweet Home to My Home Sweet Home a few months ago, looking toward making the change.

The new site is super boring now until I import my template to WordPress, but I want to start using it since I've already imported my posts and comments.

Please stop by the new My Home Sweet Home and say hello!

My Big Announcement!

2007-05-07T10:41:00.000-04:00

Except for some very minor tweaks, the website that I've been working on forever is up and running!

I'm pleased to introduce you to Love-Me-Knots boutique hair accessories. One of my dearest friends, Melissa, has been making gorgeous hairbows and accessories for upscale children's boutiques for a three years. She wanted to take her business to the next level through on online store, and I wanted to learn the computer skills and programs needed to create websites. We made a perfect pair: two SAHMs with big dreams and little time or resources for making them happen.

The first week of September last year I ordered two computer books to learn the programs I needed to know, and thus began the long process of building the website. Along the way I started designing blog templates, which I really enjoy have learned so much from doing. Those of you who read my blog with any regularity will have noticed that I have been referring to the website I'm working on for eight months now. I feel like I've just given birth to my ninth child!

The website has taken so much of my time lately that I'm way behind on laundry and my bloglines, my house is a disaster, and my kids are fed up with frozen burritos. I'm looking forward to a little rest and normalcy of routine - however normal our routine may be - but what I would be really excited about is selling some bows! Visit us at Love-Me-Knots and you'll be amazed at the huge selection of top-quality hair accessories.

Thank you for sharing in my joy and my "surprise"!

Update on Heather's Surgery

2007-05-05T21:30:00.000-04:00

Heather's brain tumor was removed this week at the Mayo Clinic. Her recovery is going well, although she hasn't yet been able to speak. Please continue to pray for her, her doctors, friends and family. Click the button below for a link to her blog, which is being updated by her husband and her friend, Laura. Janice at 5 Minutes for Mom made the code for the button, which you can get here.

2007-05-05T10:49:00.000-04:00

I'm super busy with my "surprise," but you can find me at The Well Drained Mind.

Moments in Motherhood, May 2007

2007-05-04T00:00:00.000-04:00

The following is this month's topic for Moments in Motherhood:

What is your opinion concerning girls calling boys? Depending on the ages of your children, did/do/will you let your daughters call boys? How do you feel about girls calling your son(s)?

When I was growing up in my parents' home, it was understood that girls didn't call boys. Any guys that I ever called were most definitely friends only: nothing remotely romantic in nature, only study partners, buddies. I talked to my girlfriends all the time, but I knew I wasn't supposed to be calling boys I was "interested in." It just wasn't proper. Call me old-fashioned (and I'll take that as a compliment, thankyouverymuch), but I still feel the same way.

My 12-year-old son currently has three girls who call him. He was painfully shy for most of his life, but he's come out of it for the most part. Maybe it's that strong, silent-type thing. I don't know. All I know is that he's not doing any of the calling and gets off the phone as soon as I tell him.

I'm still looking for the perfect way to handle this. We've had times when girls have called our older sons. Once I was home sick from church and the only one in the house. A girl whom I didn't like calling our oldest son called around 30 times in a 45 minute period. Since no one was answering (I didn't), I guess she wanted to catch him the moment he walked in the door. It was making me nuts! When my family got home I discussed the situation (not just that day's calls, but all of them) with my husband, and he answered the phone and had a nice but instructive conversation with the girl. She never called again.

I don't know the ones who are calling now very well, but they seem like nice girls. My thought is that their mothers (and especially their daddies) don't have a clue what's happening. I'm not sure if I should talk to their mothers or the girls themselves. I've been in that position before, when someone tells you something that you really needed to know about your child but didn't want to hear, and I don't relish the thought of putting another mom (or two, or three) in that same boat. On the other hand, should I be the one discussing it with the girls? It always catches me off guard when they call.

My oldest daughter is 10, so I haven't experienced this from the other side. I've been giving her fair warning of what's expected, although I'm not naive enough to assume that's the end of the discussion.

What are your thoughts and experiences in this area? If you post something on your blog, please come back and link your post to my Mr. Linky.

The Well Drained Mind

2007-05-03T00:18:00.000-04:00

I'm excited to be a part of The Well Drained Mind, a new place for homeschooling moms. Here's a little bit of the philosophy behind this group blog:

"This blog is about how to maintain a sense of self in this all encompassing life altering decision we have each made, for all manner of reasons, to homeschool. There are plenty of blogs out there devoted to being a Mom. There are plenty devoted to the challenges associated with homeschooling. But I think there are few where many voices can speak to how we can maintain and grow as individuals through this process. . ."

I enjoyed redesigning the blog, which has a yummy ~~hot chocolate~~ theme. Okay, so it's coffee; I'm not a coffee drinker so I imagine it as a frothy hot chocolate. Homeschooling moms, stop by and visit: it's a place for you!

[And no, this isn't the big announcement. I'm quite shocked that no one has asked if I'm pregnant (I'm not), which is the usual response when I have an announcement to make!]

Be a winner!

2007-05-01T20:33:00.000-04:00

5 Minutes for Mom is hosting a series of Mother's Day giveaways, starting with an Apple iPod Nano that comes inside a box of chocolates!!!!!!! You can get it in silver or pink (which would be my second choice behind the apple green).

Head over to 5 Minutes for Mom for the scoop!

It's easy to assume that you'll never actually win anything, but I just found out I won the April Blog Book Tour prize from SheilaWrayGregoire.com! Three books, people! I won three books! Also, in my mailbox today was Visualize World Geography in 7 Minutes a Day: Let Pictography Take you from Clueless to Knowing the World from Tender Heart Press, a prize from the Homeschool Blog Awards. This has to be one of the most amazingly cool things I've ever seen. Just look at this:

Outline of the
United Kingdom (UK)

UK's pictography: Union Jack Rabbit
(actual size in book is 8" x 10")

Mnemonic for United Kingdom:

The United Kingdom is depicted as the Union Jack Rabbit, which carries a green Easter egg (Northern Ireland, part of the U.K.) in a basket, and passes them out all around the land in order to unite the kingdom. The United Kingdom's flag is referred to as the Union Jack.

I certainly wasn't that innovative when I taught a co-op geography class, and seven minutes a day is music to my ears. Wait, there's more! In my inbox today was an invitation to choose a free ebook as a prize from Simply Charlotte Mason. Five books in one day! Truly, my cup runneth over. I hope you'll visit these nice people that I've linked to, so I can share the love with those who've been so kind.

Very soon I'll be announcing the biggest thing I've ever announced here. Can you guess? Amber and Barb are already in on it!

An invitation

2007-05-01T16:45:00.000-04:00

This month's Moments in Motherhood is this Friday, May 4. Here is the topic:

What is your opinion concerning girls calling boys (I'm talking about our kids, not adults here)? Depending on the age of your children, did/do/will you let your daughters call boys? How do you feel about girls calling your son(s)?

Post on this topic on your own blog, then sign my Mr. Linky on Friday! I'm excited to hear your thoughts.

Because we all need a good laugh

2007-04-30T16:22:00.000-04:00

I never fail to be encouraged when I read the writings or cartoons of Todd Wilson. When I read his cartoons, I laugh so hard I cry. Literally. He has a gift for making homeschooling moms feel better when you're having one of those "everyone else teaches/cooks/cleans/etc. better than I do" moments (or days, or weeks, or maybe years).

On another note: Does it make you a bad mother if you tell your daughter that V8 Tropical Splash is mostly made of carrot juice in an attempt to scare her out of drinking it all?

Schooling the Drama Queen

2007-04-27T10:56:00.000-04:00

I've mentioned before what a drama queen my 7-year-old daughter is. On days when she is a little wired (like today), teaching her is a unique experience. Observe the following real conversations in our house this morning:

Drama Queen, proudly: Mommy I spelled purple-itioner!

When I looked at the dry erase board, it said "perpendicular."

10 year-old-daughter: Mommy, how many bones are in your foot? [I taught the kids' homeschool co-op human anatomy class in the fall.]

Me: I don't remember, honey; there are several.

Drama Queen: Your bladder!

Me: She asked how many bones are in your foot.

Drama Queen: Oh--I thought she said butt! Your bladder looks like a strawberry.

This conversation was wrong on so many levels I can't even begin to analyze it.

Anxious to finish schooling and get out into the fresh morning air, Drama Queen ran into the kitchen where I was teaching her brother.

Drama Queen: I finished phonics on the computer! I typed those letters and then the spaces and then the letters and then the spaces and then the letters.

Me: You mean sentences?

Drama Queen: Yeah--sentences!

Let's Get Real Wednesday, er, I mean Monday

2007-04-25T11:52:00.000-04:00

*Revised* - I forgot to add my blue eyeshadow picture!

I thought Randi's Let's Get Real Monday looked like a lot of fun, but I completely missed Monday. Here's the theme:

This week's Let's Get Real Monday theme is "The Outfit"! I know you have one! It is the one that you LOVE and everyone else hates. Or it may be the one that you previously loved and now you cringe at the thought of ever wearing it.

Randi posted lots of old pictures with clothing styles from different decades. I went in my basement looking for old pictures. I really need to organize them; my kids would love going through them. What I found was an old cheerleading picture from 9th grade, 1981. This definitely epitomizes "the outfit" for me during the early 80s. I was on drill team in 8th and 11th grades and cheerleading in 9th and 12th grades. With all those football and basketball games, I spent a lot of time in those uniforms.

Here are classic 80s pearls and lots of blue eyeshadow. This picture is 20 years old. I look like such a baby! I think this was from an overnight trip we took to the Queen Wilhelmina State Park Lodge. We were having a great time, but our family heard that it was going to snow, got scared, and called us to hurry home. Bummer! This was early married days; our oldest son was about 7 months old. I really loved the little Subaru we drove. It was sporty, with a sunroof--a far cry from the 15-passenger van I drive today!

Woman to Woman: Enduring Health Problems

2007-04-24T23:50:00.000-04:00

This week's Woman to Woman topic concerns dealing with health problems or illness. My life has been spent in the presence of two extremes: the extremely healthy and the extremely ill. The women in my family tend to be blessed with health and longevity. This picture below is of the "Golden Girls," my grandmother and two great-aunts. Aunt Thelma passed away almost four years ago at 96 years-of-age, Grandmother passed away last summer at 90, and Aunt Mayme is still going strong at 95. My dad will be 64 this year and is as handsome, charming, and youthful as ever (yes, I'm still a daddy's girl).

My mother, on the other hand, was always unhealthy, although the health problems that eventually led to her death at 57 did not have natural causes. My husband's family is plagued with diabetes and my husband was diagnosed at around 35-years-old. In spite of watching his diet and exercising, he started taking insulin last week. It all really worries me, but his doctor says that this is a really good type of insulin and the best way to handle things. She has been trying to get him to agree to it for a few months, but we've been hesitant. His readings have improved, which is a big relief to me.

I don't take my health for granted, but I seem to be following in the footsteps of many of the women in my family: I really don't feel any older than I did 20 years ago; I found childbirth in my late 30s no different than in my early 20s; I've never had a gray hair; I've had enough pregnancies and years of breastfeeding that I've greatly reduced the likelihood of many health conditions. Unfortunately, I realize that my mother sits squarely between me and those long-lived healthy women in my family. There's a part of me that's waiting for one of those big bad surprises that filled my mother's life. I'm praying for lots more years ahead with my hubby and all of the grandkids that we're likely to have!

Head over to Morning Glory's or Lei's place for more Woman to Woman posts!

This Week's Bow Contest!

2007-04-23T13:54:00.000-04:00

We're doing it again! Hop over to the Love-Me-Knots blog for two chances to win this week's featured bow!

A Perfect Day for a Wedding

2007-04-22T21:07:00.000-04:00

Yesterday my seven-year-old daughter and I attended three weddings. These were the only three weddings on our social calendar, and they all fell on the same day. The amazing thing is that we were able to attend all three. We left the house at 10:30 a.m.; when we left the third wedding it was 10 p.m. and we were 100 miles from home.

The first two couples are from church; even though we couldn't convince them that they really didn't want to get married the same day, they were kind enough to space them far enough that several of us attended both. Unfortunately, we had to leave before they cut the cake at the first wedding, so I made up for it by eating a piece of the bride's and the groom's cakes at the second wedding!

Katy and Chase are both homeschool graduates!

Ben planned a surprise honeymoon for Anna. At the reception, she still didn't know their destination, but I squeezed it out of him: Jamaica!

The third wedding was for Joanna and Brett. We've known Joanna for years, and she is also a homeschool graduate. Brett is in construction and built her a new home!

". . .Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God."
~ Ruth 1:16

Win a digital photo frame!

2007-04-22T20:00:00.000-04:00

This week's contest at 5 Minutes for Mom is a giveaway for a 9" Philips Digital Photo Frame. I'm drooling. Head on over to 5 Minutes for Mom to sign up for your chance to win!

May's Moments in Motherhood Topic

2007-04-20T19:36:00.000-04:00

Moments in Motherhood is the writing project for mommy bloggers that I am hosting on the first Friday of each month. Here's the next topic for Friday, May 4, and can I say that I am dying to hear what y'all have to say on this subject:

What is your opinion concerning girls calling boys (I'm talking about our kids, not adults here)? Depending on the age of your children, did/do/will you let your daughters call boys? How do you feel about girls calling your son(s)?

This is a hot topic in the Dearest household at the moment! What do you think? Come back in two weeks, sign the Mr. Linky, and share your thoughts!

Y'all don't forget...

2007-04-20T10:05:00.000-04:00

to head over to the Love-Me-Knots blog for two chances to win our awesome ladybug bow!

All in a day's work

2007-04-19T22:30:00.000-04:00

Do you ever have one of those days when everything goes right, your kids do all their schoolwork brilliantly, your toddlers play quietly and clean up after themselves while the washer, dryer, and dishwasher hum efficiently in the background--in essence, your home operates like a well-oiled machine?

I didn't think so.

On the home front so far today (okay, so it was yesterday 'cause I didn't finish this until now):

I grade a paper where "wouln't" is listed as the contraction for "will not."

An algebra lesson develops into a conversation in which I try to enter the mind of a 16-year-old boy and said 16-year-old boy tries to enter the mind of a 41-year-old woman, all unsuccessfully. My mommy radar goes off, propelling me towards my bedroom, in which (in what can only be described as a fit of insanity) I have allowed the toddler set to hang and watch Clifford, supposedly allowing peace and quiet for the algebra lesson. Engrossed in the antics of The Big Red Dog, no one notices my 21-month old daughter has poured half a bottle of baby oil into the carpet.

After a frantic Google search for "removing baby oil from carpet"--which yields lots of suggestions for using baby oil to remove stains from other things but only two useful suggestions for removing baby oil--I pour copious amounts of baking soda and baby powder on the carpet and scrub it with a brush, then attack it with my handy steam cleaner.

When I emerge from my carpet-cleaning frenzy, I discover that the younger kids ~~have taken advantage of me and~~ are in the middle of the street, and my older son has gone to his room with no expectation of algebra lessons in the near future.

What to do? Cook. So I start slicing and dicing and fill the crock pot with chili, because I have to actually accomplish something today, right?

My 16-year-old son and I do eventually reconnect (actually he and my 7-year-old daughter chopped the onions for the chili, then held wet paper towels on their stinging eyes) with a pop quiz in Russian [Here I was actually quite pleased, because I am never clever enough to come up with things like pop quizzes. I have a Cyrillic font, but I can't imagine attempting to type with it, so I wrote on the dry erase board; then I wondered if I should take a picture of the quiz as the only way to record it. . . ?] and eventually we get to algebra. I'm thinking Mr. Demme would not have been particularly impressed with my teaching today, but at least we did it.

I guess I'll stop rambling. I'll bet you're feeling really good about your day now. Glad I could help.

This Week's Carnival of Homeschooling

2007-04-17T23:49:00.000-04:00

If there's one thing I learned during the Homeschool Blog Awards, it's that I'm not connected with enough homeschool bloggers. There were some categories where I wasn't familiar with any the other bloggers, and as one of my best friends likes to say, "That's ridiculous!" (You know who you are, my very expectant friend!) I can't wait to sit down with the list of nominees and winners and get my homeschooling batteries recharged. {sigh. . . pure bliss!}

I was contacted today about linking to this week's Carnival of Homeschooling. I was thoroughly entertained just reading the assorted quotes on income taxes, which were interspersed among the links to participating blogs.

A non-blogging fellow homeschooler told me today that she read my blog this week and sensed that blogging could fill a need for homeschoolers--not only a connection with others but an opportunity to share information and ideas. I hope to do more of that in the future. Stop by this week's Carnival of Homeschooling to see what others have to say about topics ranging from supporting your support group leaders to starting a garden and building a unit study around it.

Blessed schooling!

Our first contest!

2007-04-17T00:32:00.000-04:00

Those of you who have been reading this blog for any length of time have heard about the website I'm designing for my friend, Melissa, bow-maker extraordinaire. I want to introduce you to the Love-Me-Knots blog which we will use for contests, coupon codes, introducing new products, and web updates.

Since we're getting closer to opening the website for business, we want to kick things off with our first contest! Click on over for not one, but two chances to win the fabulous bow pictured here.

Please spread the word!

Every mom needs one of these!

2007-04-17T00:27:00.000-04:00

Susan and Janice at 5 Minutes for Mom are giving away a Sick Bear in this week's giveaway. This cute little bowl is for your child to hold when they, well you know, get sick. Comforting for child, less mess for mommy. What a clever product!

Stop by and enter for your chance to win!

My sincere thanks...

2007-04-15T20:14:00.000-04:00

to everyone who voted for My Home Sweet Home for Best Blog Design in the Homeschool Blog Awards. The results were released today, and this site won! The prize awarders are listed on the site, and it looks like a great bunch of companies. Many thanks to them and the ladies whose hard work put together these awards.

As many of you may have heard, one of the organizers, Heather at Especially Heather, was diagnosed with a brain tumor this week. Please keep her in your prayers and stop by BooMama's site on Wednesday to help raise funds for Heather's trip to the Mayo Clinic later this month. Donations are through PayPal and start at $1.

The Dream

2007-04-13T19:16:00.000-04:00

Have you ever had that dream, the one where you're back in school and get to class, only to discover that there's a test that day? The trouble is, you didn't know there was a test and you're completely unprepared. I've had it off and on for several years. My mother used to tell me that she still had that dream, and she'd been out of school much longer than I had.

One evening two or three years ago I was driving down the road listening to a radio program called the Dream Doctor. I haven't heard it quite some time, but it was an interesting program and the host played some fun music. I enjoy listening to Delilah's listener calls, but sometimes I just say, "Enough! I can't listen to another sappy Disney movie theme song!" [I just did a search and discovered that the Dream Doctor is no longer on the air because its host is now suffering from Lou Gehrig's Disease; his words began to slur and he will eventually lose the ability to speak. Sadly, he is only 44 years old.]

On this particular evening, a retired teacher called. She often had this dream, but often from a different perspective: sometimes she was a student unprepared to take the test; sometimes a teacher unprepared to give the test. She explained that she really didn't have any school hang-ups--unresolved testing issues, if you will--but still the dream persisted over the years. Cut to commercial. . .

Let me tell you, I was hanging on the edge of my seat. Alone in my car, I almost turned off my cell phone. I needed to hear his opinion about this dream and I was paranoid something was going to happen to prohibit it. If you've had this dream, maybe you're hanging on the edge of your seat now, too.

You know what he had to say? In his opinion (which obviously is the best anyone can give; I don't know any modern-day Josephs), the dream had nothing to do with school. The test was the key. Dreaming this dream can symbolize some sort of test in your life, a challenge or hurdle which you're facing and for which you feel unprepared. Amazingly, this interpretation has been valid every time I've had the dream since hearing the program. The next time I experienced it was the week of Thanksgiving. It was the first time I was hosting this holiday for my extended family, and I was nervous about being the one cooking the turkey. What's Thanksgiving with a ruined turkey?! You can understand my apprehension. And I understood my dream.

Have you had this recurring dream? The next time you do, think about what's going on in your life and see if you're being tested!

A Call to Prayer

2007-04-13T10:47:00.000-04:00

I got up this morning thinking about the Homeschool Blog Awards and the health situation of one of its organizers, Heather at Especially Heather (she also designs for Swank Web Style). Heather found out this week that she has a brain tumor. She has an appointment on the 25th at the Mayo Clinic; apparently it usually takes 6-8 months to get an appointment like this.

BooMama is organizing a fundraiser to help offset the cost of the trip and medical expenses on April 18. Almost $10,000 was raised for Kelli earlier this year. Please pray for Heather, her family, and her doctors, and don't forget to stop by BooMama's next Wednesday. Donations are through PayPal, with a minimum donation of $1.00.

About My Design

2007-04-10T17:50:00.000-04:00

Voting began yesterday for the Homeschool Blog Awards, and some of you may be visiting here while checking out the nominees. This little corner of the blogosphere, My Home Sweet Home, was nominated for Best Blog Design.

Last summer I read a post describing how to fiddle with your template and add a custom header; I was hooked. In September I purchased two books - one on Photoshop and one on Dreamweaver - and began learning and experimenting in earnest. This is my fifth template and represents an effort to create a non-seasonal, long-term design. I think my "diary girl" represents me fairly well: the same flippy hair-do (although hers is much nicer than mine); the blue eyes (I changed hers from brown based on a friend's recommendation). She's even got St. Basil's Cathedral in one of her pictures, which is appropriate since I was a Russian major in college!

Now for a little shameless self-promotion:

To vote for this blog in the Best Blog Design category, visit this page and click the circle next to My Home Sweet Home (bottom half of the list) then be sure to hit the "Vote" button at the bottom of the list or your selection won't count. For voting in all categories, go here and select each category to see the list of nominees.

Moments in Motherhood, April, 2007

2007-04-06T00:00:00.000-04:00

This is my first attempt at hosting Moments in Motherhood, a writing project for bloggers. The day after I posted the topic, I looked at it and thought, "This was for me, wasn't it?" I really feel the need to explore my own thoughts on this. Please share yours, too. A Mr. Linky is at the bottom of this post.

This month's topic is:

Was birth an empowering experience for you? Do you agree with the statement "you birth the way you live"? Did your birth experience(s) impact you in a long-term way?

I have a friend who gets squeamish at the sight of blood. Recently she told me about coming upon an accident victim. While driving down the road, her daughter looked out the window at small, country church and something caught her eye. A woman on a motorcycle had lost control, skidded off the road and across the church yard, and eventually slid under an outdoor picnic table. Her leg was broken in multiple places and she was bleeding.

My friend helped the woman remove her helmet, comforted her, and stayed with her until help arrived. To say that the situation took my friend outside of her comfort zone is an understatement, but she did what she had to do and what the situation required of her. After hearing her story, I told her, "This reminds me of birth. You have to dig down deep and do something you didn't know you were capable of doing."

When I was twenty years old and expecting my first child, I discovered that my fear of medication was greater than my fear of pain. I'd spent my life watching my mother undergo endless surgeries and health problems, dependent on pain medication, and I didn't want anything to do with it. The only time I vomited during that pregnancy was in the middle of the childbirth education class on anesthesia. When the discussion turned to needles and deadening things, I broke out in a cold sweat. I didn't even make it to the hospital bathroom; I got sick in the middle of the hall.

I studied for childbirth like an upcoming exam, and I wanted to ace it. My unmedicated delivery was one of the most wondrous experiences of my life, and yes, I felt empowered by it, fulfilled in a never-before imagined way. My second delivery at twenty-five years old was much the same. Later I remarked to my husband that I would love to give birth once a year, as a kind of "fix." It wasn't the desire for another child each year, just giving birth; the experience was that intense for me.

My next four deliveries involved three inductions, and honestly there wasn't a valid reason for any of them. What they did was infuse that magical experience with an element of fear. Fear of the nurse walking in the door every half-hour to increase the pitocin, since it takes me so long to react to it. Fear of the tidal wave-force labor that hits when that reaction finally occurs. Fear that I wouldn't be able to handle it unmedicated anymore.

With my seventh pregnancy, my instructions to my husband were this: No matter how huge/swollen/miserable I become (for I knew what the future held) remind me that I do not want to be induced. Period. Four days before my due date I was 5cm dilated, thanks in part to some fabulous advice from a friend who is a homebirth midwife (sorry, it's too graphic to print here). My OB's office said I could show up at the hospital any time and be admitted, but I refused. I went to the hospital the day before my due date with potential complications; although an assessment showed all was well, I was encouraged to just stay and they could "start me up." We went home.

I went into labor on my own the next day. We were at the hospital for two and a half hours before the baby was born. The first hour and a half was spent watching the end of a Braves' game and two episodes of Seinfeld, where I only contracted when I laughed. I'd broken the induction cycle and it was great, much better. The problem was that the fear had stayed with me from those inductions. If there's one thing I know about childbirth, fear is your worst enemy. When I started to panic a bit during that one hour of serious labor and questioned my ability to handle it, my nurse completely dismissed my concerns. What she basically said was, "Six prior labors, no epidural. Honey, you don't need it! Is there anything else I can do for you?" I didn't realize just how much that conversation and her dismissal of my concerns affected me until my eighth pregnancy...

I allowed my midwife to schedule an induction two weeks in advance for two weeks before my due date since her office was short-staffed, the hospital was booked solid with inductions, and that was the only sure chance of her attending the birth. [It bears mentioning that at that fabulous seventh birth, my practice wasn't on call and I had a doctor who basically walked in the door, put on some gloves, and caught the baby. I'd never laid eyes on him before or since.] A sinus infection hit me the week before my induction and I was given a five-day, strong round of antibiotics.

Reality began to sink in: I couldn't breathe and had a nasty cough; I would be stuck in bed with an IV; my mother wouldn't be there (she had always been there for me, but passed away when my seventh child was six-months-old; for months I feared that I would break down immediately following this birth); nurses don't take me seriously if I express an interest in pain medication. I was a little jealous of all the pain-free birth stories I'd heard over the years. The decision was made--I'd get an epidural! I deserved it, didn't I? I had birthed seven other children without it and didn't have anything to prove to myself, right? Wrong. Dead wrong.

See, for me (and I realize it is a very subjective experience) birth is empowering. I do "birth the way I live." I won't even take something for a headache, unless it's really bad. 2 Timothy 1:7 -- "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" is very much a life-verse for me.

I was so consumed by fear that I requested an epidural before I even needed it; it was given to me because my midwife had told them to take me seriously if I asked for it. I got sick (vomiting) from the anesthesia, and it caused such uncontrollable shaking that my jaws ached the next day. The labor took over twelve hours and was filled with unnecessary medical interventions. I didn't feel like I gave birth; I didn't feel much of anything--I was numb.

In spite of my conviction about the accuracy of my dates, my due date had been moved up by nine days. After the birth, my midwife said that based on Lily's appearance, my original due date was correct. My labor took forever because my baby and my body just weren't ready. Something happened during the delivery that later caused Lily months of physical therapy (she's fine now). If I had not allowed the induction and had just let my daughter come in her own good time, my sinus infection would have had a chance to clear; we both would have been ready. I think things would have been different.

As you may have guessed I have had trouble dealing with this birth, processing it if you will. I would say that yes, my birth experiences affect me long-term. That I was unable to trust myself and my body--which is ultimately trusting God, since I know He's the one who strengthens and sustains me--is something I have to live with. With God's grace I hope that tackling this head-on, working it out in print, will enable me to let it go and leave it behind me.

I don't expect everyone's perspective on birth to be the same as mine. It is a deeply personal experience. Please share your thoughts on this topic and link to your exact Moments in Motherhood post, not just your blog address, in the Mr. Linky below. Thank you for listening and/or participating!

Presto!

2007-04-05T23:59:00.000-04:00

Susan and Janice at 5 Minutes for Mom are at it again! This time they're giving away a Presto. What's a Presto?

– a cool new service that delivers emails, photos and other content to people who don’t use a computer. So you can send emails and photos to Grandma and they just automatically print out on her HP Presto printer – the HP Printing Mailbox (there's a monthly service fee of $10).

Sign their Mr. Linky by 1 p.m. Monday for your chance to win!

I think, therefore I blog

2007-04-04T17:52:00.000-04:00

I discovered that Randi at "i have to say..." gave me a "thinking blogger" award. I would love to say something clever and thought-provoking, but nothing comes to mind, so let me just say "Thank you, Randi. I'm touched."

I looked up the history of this award, originally called "5 Blogs That Make Me Think." The participation rules are simple:

1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think.
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme.
3. Optional: Proudly display the 'Thinking Blogger Award' with a link to the post that you wrote.

There are two buttons, gold or silver:

I award:

Queen Shenaynay at The Beehive. She is my long-distance (Texas) cousin, from my mother's father's side of the family, many of whom are known as great ~~characters~~ thinkers. Her posts range from silly to sublime, but they always make me think. The Beehive is a family blog effort, including Queen Shenaynay's husband and two daughters.

Elle at A Complete Thought. Elle is one of the most thought-provoking bloggers I know. I usually have Bible Gateway pulled up on another tab while leaving comments on her posts. Our initial bond was our shared ~~love~~ appreciation for Jack Bauer.

Melanie at This Ain't New York. Melanie is an observer and commentator on all, from the mundane to the eccentric. You've never seen a prouder mama. She's also completely. certifiably. insane, which makes her a whole lot of fun.

Amber at Life with the Ferrells. Amber makes me think of what life would be like as a wickedly funny, 20-something mommy with a camera in one hand and a toddler in the other. Her digital scrapbooking layouts and photos of her kids are amazing.

Antique Mommy. If you've never read Antique Mommy, you're missing some of the best mommy blogging around. She has the ability to examine the unique facets of motherhood in a profound and insightful way. She makes me think about what it means to be a mommy.

Here Ya Go, Baby!

2007-04-03T12:46:00.000-04:00

I have a 21-month-old daughter, Lily Rose, who has me wrapped around her little finger. Lily has the limited vocabulary of a child her age. For a while she's been saying "here ya go" when she hands me something. Usually what she's handing me is something I wish she didn't have in the first place, like dog food. Or the kitchen towel. Or someone's toothbrush.

Yesterday, she handed me something off the floor and said, "Here ya go, baby." I immediately dropped it, hoping. I only got a "here ya go" the second time, but she said the whole phrase to me again this morning. Just as quiet Westley wooed Buttercup with a simple "As you wish," I am completely and utterly charmed by this simple four-word phrase and the child that speaks it to me.

Happenings in the blogosphere:

2007-04-02T21:22:00.000-04:00

Does your vacuum cleaner suck? Or more importantly does it not suck? (Carol, I'm doing this for you, and since I'm discussing vacuum cleaners, I think I can get away with it.) The gals at at 5 Minutes for Mom are having a contest to give away a Dyson vacuum cleaner. Woo hoo! Hurry over and sign-up to win. Entries are due by 1:00 p.m. Wednesday.

Also, 5 Minutes for Mom is hosting a new series called "About Blogging" on the first Mondays of the month and are they looking for guest contributors. Topics will include:

What is Page Rank and How Do I Get It?
All About Carnivals and Memes
How To Embed Video, Music and Slideshows
SEO – The Basics
The HTML You Need to Know

Here are a couple of reminders (just click the buttons):

(Y'all please don't leave me with a lonely Mr. Linky, hint, hint!)

Full Circle

2007-04-01T19:13:00.000-04:00

I set up a blog on homeschoolblogger.com in the fall of 2005, but I just didn't "get it"--blogging I mean. I wrote a couple of self-conscious posts, didn't go out and meet anyone, didn't get any comments.

A few months later an issue of The Old Schoolhouse magazine arrived in my mailbox. It featured an article about the Homeschool Blog Awards. Blog awards? I'd never imagined such a thing! I promptly sat down with my magazine in hand and began checking out the award winners--fantastic stuff! I got it this time--blogging that is--and I set up a blogger blog after finding out some friends had just started blogs here. That article about the Homeschool Blog Award winners was what ultimately lured me into starting this blog last May. I was tickled pink yesterday when I saw I had a nomination for Best Blog Design on this year's awards.

Nominations are going on until Friday (April 6) at midnight. Go make a homeschool mommy blogger happy and submit a nomination!

Moments in Motherhood

2007-03-31T00:00:00.000-04:00

The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new. ~Rajneesh

As a mother of eight who hopes to one day become certified as a childbirth educator and/or birth doula, I am fascinated by pregnancy, birth, and motherhood. I have really enjoyed the Woman to Woman writing project that Morning Glory and Lei have started. For me, exploring my feelings and experiences through writing can be very enlightening, even cathartic.

One of the greatest things about blogging is meeting so many interesting women. Sometimes I am reaffirmed by like-minded bloggers, sometimes my eyes are opened by a fresh perspective. I am interested in starting a writing project and hearing what others have to say about different aspects of motherhood. If there is an interest, I will host this on the first Fridays of the month, starting next Friday, April 6. I'll put up a Mr. Linky; please link to your Moments in Motherhood post, rather than your blog itself.

Here is the first topic, for next Friday, April 6:

Was birth an empowering experience for you? Do you agree with the statement "you birth the way you live"? Did your birth experience(s) impact you in a long-term way?

I hope one or all of these questions set your mental wheels churning. Feel free to grab my button, or email me if you'd like the code for a button with link. Please spread the word! I'm excited to hear what you have to say.

[Here is the link to this week's post and Mr. Linky.]

What they're saying:

2007-03-30T11:35:00.000-04:00

Five-year-old son: "When I grow up, I want to be a dollah."

Me: "A dollar?"

Five-year-old son: "Yes, a dollah."

Three-year-old daughter: "When I grow up, I want to be a doctor."

Seven-year-old daughter: "When I grow up, I want to work at Target."

Five-year-old son: "When I grow up, I want to be a rich guy." (which of course must be easier than actually being a dollar)

Seven-year-old daughter:"Mom, did you know vanilla isn't actually blonde, it's brown?"

Me (after dressing Lily): "Okay, now--you're good to go!"

Three-year-0ld daughter, looking down at her pajamas: "Oh! I forgot to get good to go!"

Critique my blog

2007-03-29T23:00:00.000-04:00

I saw this over at Barb's the other day and I thought I'd play. If you go to here, you can have your blog critiqued. Here's my review:

I love blogs that are full of life and give you a warm feeling of family. Now this family is full of 8 children which makes it a little more of a full family, but I think big families are the best! I had a friend growing up who had 10 brothers and sisters, 2 cousins, and an uncle all living in the same house. I live in a little neighborhood, needless to say they had the biggest house there. As for this fantastic blog, you will find lots of family photos and stories about family and thoughts and ideas the blogger has. All that a blog should be. Only thing I didn't notice was some kind of site counter...it's nice to see how many people are stopping by your Home sweet home. Nice job and keep up the great work!

Just to set the record straight, I actually do have a sitemeter, it's just not publicly viewable (I think it's hidden under the navbar). I get way too much of a kick out of the google searches to eliminate it.

Works-for-Me Wednesday: Folding like a pro!

2007-03-28T11:14:00.000-04:00

When I first started blogging, I came across a YouTube video of a Japanese t-shirt folding method. I couldn't understand a word of it, but after repeated viewings some of my kids and I mastered the technique and in our enthusiasm even taught it to others. When cold weather arrived we discovered that this method doesn't work well for long sleeves (at least it didn't for us) and we quit using it. My sixteen-year-old son and I just realized that we'd forgotten it, and thus began the technorati search which lead to the following helpful and delightful video, in which a cute kid explains the Japanese method and more--all in English!

If after watching the above video you are motivated to build your own t-shirt folding "machine," watch this:

Inconceivable!

2007-03-27T15:50:00.000-04:00

Three weeks ago...

Ryan: America has voted. Sanjaya, you are safe. Sundance, you're going home.

Mommy Dearest: Inconceivable!

Two weeks ago...

Ryan: America has voted. Sanjaya, you are safe. Brandon, you're going home.

Mommy Dearest: Inconceivable!

Last week...

Ryan: America has voted. Stephanie, you're going home.

Mommy Dearest: How the #@*& did Sanjaya stay out of the bottom two? Inconceivable!

Inigo Montoya: You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

America, please, for the love of all that is decent: MAKE IT STOP TONIGHT! Mothers of preteen daughters: HIDE THE PHONES!

My 10-year-old daughter embarrasses me herself everywhere she goes since she's willing to fight to the death to defend her teenage heartthrob. At least she doesn't cry.

My kids have spent the week crooning the immortal questions: What's your name? Who's your daddy?

For some fun Idol blog reads, check out Melanie's If my blog was on American Idol, and Linda at 2nd Cup of Coffee's AI.

Woman to Woman: Is It Really a Family Night Out?

2007-03-25T20:22:00.000-04:00

This week's topic for Morning Glory's Woman to Woman writing project is:

Is It Really a Family Night Out?
What are your views regarding children under age 5 attending formal events such as funerals, concerts, and weddings? What about church services? What tips or tricks have you developed that make these events go well for you and your little ones?

Obviously having a large family and a steady supply of little ones affects my opinion and practice in this area. My children have attended many funerals. If they didn't know the person or I have babysitting available, I might not take them; otherwise we all go. Sometimes I've found the best solution is to attend the visitation instead of the funeral.

The kids attend weddings with us, too. We have actually been invited to three weddings on the same Saturday next month, and time-wise it is conceivable that we could make them all. I would like to find babysitting for our one-, three-, and five-year-olds, because I think it would be too much for them. I have friends whose relatives are able to keep their kids during weddings, and they are able to have "wedding dates"--how romantic! That's a wonderful option if it's available to you, if not, my advice is to always respect others by keeping your children quiet or removing them if necessary.

As far as church services go, our children have always attended with us. We don't have a nursery: we worship as a family. This is an area where child-training is essential. As I said before, remove a noisy child. The goal, however, is to train your children to remain quiet and still during services. Will you hear every word of every sermon? Heavens, no! Just remember: they're your children and it's your responsibility to train them; you'll both reap the rewards when they learn self-control and self-discipline. This weekly training pays off in the other situations (funerals, concerts, weddings), too.

There will come a day when I won't have little ones. I'll soak up sermons; cry through weddings (and not because I'm in the lobby with a fussy baby); truly reflect and remember during funerals, without distraction. That time isn't now. The worst thing I could do is feel sorry for myself about what I'm missing. I'm not saying I've never done it--I have--but it's a dangerous trap for a mother to fall into, one that leads to discouragement and discontent, emotional quicksand for mothers.

To see what others have to say on this topic, visit Morning Glory!

A Special Day for a Special Lady

2007-03-24T23:45:00.000-04:00

Today was my Great-Aunt Mayme's 95th birthday! We have a 3-day annual meeting at church this weekend, so we threw a surprise birthday party/card shower for her this afternoon between services.

Earlier I told you a little bit about Aunt Mayme. At lunch we recalled some classic Aunt Mayme garage sale moments. Aunt Mayme could have been a professional garage sale holder. As a matter of fact, the family feared the authorities were going to show up some day and require her to get a business license; her sales were so frequent and lucrative. I would love to know how many thousands of dollars she generated for the family over the years out of her garage. Once, a lady was having difficulty finding her purse to pay for her purchases. Aunt Mayme had sold it to another customer, who was in the process of driving away with it.

The sweetest thing for me was communion this afternoon. I took communion with my great-aunt and my 7-year-old daughter. What a treasured moment in time to wash the feet of family representing both my past and my future. Aunt Mayme commented on how special it was for her as a 95-year-old woman to be able to take communion with her great-great niece.

Here are some photos of the day, including my Great-Aunt Mayme, Aunt Linda, and I; and the one on bottom also includes my dad and as many of my kids as we were able to grab at the time.

Sweet 16

2007-03-24T08:05:00.000-04:00

Henceforth, my fifteen-year-old son will be referred to as my sixteen-year-old son. We had so many things to do on his birthday Thursday--last day of homeschool co-op, chorus classes, baseball game--but I always take the kids out to eat on their birthday. We were so busy getting the other kids taken care of after co-op that he forgot and ate two hotdogs, so all he got was a birthday ice cream cone. I owe you a lunch, Stack!

Isn't he cute?

Happy Birthday, Honey!

2007-03-21T09:53:00.000-04:00

Hubby Dearest celebrates the big 40 today! I am one year and five days older than he is, and this is the first year in... well, the first year ever that he hasn't rubbed in our age difference for the entire five days. He put a new pump/motor in my washing machine last night (we haven't been able to do laundry since last Wednesday) so this is a happy day for everyone! Bun, we have dinner reservations for 6:00. If you have trouble finding me, I may be passed out from exhaustion in the laundry room floor. I love you!

Woman to Woman: "In this skin..."

2007-03-15T18:00:00.000-04:00

I'm a couple of days late for a venture that Morning Glory started this week; it is a twice monthly writing project for women bloggers called "Woman to Woman." This topic, the first, is entitled "In this skin" in which you tell how aging has affected you personally, your attitude towards it and what you've learned from it.

I look back at my twenties and thank God and my family for having patience with me. I was married and had my first three children in that decade, but I think I was a bit of a mess. We struggled financially and unfortunately I didn't cope well. I think I spent a lot of time submerged in books because I had trouble dealing with reality. That's hard to admit, but I think there's a lot of truth in it.

I had a difficult time turning thirty (I guess I should say dealing with turning thirty!); however, my thirties were very prolific: five of my eight children were born then (at ages thirty, thirty-three, thirty-five, thirty-seven, and thirty-nine), and I definitely preferred them to my twenties. For years the age thirty-three had a special significance for me because that was Christ's age when He was crucified. I imagined it as an important year. My fourth child (and first daughter) was conceived the week of my thirty-third birthday; carrying a child and giving birth was such a special way to spend that year for me.

Turning forty didn't bother me a bit. Tomorrow is my forty-first birthday. I know I've talked a lot lately about losing my mother three years ago and how it's affected me. One thing I haven't mentioned is how it pushed me into new territory. My mother and I were very close and she was a strong influence in my life. I counted on her advice, but I never realized how shaped I was by it until she was gone. My mother dislike hydrangeas; she thought those big, blue blossoms were just tacky! The summer after she passed, I admitted to myself for the first time that I actually like hydrangeas, and I bought two of them and planted them in our yard. I wasn't snubbing my mother's memory, but rather honoring a change that was taking place: making decisions independent of her feedback. This is not the same as her influence, which will always be with me. She also disliked the color orange. She'd once had an unpleasant surgery and her room was in a hospital wing which was decorated orange. I now own orange clothing, etc., and see it as a happy color. The bad connection is no longer there for me; it was hers.

I am content right where I am, right here in this skin. Going back to another time would not only remove the presence of some of my children in my life, but strip away the knowledge, wisdom, and experience that time has layered on my body and soul. Laugh lines and stretch marks are there for good reason!

For more "In this skin" posts, visit Morning Glory.

Why You Sneeze the Way You Do, or "More Evidence That I Don't Have Time to Blog, but I'm Throwing Stuff Out There Anyway"

2007-03-14T22:00:00.000-04:00

(This is a published article: I didn't write it!)

God bless you! Whether it's pollen or a spring cold, there's a whole lot of sneezing going on.

What makes us sneeze?
In addition to being a symptom of an underlying condition, such as allergies and colds, we sneeze when something irritates the membrane of the nose. Here are some of the reasons we sneeze, according to the Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine and Discovery.com:

Foreign object in the nose, including particles of pepper, smoke, irritating chemical fumes, or gases
Withdrawal from opiate drugs
Stepping outdoors into bright sunlight, which even has a scientific name: Autosomal Dominant Compelling Helio-Ophthalmic Outburst Syndrome
Tweezing your eyebrows
Combing your hair
Rubbing the inner corner of your eye
Eating too much

Why you sneeze the way you do
It's in your genes, reports Discovery.com. Whether you sneeze once, twice, or thrice, you're genetically programmed this way so don't even think about trying to change it. "In my family it's three sneezes," says sneeze expert Roberta Pagon, a professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine, "but someone else's family had eight." She said one of her sneezing subjects always sneezed 43 times when first exposed to bright sunlight.

How many times do YOU sneeze? Find your special sneezing pattern in this poem and see what you get for it:
One for sorrow
Two for joy
Three for a letter
Four for a boy.
Five for silver
Six for gold
Seven for a secret, never to be told.

Why we say "God bless you" after someone else sneezes
The pope said so. That is, Pope Gregory the Great, who lived from 540 to 604 AD, said so. He happened to ascend to the Papacy just as the Bubonic plague took hold. Saying "God bless you" after someone sneezed was literally that--a blessing. Straightdope.com reports that when people sneezed, they were immediately blessed with a "God bless you" as a prayer to prevent them from getting the plague.

Sneezing superstitions (and none is true):

Sneezing expels the soul.
Your heart stops.
Your eyes will pop out if you keep them open while you sneeze.
Sneezing before breakfast is a sign you'll get exciting news before the end of the day.

I Hope You Dance

2007-03-13T22:30:00.000-04:00

I really love this beautiful song and video by Lee Ann Womack. Her daughters are with her in the video. Enjoy!

Overheard in my living room:

2007-03-13T13:25:00.000-04:00

"Felicity, I need you to come to the center of the stage. You sang "One Horse Open Sleigh." The vote was unanimous. You're going to Hollywood!"

Does anyone else have a house full of Idol wannabes?

just for fun

2007-03-12T23:00:00.000-04:00

And the winners are...

2007-03-11T22:46:00.000-04:00

{this and that} won the copy of Norton Antivirus 2007 that I donated through the Ultimate Blog Party, and Melissa Mae won the recipe journal/organizer from the drawing I posted on my own blog party post. Melissa is actually one of my real-life friends, but I promise the drawing wasn't rigged. It was nice from a shipping aspect--I hand-delivered her organizer today!

Melissa has been patiently waiting for me to finish designing her website for selling girls hair bows. Most people don't have to wait for their web designer to read two books and learn two high-tech programs while their site is being created. I guess Melissa is just lucky that way--NOT! At least I did manage to give her blog a makeover. Love you, girl--be patient!

Amazing Grace

2007-03-10T09:48:00.000-05:00

I have felt much more peace this year after posting about my mother two weeks ago. This upcoming Friday it will be three years since she passed away; it will also be my 41^st birthday.

When I found out I was expecting my eighth child, I was stunned: it didn't seem possible that I could be having another child with my mother not here. Obviously my body was not aware of this complication, but my mind was. There were times when I would think, "Lord, why did you give me eight children when my mother is gone?" You see, my mother was always accessible, concerned, and involved in my life. When I had a really tough day with one of the kids and was at the end of my proverbial rope, all I had to do was call Mother, explain the situation, and put her on the phone with the errant child. After much silence interspersed with "okays" and "yes, ma'ams," I usually saw much behavioral improvement. My mother had that kind of effect on people. She asked my dad once why everyone in the family asked her opinion on things that didn't involve her, and he explained that she was very wise and everyone respected her opinion.

Having your mother pass away on your birthday is not an easy thing. On the first anniversary of her death I was in a funk all day, sort of aimless and unfocused. My oldest son kept telling me to call a friend to meet me, or just get in the car and go do something (I think I was making him a little nuts). You know what happened though? My aunt and cousin sent me absolutely gorgeous flowers and my husband surprised me by coming home early from work and taking me to the movies. Last year, the second anniversary, I had a surprise party for my 40^th birthday at an Italian restaurant. My church sisters really did a great job planing this, because I was completely clueless (maybe that's a state of mind and not a circumstance).

One thing that really sticks with me is this: shortly before my birthday last year a friend emailed me and said, "Your mother would want you to be happy." Nothing could be more true. Instead of my birthday being just another day, I have seen that people are especially kind because they know the significance the day holds for me. If you think about it, stop by and say hello this Friday!

When I wrote the post about my mother, I couldn't walk away until I'd finished. My husband and I were almost late to the movies; we saw Amazing Grace on opening night. Speaking of amazing grace, I'm thankful for a Saviour who said, "My grace is sufficient for thee," a Saviour of whom it was said, " And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins." I am thankful that verse did not say, "He shall facilitate the saving of his people from their sins," or "He shall initiate the saving of his people from their sins." I cannot be trusted with something as small as making sure my kids have shoes on their feet (my dear friend Trina can confirm that our family attended a talent show/spaghetti supper last night and two of my children arrived without shoes). What a blessing to know their salvation is in my Lord's hands and not mine. I serve a big God, a powerful God, a God who doesn't need my assistance to accomplish His will--a risen Saviour who declared, "It is finished." Put your trust in Him and rest easy in that promise.

Feeling Foolish

2007-03-07T14:56:00.000-05:00

Have you ever posted a comment on a blogger blog and needed to go back and view the post, so you copied your comment so that you wouldn't lose it and then hit the back button, reread the post and then hit the forward button, pasted your comment back in the comment box, and then happened to notice on the comments page that underneath the title of the post it says "Show Original Post," which displays the post on the comments page, making you realize that you have performed a completely unnecessary and time-wasting cutting and pasting ritual hundreds of times?

Nope, me neither.

From the mouths of babes

2007-03-07T12:36:00.000-05:00

My observant and painfully honest three-year-old daughter sat behind me this morning while I was fixing my hair. At one point she said, "Mommy, your bottom is bigger."

Foolishly and with trepidation I said, "Bigger than what?"

"Bigger."

"Bigger than what?" [Did I ever mention that I'm a glutton for punishment?]

"Bigger."

I finally realized that I wasn't going to get a "bigger than a breadbox" kind of answer; what she was trying to say was "bigger than the last time I noticed."

It goes without saying that parenting isn't for cowards. Let me assure you that it isn't for those with much need of ego stroking, either.

Why I Blog

2007-03-05T23:37:00.000-05:00

MomRN2 at My Quiet Corner is asking a series of questions for feedback this week during the blog party. Here are her latest questions and my answers:
How do you define blogging? If you were to describe it to another person, what is it for you personally? Do you have specific goals or a purpose with your blogging? If so, would you mind sharing?
First, blogging is my personal journal, a memory-keeper for myself and my family. My mother passed away three years ago this month. After she was gone, I searched everywhere for cards, recipes, anything she had written. She would have been an amazing blogger! I like the idea of leaving something like this for my kids.

Second, I love the community of bloggers and the friends I've made. That was a totally unexpected perk of blogging, something I didn't understand about it before I started.

Third, I loved writing in school; it's something I miss. I find deep satisfaction in expressing my thoughts in writing.

Fourth, I feel like I'm keeping in touch with friends and family. I've discovered that friends that I didn't even know were aware of the blog's existence read it, if only occasionally.

What does blogging mean to you? Are there any of you who don't blog but enjoy reading blogs?

The Ultimate Blog Party Begins!

2007-03-02T12:00:00.000-05:00

The Ultimate Blog Party begins today, hosted by 5 Minutes for Mom. What is a blog party, you ask? It's a great opportunity to meet other bloggers and win prizes! I am a prize host, #10 on the American-only list. I'm giving away Norton Antivirus 2007, so if you're feeling less than secure head over to the prize page and choose it. Check here to find out how to improve your chances of getting the prize you want.

Welcome to my little corner of the blogosphere. I'm a SAHM of eight kids, with a love for blogging, creating things on my computer, hanging out with the best church family ever, and watching whatever my kids are doing at the time. Soccer moms get their own title, but we're not into soccer, so I guess I'm a baseball/basketball/chorus sort of mom.

I just got this great idea from the Preacher's Wife: to encourage de-lurking, I'll offer a prize from a random drawing from comments left this week. I would tell you what the prize is, but that would imply that I'd had time to put some heavy thought into it, which unfortunately isn't the case... I promise, "whatever it is, it's a nice one!"

UPDATE: I HAVE A PRIZE!

Last weekend I bought the New York City Ballet Complete Workout, which enables me to be beaten up one side and down the other--all in the privacy of my own home!--by the world-renowned NYC Ballet. In the midst of yesterday's ~~fiasco~~ workout, I almost decided that those videos would be a perfect prize. On second thought, I've decided I should stick with it for more than a week before giving it away, so here is the actual prize, selected by my 10-year-old daughter:

This is a recipe organizer with 100 journal pages and 4 divider tabs, perfect for saving and organizing your favorite recipes. I don't know about you, but I've found some fabulous recipes on blogs.

Here are a few of my favorite and/or most-read posts:

The Greatest Job in the World
Moments in motherhood

Modesty Doesn't Become Him
Hubby Dearest, that is

Introducing Aunt Mayme
A tribute to a very special relative

Basic Truths About 24's Jack Bauer
This is copied--not something I wrote--but I could read it all day long and laugh every time.

Strikethrough Text in Blogger
This one gets lots of hits, so I guess it's kind of a blogger public service announcement.

My lucky day!

2007-03-01T17:16:00.000-05:00

A few months ago I found out that Harry was coming to town and that tickets were going on sale that weekend. My husband works with a guy with ticket connections, so I asked him to please beg for some tickets, especially since the concert is so close to our birthdays (mine and my husband's are five days apart). You may ask why I didn't just buy them right away for myself, and I would tell you that mothers of eight are extremely frugal and don't go around buying concert tickets, especially when they discover that ticket prices have increased since the early 80's.

Three months have gone by, and no tickets. My husband's friend assured us that there is always a block of about 60 really good seats which are reserved for the performer's use, and that any unused tickets are released at the last minute. I have bookmarked the ticketmaster page for this concert and check it daily, crossing my fingers and saying a little prayer that two of those golden tickets would be ours.

Well, today is my lucky day! While sitting here in the parking lot during my kids' chorus classes, "borrowing" the unsecured wireless signal from the local vet hospital, I made my daily check and lo and behold THERE WERE MY TICKETS--in the orchestra section (the best seats) no less! We are now the proud owners of two tickets to hear one of my favorite singers ever and to top it all off, the concert is next week! WOO HOO!

Works-for-Me Wednesday: Help for Hanger Horns

2007-02-28T09:48:00.000-05:00

Don't you hate it when you put on a shirt and you've got hanger horns, those unsightly lumps on your shoulders where the hanger has stretched out the fabric? Here's a quick fix: squirt them down with a wrinkle release product, then smooth out the lump. It works best if you're actually wearing the shirt when you do this.

For more Works-for-Me Wednesday tips, visit Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer.

I Remember

2007-02-23T19:41:00.000-05:00

Three years ago today was the beginning of the descent which marked the final three weeks of my mother's life. She was in poor health for years and there were many times when we didn't think she would make it. Somehow she maintained a tremulous hold on this world, though in the final months her mind had moved on to thoughts of the next.

That morning I dropped the kids off for co-op classes and made my weekly grocery run. I called my mother from the store and no one answered; I didn't think much about it because she took a long bath in the morning and wouldn't have gotten the phone. I dropped the kids off at home at lunch time and left for a hair appointment that I would not keep. My dad had left a message on my cell phone because he couldn't reach Mother. I called him, and he asked if I could drop by and check on her.

As I was driving the eight miles between our house and my parents', a fear came over me of what I would find there. I called my husband at work and explained the situation. I spoke to him again just before I reached the house and he told me that he and two of his co-workers were praying, and to call him as soon as I knew something.

I have a key to the front door and I let myself inside, while the dog barked upstairs behind the closed bedroom door. That must have been the longest flight of stairs I've ever climbed. When I opened the door, I saw my mother lying in the bed, eyes closed. At first I didn't think she was alive. She was breathing but totally unresponsive, although I spoke to her and shook her gently (she was so tiny and fragile).

I couldn't reach my dad on his cell phone. He is a piano technician and my mother kept his schedule. The appointment book was lying on the bed, so I called the school where he was tuning. Because of the distance, it took him about an hour to get there.

I didn't call an ambulance. We all knew my mother's feelings: she never wanted to go back in the hospital or into a nursing home. She weighed 80-something pounds. The last time I had called an ambulance for her, it had hurt her so much to be lifted and carried.

As a little girl, I called my mom Mommy; somewhere along the way, my sister and I began to call her Mother. A few years ago my mother remarked on the fact that my dad was still Daddy, but she was Mother. I know it bothered her. I sat by her bed and pleaded, "Mommy, I'm here, please wake up," over and over, while my heart broke and what I had feared and dreaded for so long became reality.

Amazingly, she awoke the awoke the next morning, surrounded by family and friends who had kept vigil all day and night. I think her spirit just couldn't handle the pain of her poor broken body anymore and had retreated, encasing itself, cocoon-like. We called hospice that day, enabling her to live her final three weeks with some dignity in the privacy of her own home, on her own terms.

Those three weeks were surreal; every day was different and ranged from extreme highs to extreme lows. My sister and I and my five-month-old baby moved in with my parents, while my two oldest sons handled things at home. My husband worked but spent nights with me, realizing that I needed the emotional support. Our homeschool group delivered meals to our house, while our church and the neighbors supplied my parents' home.

During those three weeks, my mother was able to say goodbye to friends and family. There were visitors almost every day. One friend dropped everything and drove 750 miles to spend a few days with us; a cousin did the same thing, from an even farther distance. There was such an outpouring of love. Everyone involved knew that this was the end. There was nothing left unspoken, no regret over sentiment unexpressed.

My mom passed on from this world almost three weeks to minute after I found her that day. It was my 38th birthday; she was only 57 years old. If I'm able, I hope to record more memories of her over the next few weeks.

Confessions of a Compulsive Meddler Do-Gooder

2007-02-21T22:19:00.000-05:00

When I graduated from high school I wanted to become a psychiatrist. Generally, I'm a person people feel safe sharing their secrets with, a never-met-a-stranger type, the kind who start conversations in the check-out line or the waiting room. Although sometimes naive and a little heavier on book smarts than common sense, I tend to be a problem solver by nature.

Sometimes my desire to fix things creates interesting results, like when other customers at Ross ask me questions. Since I'm the one picking up and rehanging clothes from off the floor while the actual employees sit by the dressing room and look disdainfully at shoppers who emerge from the dressing room for the third time without finding a pair of jeans that fit (a hypothetical situation, of course), it's an honest mistake.

Yesterday my fix-it tendencies combined with general lack of social inhibition almost got the best of me. I was in the parking lot at Wal-Mart when I saw a couple pull their cart, loaded with a brand new Sanyo TV, up to their car. First the man tried to load the TV in the back seat, but it was just too big. Then he tried the trunk. No dice. That's when I thought, "Wait! I can help!" My van, the 15-passenger model most often seen as church buses or cargo vans, can haul a sleeper sofa or a queen-size mattress, box springs, frame, and headboard.

At this point the man rips open the box and his wife starts pulling out the Styrofoam packing. Before you know it the TV has been loaded in the back seat, the box is left behind in the cart, and they drive away. That's when I started getting tickled thinking about my first impulse: that "I can fix it" moment. Can you just imagine me going up to these people saying, "I know you don't know me, but would you like me to load up your nice new TV--the one you just purchased with your tax refund--and transport it to your secluded home on the outskirts of town surrounded by woods and large barking dogs? Trust me. I'm here to help."

I think I need a keeper.

this time I'm serious

2007-02-20T23:05:00.000-05:00

After just announcing my standing as "Unchallenged Winner of the Influential No Award Award," I received a comment tonight telling me that my recent post, The Greatest Job in the World, has been nominated for a Hot Stuff Award at GNMParents, and that voting closes this Thursday. Cool, huh?

I want to state for the record that my "Unchallenged Winner of the Influential No Award Award" was 100% poking fun at myself and not at the nominees and winners of any of the recent blogging contests. Some of those people are my dearest blogging buddies, whom I wouldn't offend for the world. Also, No Cool Story--who should receive some kind of award for most consistently creative use of Photoshop--wrote such a sweet post and went to the trouble of making those cute little buttons; I just had to have one. I admit that there was one afternoon where every blog I visited had a post announcing their nominations and I thought, "Gee, I'm obviously not doing very well at this blogging thing." Then I thought, "Hello! I'm a 40-year-old woman with 8 kids! What's with the 8th grade moment I'm having here?" and that was the end of it.

The reason I posted almost nothing last week was twofold: first, I was still sick (I actually went to a walk-in clinic Saturday, thinking I might have strep throat; I don't); second, I saw in my sitemeter that someone had come here after doing a blog search for teen@ge boy$ (I'm scrambling this as well as I can to avoid getting a hit for that one again). I linked recently to an article with parenting advice for moms of teen sons, although the title used the word "boys" instead of "sons." I didn't click on any links, but the other blogs that the person pulled up with those search terms sounded like every mother's worst nightmare. It so sickened and upset me that I actually had a moment where I wanted to delete this blog. I checked the time and saw that this "visitor" left as soon as he arrived--obviously my little mommy blog was not what he was interested in--but I couldn't shake that horrible feeling. Tonight I changed the title on the post.

Also, I've been doing a lot of soul searching lately. That post I'll write about my mother, while going through a box of Kleenex, is still on the horizon. She was one of those people who told you exactly what she thought in no.uncertain.terms (while I stood there cringing and thinking, "Did she really say that?"). You know what? Almost universally, that quality seems to be what people loved and miss the most about her: her honesty tempered with dry wit (for those who didn't know her--if I had to compare her to a blogger, I would choose Antique Mommy, hands down). I've been told that I'm very diplomatic, which is a nice way of saying I'm tactful; I am very much the peacemaker. The thing is, there's a lot of my mother lurking beneath the surface. I just keep a lid on it for the most part.

What does that mean in terms of this blog? Looking back over the last couple of weeks, I'd say I'm posting about the things that mean the most to me: motherhood, my mother, family roots, beloved family members. I'm also unapologetically sharing a little more about who I am and what I'm all about. I started this blog because I wanted my kids to be able to look back and see what their mom had to say, a sort of memory-keeper for the next generation. Up until today, my kids would have looked and said, "Oh, puleeze! It doesn't even mention that she listens to the B@ren@ked L@dies 24 HOURS A DAY!" [Maybe that's a slight exaggeration. I don't play them during school or when I'm asleep.]

Maybe my readership will dwindle to my cousin in NYC, my aunt who just got internet access, and my cousin in Texas, since these topics could have limited appeal. That's okay. You know what my greatest bloggy moments have been lately? My cousin emailed to say how she cried over my Where I'm From, and both my aunt (my mom's sister) and my Great-Aunt Mayme called to tell me how much they enjoyed and laughed about the Aunt Mayme post. Aunt Mayme even recalled another cooking story: tossing one of her homemade biscuits to someone and cutting their forehead.

Stick around if you're up for more about the glamorous world of motherhood and my crazy/sweet/funny family!

What's Floatin' My Boat

2007-02-19T21:41:00.000-05:00

Introducing Aunt Mayme

2007-02-17T21:31:00.000-05:00

I enjoy reading stories that fellow bloggers have posted about ladies in their families; Melanie's and Antique Mommy's come to mind. In honor of her upcoming 95th birthday, I would like to introduce you to an amazing woman, my Great-Aunt Mayme.

After the death of my grandmother in August, Aunt Mayme is the last of a family of nine children. She never married, but has been a mother-figure to lots of nieces and nephews. Her sister, Aunt Thelma, passed away a few years ago at the age of 96. She was sharp as a tack, not a trace of senility. She could talk current events or Braves' stats better than I can. I'm not sure if we would notice senility in Aunt Mayme. My mother said that when I was little I would say, "Mayme goofy!" She sees the world in her own, unique way.

Aunt Mayme on Longevity

What's Aunt Mayme's secret for health and longevity? No doctors, no medicines, and a steady diet of romance novels. When she and my aunt moved across town a few years ago, one of my friends said, "Poor Aunt Mayme--she'll have to find new doctors!" What she didn't realize is that Aunt Mayme doesn't go to the doctor. I think she broke a bone several years ago and saw one then. It was so long ago I don't remember. She lives at home, takes no prescriptions (and almost no over-the-counter, either), and inhales romance novels. She barely even has gray hair. Look at the picture--it's never been colored! She finally has accepted some limitations: she stays home if it's too cold or rainy; has meals-on-wheels delivered for lunch; and no longer cooks, which might be for the best and leads me to my next topic...

Aunt Mayme on Cooking

Although there have been some fine Southern cooks in the family, Aunt Mayme is the only one who has been paid to cook. For years she was employed in a high school cafeteria. I don't know if serving up too many tasty burgers scrambled the culinary center of her brain, but many of her dishes are heavier on creativity than edibility.

Examples include: peach cobbler made with eggnog; lemon pie with no lemon flavoring (she realized she was out of lemon juice but made and served the pie at a church lunch anyway); and a cheesecake made with cream cheese with chives. My granddad, who passed away in 1991, once said, "Cancer hasn't taken me, my heart hasn't failed me yet, but I'm afraid Mayme's cooking might just get me." She is, however, gifted with a to-die-for coconut pie that makes grown men swoon.

Aunt Mayme on Life

Aunt Mayme's life has epitomized that of a servant. She's never had a husband or children of her own, so she lavishes her love and attention on siblings, nieces and nephews, friends, neighbors, and her church family. She is the first one to call on your birthday, checks in on you no matter what but especially if you're sick, and keeps track of family members far and wide. Every summer she makes a 1500-mile round-trip to her home state where she rotates among an assortment of family members, convinced that this will be the last trip of its kind, but always tickled pink to be doing it again. In spite of her age, she has an uncanny knack for empathizing with children. Instead of enjoying the leisure she's entitled to in her old age (although anyone who knows her would never call her old to her face), Aunt Mayme feels useless since she's no longer able to do for others.

What she doesn't realize is that she blesses and inspires us by her very presence.

Look, I Won!

2007-02-16T11:26:00.000-05:00

As you can see, I've had a blog break this week. I'm emerging momentarily to announce this exciting news: I WON! WOO HOO!

Thank you, No Cool Story - you rock!

Blast from the Past

2007-02-11T20:58:00.000-05:00

This is a neat meme that has been going around. Here's the deal: pull four posts from your archives which fit the following categories. I have some new blogging friends, so I thought I would link to some older posts:

Funny:
My Classy Kids. The title says it all.

Serious:
Solving the Crisis in Homeschooling. Straight talk for parents.

Ugly:
Ikea Adventure. Adventures in motherhood, IKEA-style.

All About Me:
Take your pick: 100 Things or New Year's Meditations.

I'm tagging anyone who wants to play!

Where I'm From

2007-02-09T17:50:00.000-05:00

I read about this "Where I'm From" contest today at Owlhaven. Entries are due by noon tomorrow. I actually wrote this when I first started blogging, so it's emerging from the archives. There is a prize for most referrals, so if you visit Owlhaven, in the regular comments section of this post say “Hi, I’m here from Mommy Dearest!” I know this isn't much notice for a writing contest, but I think you will enjoy this if you have the time. I still remember the evening I wrote this; it was like a walk down memory lane.

Where I'm From

I am from softballs, from Furr’s Cafeteria and ice cream with little wooden spoons.

I am from hiding in the laundry hamper, duck when a car comes, pet mice, kittens, blue glass bathroom knobs, “made in occupied Japan” figurines, and pink shag carpet. From Lollie, Panda, and Robbie.

I am from the Caudles’ attic and Grandmother Warden’s front porch swing.

I am from the mimosa tree with the concrete patch in the middle, the weeping willow and the magnolia, window boxes with red geraniums.

I am from family loyalty and ringing in New Year’s Eve on the curbside with the tambourine, from Aunt Thelma and Aunt Mayme, Grandmother and Granddad Piles, and Grandmother and Pappy. I am from real hot chocolate and homemade chocolate covered cherries on Christmas Eve.

I am from my father’s honesty and my mother’s wisdom.

From “don’t eat ice cream and go outside,” and “more can be bought.”

I am from the Old Baptists and salvation by grace. I am from annual meetings, foot washing, lunch at church, and Amazing Grace.

I'm from the South – “American by birth, but Southern by the grace of God,” biscuits dipped in sorghum and butter, cornbread in a cast iron skillet, hot brownies covered in melted butter, Mrs. Butterworth, and JIF.

From marking the “day of terror” on calendars with Blake; Skip-Bo, Taboo, and Trivial Pursuit at the kitchen table; softball tournaments; Laura falling over with her blanket; Barbies with Jamie; playing HORSE with Daddy, Blake, and Steve.

I am from Daddy’s guitar and watching him sing with Mother for hours at a time. I am from Brown-Eyed Girl, Hang on Sloopy, and Teenager in Love.

I am from Fort Smith, from Jasper and Eureka Springs and Weleetka, from riding behind Daddy on the back of a motorcycle. I am from a family with roots that time or distance can’t sever.

Everybody needs a hero

2007-02-09T09:37:00.000-05:00

A couple of months ago while we were doing school, a piece of paper turned up on the table. I didn't pay much attention to it at first, then I noticed the handwriting. It was an assignment my oldest son had written in high school, although I don't remember ever having read it. It's about my mother. The paper must have been tucked into a book that my 15-year-old is now using. My oldest son graduated and moved out a year and a half ago and my mother passed away nearly three years ago. I don't know why I'm trusting blogger to save this for me; I'm just afraid of losing it:

What unlikely hero have you known in your life?

I would say my Grandmother "Gran." She has had metal jaws put in her and between silicone and teflon it has torn her life apart. She was an amazing singer in her teens and throughout college, she attended voice lessons and singing schools regularly, this was her "devotion" so to speak. When she was in her late twenties she had jaw surgery and had metal jaws put in and has had multiple surgeries on her jaws prior to the incident. My Gran now lives in an almost constant state of pain and is taking enough medicine for her pain to kill me probably, but she tries. She loves all her grandchildren and both her daughters, and she is fun enough that I look forward to going over to her house and "hanging out" with her. She inspires me and no pain I ever go through ever compares to her, which teaches me to be more content and try not to overestimate my own pain.

My Grandmother is an "unlikely hero" to me and I love her more than she knows.

I know this opens some questions for people who didn't know my mother. I think there's probably a long post requiring a lot of Kleenex (for me) in my near future about my her, so I'll save it. Let's just say that while DuPont has come under scrutiny for the health risks associated with exposure to Teflon in their cookware, you don't often hear that they were also using it in implants in humans without testing it's effects in advance. My mother had Teflon-coated metal jaws for years. The Teflon flaked off, just like in a skillet, and her body was full of it, even after having those jaws replaced.

My mother was my hero, too. What everyday heroes do you have in your life?

Happy (belated) Birthday, baby!

2007-02-08T23:07:00.000-05:00

I almost did something that I haven't done since starting this blog: miss a child's birthday. Although at an interesting age (remember, he inspired this post?) he's a super-sweet and helpful son. Somehow, I even talked him into sitting in my lap during prayers tonight, even though the child weighs 80-something pounds. It's nice to humor the old mom every once in a while.

Happy 12th, baby!

The Greatest Job in the World

2007-02-06T23:30:00.000-05:00

I have what some might call a fancy education. I took six years to get a four-year degree, and also married and had my first child during that time. In the months leading up to graduation, friends, family, and professors asked what I planned to do with my education. I realized, however, that more than any job, I wanted another baby. Ten months after graduation I gave birth to my second son and never looked back.

While my education helped prepare me for eventually schooling my own children, I never imagined the joys and the heartache--the gamut of emotions from sheer terror to pure bliss--inherent in the greatest job in the world. Today, just an average day, I experienced several of those moments that define motherhood.

Every mother who has had both a toddler and a set of stairs knows that awful sound: the thud, followed by wailing. I heard it today and I ran across the house, scared of what I would find. Lily was lying at the bottom of the stairs, scared and hurt. I sat and held her until she stopped crying, while she marked my black shirt with iridescent trails of mucous, a visible badge of motherhood. Then she snuggled in close and popped her little thumb in her mouth, content. I know it won't always be so, but I was blessed with a moment when I was all she needed to make everything better.

Sabra, my 10-year-old daughter, had Keepers at Home today. Sabra loves Keepers, and I'm excited she has the opportunity to learn many skills that I do not possess. I try to learn along with her, but it's interesting sometimes. Rather than a domestic goddess, Keepers at Home seems to transform me into a domestic doofus.

Today was no different as we worked on our current project, sewing a tiered skirt. I was helping Sabra at my painfully slow pace while the other mothers and daughters seemed to fly through the steps. Then it hit me: Sabra doesn't seem to notice or care that I'm not as skilled as many of the other moms. She looks at me with the adoring eyes of a daughter toward her mother, confident that I can guide her. The blind devotion of a child is truly a sacred trust, and I was humbled and honored by it.

After a long afternoon of Keepers and band lessons, we headed for Moe's, where on Tuesday nights we can pay for 3 adults (hubby and I plus 15-year-old son) and feed the 6 that are 12-and-under for free. The kids always want quarters for the machines. My husband told me that our 5-year-old son, Clayton, had gotten a heart ring for his prize. When asked if he was going to give it to me for Valentine's Day, Clayton had said, "Maybe, or maybe Miss Fran." Miss Fran is our dear friend who is truly a Pied Piper. Our children adore her and I've told her that even when hers are grown and gone, my younger ones will still want to spend the night at her house.

While we ate, I noticed two ladies seated close to us who seemed to observe our clan. This is not uncommon for us; that many kids attract attention. I'm not a mind-reader, but it's obvious a lot of people don't understand why anyone would have such a large family, and their attitude is not always kind. As they left, one of the ladies leaned down and spoke in my ear: "Your family is adorable. Simply precious!" I'm sure I will never see her again, but her words will not soon be forgotten. As we were leaving, Clayton smiled his heart-melting smile, one any mother of a young son knows, and said, "Happy Valentine's Day," as he placed the ring in my hand.

When I read Proverbs 31, describing that seemingly unattainable model of female perfection, the verse that always jumps out at me is #28: "Her children arise up, and call her blessed..." That's the one I want--the one I can't attain on my own, the one that has to be given to me, undeserving though I am (much like salvation). Today I was beheld as comforter; teacher; object of blind faith, love, and affection. Though I seek to bless my children's precious lives, the truth is that they bless me immeasurably. I thank God for entrusting us with their care and putting the desire within me for motherhood, the greatest job in the world.

This post has been submitted for consideration in the Write-Away contest for February.

spaghetti, anyone?

2007-02-04T10:48:00.000-05:00

In spite of being sick, I just had to get out and go to church yesterday. We ordained two of my favorite men in the world (from my favorite families) as deacons. They are so special to us that they were both pallbearers at my mother's funeral. I just tried not to get too close to or breathe on anyone. My make-up was lovely; since my cold has moved into both eyes, leaving them glued together in the morning and swollen and red during the day, I was afraid to apply make-up in the usual way, not wanting to contaminate and have to throw away a perfectly good tube of mascara. If there's one thing I learned from my mother it was this: even if you feel like hell, you put yourself together the best you can. Work with what you've got, honey! So I applied eye make-up and mascara with my fingers (you're not going to find make-up tips for this anywhere since no one in their right mind would recommend it), put on my glasses (don't want to have to toss a pair of contacts, either), and thoroughly washed all my make-up brushes. I stayed home sick today, but I'm awfully glad I was there yesterday.

On the way home, my seven-year-old daughter (currently sporting an absence of front teeth) asked me a question I hear quite often, "Mommy, what do you want me to draw?"

I mentally riffled through my usual suggestions, but a girl can only draw so many butterflies, flowers, and babies. My eyes turned to the monstrosity of metal and concrete overhead, and I said, "Spaghetti junction."

Dead silence from the back seat, and then, "Uh..., could I just draw spaghetti?"

Savoring the moment...

2007-02-01T23:33:00.000-05:00

Because I have literally spent the entire day sick in bed, I am now, possibly for the first and last time ever, completely caught up on my bloglines. I am going to shut down this computer quickly before anyone posts something and blows it. I may not have strewn comments every I visited along the way (and I hate doing that), but I was there. Feel the love, people!

thoughts from my sick bed

2007-02-01T15:23:00.000-05:00

I'm sick and I feel really lousy. I can't believe it's after 3 p.m. and I'm still in my pajamas. The great blessing is that our county called off school because of the weather, which means 3 out of 4 of today's activities have been canceled (and hopefully Hubby Dearest will be home in time to handle that 8 p.m. basketball practice). I'm having trouble adjusting to the fact that I can blog guilt-free, because nobody really expects much out of me right now. It's a little unnerving, since like most mommies I'm highly guilt-motivated. My kids are watching The Rookie, while I sit in bed with the laptop and cross my fingers that the two youngest ones' naps last a little longer. . .

Being sick means catching up on my bloglines and thinking (because how many hours a day can a person sleep?). For some reason, I've been thinking about how my mother always said that she wouldn't want to go back and be my age again, no matter what it was -- 20, 25, 30, 35, whatever. You have to understand that my mother was seriously ill and in enormous pain for many years before her passing in 2004. I would think, "But if you were 25, you would feel better," and other such things, but she always insisted that she wouldn't want to go back. And that's what I've pondered.

I think of my own life and realize that I share my mother's view. In my early 20's I was in great shape; I did 90 -minute workout classes and even attended fitness boot camps. Would I go back to that time in my life if I could? No. There have been times in my adult life when I've been wrinkle-free, or had more free time, or more money in the bank. Would I go back to those times? Not a chance.

In spite of any perks we may have experienced at various points along the way, we know that at all times we were and are sinners, depraved, and prone to botch things up. There are lows to go along with those highs, and although hopefully we learn from them, few would want them to repeat.

Mostly, I think my mother lived with a closer knowledge of her own mortality than I've ever had cause to experience. She lived a life of pain with grace because she knew this life was transitory and there was something far sweeter waiting for her. Every day was one step closer to meeting her Savior and that perfect peace, each passing day a victory.

It's just like a mini mall!

2007-01-30T22:40:00.000-05:00

My dear cousin, Laura, sent me an email with this message and a link to the following video:

"This is a real commercial that airs in Montgomery, Alabama.
It makes me happier than it probably should."

I confess that it made me happy, too. Enjoy!

I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up

2007-01-29T21:41:00.000-05:00

Okay, so maybe the title is a slight exaggeration, but I really like it, so there it is...

I was in Blockbuster the day before Thanksgiving, and by pure coincidence found myself in front of the fitness DVD's. I say "by coincidence" to point out that I didn't enter the store with any good intentions about getting in shape. When I was flipping through them I came across the DVD on the left, The Lotte Berk Method: muscle eats fat, which claims "healthy toned muscles will burn calories 24 hours a day - even when you are at rest!" I tell my husband that I wish I didn't require rest, that I have enough projects going at any given time to occupy me 24 hours a day, so this whole "muscles that work in your sleep" idea really appealed to me. I bought it.

[I should mention at this point that I don't tend to have weight problems, which unfortunately means I don't tend to exercise; however, I'm currently 7-8 pounds over my norm and I really don't like it. Doing something about it is a different story.]

The video is only 30 minutes long, and Lily and I just watched it the first time. It seemed fairly innocuous: no irritating music, and the instructors were pleasant and encouraging. The next morning I began.

"In 10 days you'll feel the results, in 20 days you'll see the results."
Day 1: Exhaustion. There were times when my legs were absolutely shaking from fatigue. When I was finished I slid straight into a hot bath to soak. My husband had gone jogging and I was afraid that I might collapse in the shower if I tried to stand (hence the name of this post) and there wouldn't be anyone there to rescue me.

Day 2: Fear. Arm work doesn't bother me - I've been toting babies for years - but the leg exercises were very difficult for me. The humdinger is something called knee dancing. I am convinced that at some point during this season of 24, Jack Bauer will hold a gun to someone's head and force them to knee dance in order to extract a confession.

Day 3: Stubbornness. I am nothing if not stubborn, and I was angry about that whole fear thing on the previous day. With stubbornness comes determination, which is exactly what I needed.

I'll confess that I did the workout for 5 days, but didn't integrate it into our schedule once we got back into school. I started doing it again after Christmas, and I've hit 21 days now (26 if you count those first 5). They have managed to take a small number of exercises, interspersed with serious stretching, and achieve maximum effectiveness in a short amount of time. I think it would be impossible to do this workout and not see and feel results, unless you were already in good shape. I'm sure I must look just like the picture on the video case now. I can't take a picture and find out since I don't have any of those little tiny pink shorts and I'd catch a cold in this weather just taking the picture. Maybe it's best this way. I know I'm stronger and more flexible, though.

If you're interested, you can get more information about the complete set of beginner videos through their website. Enjoy!

for mothers of pre-teen to teen sons

2007-01-27T01:23:00.000-05:00

I pull up this article, Pubermania (gotta love that title!), and re-read it every couple of years. I have 20- and 15-year-old sons, but this time around I'm reading it in honor (or should I say because of) my son who turns 12 today. I thought I would share it in case any of you have sons around this age. Follow the links at the bottom of each page to read the entire article. Trust me, you may find it quite enlightening. I always do.

Tuesday, during which I learn that Monday most certainly was an anomaly

2007-01-24T22:29:00.000-05:00

Do you ever have posts which for whatever reason go unpublished? Maybe they were never finished, maybe blogger wouldn't cooperate and upload your pictures and then you forgot to go back and publish later, whatever. I have a handful of those stray drafts floating through my Edit Posts folder, like this one, for instance, which was nothing more than a title. It started as a follow-up to this post, which I was afraid might leave you with the erroneous notion that I really had my act together, whether for real or in my own imagination. It was a halcyon day (now how many good opportunities do you get to use a word like that?), but almost as soon as I hit "Publish" God showed me that while that sort of day was possible, it wasn't probable. The next 24-hours were completely insane.

You know what I noticed? On the day when things were practically-perfect-in-every-way (Mary Poppinsesque, if you will), I didn't pray, "Lord, we're covering a whole lot of math today, but could you help us do a little more?" or "Lord, help me make this fun read-aloud just a little better." I thanked Him, but I didn't feel the need of Him the same way I did the next day, the day when everything that could go wrong did. The day that, as a friend so aptly noted, I was flying by the seat of my pants. And I realized that in a way I sort of like those days, the days when I know He's there lifting me over every hurdle (and believe me, there are plenty at times).

I'll close this with my favorite verse from the hymn "God Moves in a Mysterious Way":

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy and shall break
In blessings on your head.

The all-time greatest read-aloud-in-one-sitting children's book ever. Period.

2007-01-24T17:06:00.000-05:00

When my older boys were little, our favorite read-aloud was Dr. Seuss's Fox in Socks. My goal was to read it error-free; their goal was to catch my error. These sessions were great fun for all, the boys on the edge of their seats waiting to buzz me when I got tangled on the words. It was always there among the three cheese trees, Bim and Ben's brooms, the tweetle beetles, or Sue's new socks - that one little slip that would blow my perfect reading. Somewhere along the way I got sentimental and put away the book. It was from a set my mother had bought me as a small child, with her handwritten inscription and date (late '60's) in the front cover, and it was getting fragile. Why I never got another copy, I don't know.

We bought new toothbrushes and toothpaste a couple of months ago which included a mail-in book offer. One of the choices was Fox in Socks and today it arrived in the mail. I don't think the other kids realized just why this was such a big deal to my fifteen-year-old son and I, although my five-year-old seemed awfully excited. After lunch we sat down for the big read-aloud. Mistake #1 occurred within the first few pages, so I started over (hey, I'm still working towards that perfect reading). Reading #2 was near the end when I inserted a "sir" that wasn't there. Good grief - not even a tongue-twister! We didn't get much further because at that time all the kids squealed and I turned to see Lily standing at the end of the couch, vomitting her lunch (spaghetti, an unfortunate choice) on the floor. With the carpet cleaning and bath that followed, the book was shelved. Literally.

I'm excited to introduce our all-time favorite read-aloud to my newest crop of kids. Maybe, just maybe, one day I'll post about that elusive perfect reading. Stay tuned.

Works-for-Me Wednesday: Strikethrough Text

2007-01-24T10:17:00.000-05:00

I've never done this before, but I'm going to post something from the archives. I originally published this in October and it still gets lots of hits from Google searches, so I figure this is something people want to learn how to do. So without further ado...

Strikethrough Text

Do you really ~~like~~ love it when you see that strikethrough text effect, you just don't know how to do it? Now you can! Just enclose the word or words you want to strike through between the following tags:

<strike>like</strike> gives you ~~like~~
or
<s>like</s> will also give you ~~like~~

Those brackets are on your keyboard under the letter "L." Just don't forget to include the / on the end tag; that lets your browser know to stop this effect, or else it will ~~just keep striking through everything you write~~.

To my knowledge, this will not work when leaving comments (I haven't tried it in the new Beta, so who knows?). Have fun, go forth, and ~~strike away~~!

For more Works-for-Me Wednesday ideas, visit Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer.

Win a free apron!

2007-01-22T22:02:00.000-05:00

Publish a comment at Smockity Frocks to enter a drawing to win this lovely free apron. Post about it on your blog (like this), and you'll be entered a second time.

Just listen to this description from the website:

This is the newest apron I am selling. I am not making any guarantees, but when I wear this apron, my hair is curlier, my teeth are whiter, and there is a noticeable sing-song quality to my voice. In fact, when I speak, I can hear the faint sound of birds chirping and leaves rustling.*

*Results may vary.

All entries are due by midnight this Thursday.

Common Sense: 1 - iPod: 0

2007-01-22T14:32:00.000-05:00

Today my 15-year-old made an amazing revelation: he's realized that iPods and other mp3 players are interfering with his life and that of other kids. A group of his buddies got together for a birthday party this weekend. They are best friends from church, but spread out over a big metro area and don't get to spend as much time together as they would like. Apparently during the course of their time together they wore iPods part of the time, and he finally thought, "Why are we doing this?" He "locked" his iPod yesterday and hasn't used it since. He also realized last night that it interferes with his reading. Hallelujah!

I get so frustrated being in the same vehicle with a child, yelling at the top of my lungs and not being heard. Admittedly, I drive a 15-passenger van so I'm about half a mile from the kids in the back seat, but still... Pull out those headphones and join the real world with the rest of us (or at least our version of the real world)!

A Cheerful Giver

2007-01-21T22:52:00.000-05:00

I am amazed and excited by the response to the fundraiser for Kelli - $9160! WOW! I told the kids all about it on the way to church last Sunday: Kelli's background, condition, and the need for money for COBRA payments. When Tuesday morning rolled around, I asked the kids if any wanted to contribute. I thought it would be wonderful if they wanted to help, but this is not the sort of thing I would force.

My kids do helpful things for my retired neighbors - like sweep the steps, clean house, yard work, etc. - and they give them money which they keep for them in individual coffee cans. Two kids gave me $5 each and one gave $4. One handed me $28 and told me that he wanted to order an $8 CD from Amazon for his friend's birthday, and to send the rest. I was completely blown away. I hugged him with tears in my eyes and told him how proud I was of him and how generous he was. Do you know what he said? "It's only money."

It made me ashamed for every time I am faced with a situation to give, and I think, "When is the house payment due?" or "How much is the gas bill this month?" or something else along those lines. It's not easy to give when we get bogged down by worldly considerations. I pray to have my faith restored and not forget God's promise:

Matthew 6: 31-33:
Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

These pictures have nothing to do with the post; I just wanted to share.

Here is Miss Lily in my supper cool sweet awesome bathtub!

Hidden Treasure Blog Awards

2007-01-19T00:13:00.000-05:00

This is a really neat idea hosted by Everyday Mommy (and I really love this button she's designed)! Here is her summary of what it's all about:

Announcing the First Annual Hidden Treasure Blog Awards. The idea is simple; to recognize blog authors of excellence, with deserving posts which may go unnoticed.

All of us have our favorite blogs, the ones we read faithfully. They are dear friends, like a comfortable pair of shoes, perfectly broken in. But, we can also find ourselves in a rut, reading the same blogs week after week, and overlooking those hidden gems which may require a little more digging. But, as my mom taught me, anything worth having is worth working for.

So, if you're up for an adventure I invite you to join me in a treasure hunt.

2007-01-18T23:20:00.000-05:00

Hey! You're invited to The Ultimate Blog Party at 5 Minutes For Mom!
This looks like a lot of bloggy fun and socializing like BooMama's tours of homes.

supper cool sweet awesome bathtubs

2007-01-17T22:00:00.000-05:00

Just what does that mean, you might ask. So might I. Please note it is "supper cool" and not "super cool" sweet awesome bathtubs we're talking about here.

Confused?

My sitemeter tells me that someone linked to my blog today under those search terms, and amazingly enough, it appears that I do come in #7 on a Google search of those interesting terms.

Now this is why I have a sitemeter: the entertainment factor. And yeah, my bathtub is pretty supper cool.

Aw, man, I missed it!

2007-01-16T18:00:00.000-05:00

I can't believe I forgot to post these for de-lurking week, January 8-12! Please take the time to say "hello" if you've dropped by. Mostly, I just really wanted an excuse to post these cool buttons. Here's the one I made:

Bear ye one another's burdens...

2007-01-16T10:58:00.000-05:00

Galatians 6:2: Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

This is a verse I really, really love. When I was president of our former homeschool support group I proposed it as our group verse, and it was met with overwhelming support. The group grew to embody the verse.

My pastor spoke on this verse Sunday.

Today is an opportunity to bear the burden of another, our sister in Christ, Kelli. The post beneath this one has more details if you're not sure of the situation. I urge you to visit BooMama's post today where you can make a donation for this worthy cause. I am trying to rush out the door to take my daughter quilting, but I wanted to send this reminder first. I will publish the sweet story of my kids' responses to this need later.

Call to prayer

2007-01-14T23:37:00.000-05:00

There are some people who are really on my mind and I would like to solicit prayers on their behalf. You want to know the funny thing? I've never met any of these people, but then again, I've never met many of the people who comment on this blog and whose blogs I read. It just doesn't matter.

The first is a woman in my homeschool group. This evening I found out that a six-year-old girl in our group fell out of a three-story building. She was trying to repel out the window with bedsheets tied to her as she had seen in a TV movie. She fell, was injured, and later died and her funeral was on December 16th. Her mother is a single parent who also has an eight-year-old son and three-year-old daughter. I cannot imagine what this woman is experiencing. The mom's name is Susan and the little girl's name was Ariel.

The second is a friend of a friend. Her name is Muggs and she is a mother of five who was diagnosed about a month ago with a serious form a lung cancer which affects non-smokers; it is advanced. She survived Hodgkin's when she was a teenager. Because of the cancer experience she had years ago, they told her they cannot do radiation and they can't operate. She has begun chemo and she will have six treatments every three weeks, but they don't recommend additional chemo. Her family started a blog here where they post updates about her condition.

The third is Kelli, a wife and mother of two who is suffering from severe kidney failure in her one remaining kidney. Her need for a kidney transplant is seriously a life-or-death situation. Here is a summary which BooMama posted:

Kelli quit work several months ago because, honestly, work was no longer viable with her condition. Her family has their health insurance through her former employer, and that will run out at the end of this month. What I’d love for us to be able to do for her is to cover a portion of her COBRA payments so that she can be free from the worry of being cut off by her private insurance. We all know that sometimes when it rains, it pours - and on top of the COBRA pressure, Kelli’s facing some incredibly expensive post-transplant medicines, the adjustment to being a single-income family, and, more than anything, the realization that if COBRA doesn’t come through - and if she and her husband can’t show the ability to pay for part of the transplant on their own - she’ll no longer be a transplant candidate. Without a transplant, quite frankly, she will die.

Please visit BooMama on Tuesday to take part in the fund raiser she's organizing. I explained her situation to the kids on the way to church and they want to contribute, which touches me more than you can imagine. I'm always telling them not to throw away their money on gum and candy, so this is an opportunity for them to see that there are ways they can do good with it, no matter how little it may seem.

Please take a moment to pray for these three ladies and their families, and may the Lord bless you this week.

Life Imitates Art, or vice versa, part 2

2007-01-11T23:36:00.000-05:00

I posted this earlier, then looked later and blogger had eaten the pictures. If they are missing when you read this, I'll go back and fix it later!

I think maybe this is a sequel to this post, but in reverse.

Lily and I reenacted one of her favorite rituals yesterday: she empties her clothes out of the bottom drawer of my wardrobe, and I catch her then fold and put them away. While folding one particular outfit, the one she is pictured in below, I saw an amazing thing:

Do you see it?

Here, look a little closer (click to enlarge):

It's my template, right down to the snowflake! Was I subliminally inspired by this outfit? Beats the heck out of me!

In this shot you can see why her eyes and nose are red in the first two pictures: I had taken her little flashlight to get a shot of the shirt, but I couldn't bear her tears.

Basic Truths About 24's Jack Bauer

2007-01-11T21:45:00.000-05:00

As an avid 24 fan, I'm awaiting Sunday night's season premiere with much anticipation. FiddleDeeDee posted this hysterical list of Jack Bauer trivia (and yes, every word of it is true). Neal Boortz is the author (and like FiddleDeeDee, I had to edit the list a bit for publication). Enjoy!

Basic Truths About 24's Jack Bauer

Killing Jack Bauer doesn't make him dead. It just makes him angry.

If Jack Bauer was in a room with Hitler, Stalin, and Nina Meyers, and he had a gun with 2 bullets, he'd shoot Nina twice.

If you wake up in the morning, it's because Jack Bauer spared your life.

Superman wears Jack Bauer pajamas.

If it tastes like chicken, looks like chicken, and feels like chicken, but Jack Bauer says its beef. Then you better believe it's beef.

Jack Bauer once forgot where he put his keys. He then spent the next half-hour torturing himself until he gave up the location of the keys.

1.6 billion Chinese are angry with Jack Bauer. Sounds like a fair fight.

Let's get one thing straight: the only reason you are conscious right now is because Jack Bauer does not feel like carrying you.

Jack Bauer was never addicted to heroin. Heroin was addicted to Jack Bauer.

Jack Bauer played Russian Roulette with a fully loaded gun and won.

When life gave Jack Bauer lemons, he used them to kill terrorists. Jack Bauer hates lemonade.

Jack Bauer once won a game of Connect 4 in 3 moves.

Osama bin Laden's recent proposal for truce is a direct result of him finding out that Jack Bauer is, in fact, still alive.

Jack Bauer is the leading cause of death in Middle Eastern men.

Jack Bauer doesn't miss. If he didn't hit you it's because he was shooting at another terrorist twelve miles away.

When Jack Bauer was a child, he made his mother finish his vegetables.

Jack Bauer killed 93 people in just 4 days time. Wait, that is a real fact.

Simon Says should be renamed to Jack Bauer Says because if Jack Bauer says something then you better do it.

Jack Bauer won the Tour de France on a unicycle to prove to Lance Armstrong it wasn't a big deal. He thinks yellow wristbands are gay.

When Jack Bauer pees into the wind, the wind changes direction.

Jack Bauer's favorite color is severe terror alert red. His second favorite color is violet, but just because it sounds like violent.

When you open a can of whoop-a**, Jack Bauer jumps out.

When Google can't find something, it asks Jack Bauer for help.

You can lead a horse to water. Jack Bauer can make him drink.

Jack Bauer can get McDonald's breakfast after 10:30.

When the boogie man goes to sleep, he checks his closet for Jack Bauer.

Every mathematical inequality officially ends with "< Jack Bauer."

In 96 hours, Jack Bauer has killed 93 people and saved the world 4 times. What the heck have you done with your life?

Jack Bauer killed so many terrorists that at one point, the #5 CIA Most Wanted fugitive was an 18-year-old teenager in Malaysia who downloaded the movie Dodgeball.

In kindergarten, Jack Bauer killed a terrorist for Show and Tell.

What color is Jack Bauer's blood? Trick question. Jack Bauer does not bleed.

Guns don't kill people, Jack Bauer kills people.

If Jack and MacGyver were locked in a room together, Jack would make a bomb out of MacGyver and get out.

People with amnesia still remember Jack Bauer.

Sun Tzu once wrote, "If your enemy is weaker, conquer him. If he is stronger, join him. If he is Jack Bauer, you're dead."

Jack Bauer literally died for his country, and lived to tell about it.

Jack Bauer has been to Mars. That's why there's no life on Mars.

Superman's only weakness is Kryptonite. Jack Bauer laughs at Superman for having a weakness.

When Batman is in trouble, he turns on the Jack Bauer signal.

It took Jack Bauer two minutes to beat a confession out of OJ.

Jack Bauer was conceived by torturing the other sperm until they gave up the location of the egg.

Jack Bauer's family threw him a surprise birthday party when he was a child. Once.

A Worthy Cause

2007-01-10T15:15:00.000-05:00

Visit BooMama's post about Kelli's need for a kidney transplant and what fellow bloggers are doing to support her next Tuesday, January 16.

Works-for-Me Wednesday: Hot Air Styler and Dryer

2007-01-10T12:50:00.000-05:00

Can you say, doesn't follow directions well? Since I obviously missed the theme of today's WFMW, I was going to shelve it until next week, but I don't see the option to delete it from Shannon's linky, so here it is...

First of all, I am really excited that Wednesday has rolled around and I actually remember my WFMW idea (from two weekends ago - I couldn't remember what it was last Wednesday). The Revlon hot air styler and dryer pictured is one of the greatest inventions I have ever tried for fixing your hair. The girl who cuts my hair uses one, and told me I could pick one up at Target, which I did immediately, although mine is silver instead of this funky purple.

For years I used a hair dryer and a round brush to fix my hair. This is like a round brush with a built-in dryer and two barrel sizes. There is one thing I need to tell you though, or you will not like it: Do not think of this as a hair dryer, but instead as the ultimate round brush. Get your hair almost completely dry (or even completely dry) before you use it. If you use it on wet hair it will take forever.

It takes a little getting used to, but then it makes fixing your hair a snap!

Visit Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer for more WFMW tips!

OH.MY.WORD!

2007-01-09T23:07:00.000-05:00

Update: All of the bloglines errors are gone today! I think Milehimama was probably right (in comments) about it being caused by blogger maintenance. I was gone all day and didn't realize there was maintenance yesterday. I'm leaving this up in case it helps anyone in the future with a site feed error. They seem to happen all the time.

Dear friends,

I went to check my bloglines tonight and found that not one, not two, not three, but EIGHTEEN of the fifty-one blogs I subscribe to are showing feed errors through Bloglines. I posted about this in November when it happened to me. Usually, if I see one of my friendly bloggers with a feed error I email them and tell them about it. Since emailing eighteen of you seems a little labor intensive at the moment, I'm hoping this will help. Just email them and ask them to reset your feed.

Blessed blogging!

p.s. - To find out if you have a site feed error, subscribe to your own blog, and look for a red [!] by your name, both on the list to the left and in the upper right corner next to "edit subscription" when you click on your individual listing. A site feed error means that bloglines will not show subscribers that you have posted anything new (even if you have). Hopefully this is a freaky bloglines thing and will resolve itself.

Resolved

2007-01-08T21:35:00.000-05:00

I know the word resolution gets overused at this time of year and even holds a somewhat negative connotation for many: decisions made with good intentions, abandoned too soon, subsequently leading to disappointment. I, however, love this time of year and the fact that even acting on those worthy impulses for a limited time shows me what we are capable of doing, with a little resolve.

I have done my workout video for 12 days. [I'm supposed to "feel a difference after 10 days and see a difference after 20."] I did it for 5 days after Thanksgiving, but didn't really keep up with it after we got back into school. I am NOT a morning person - no sirree! - but I got myself up early this morning, did my workout, read my Bible and my Intellectual Devotional (in that order), and ate breakfast, all before the kids got out of bed, AND I was in full make-up 35 minutes before our official school start time of 9:00 a.m. [I told you I wasn't a morning person; with an earlier start time we would have been doomed to failure years ago.] And did I mention that I even squeezed in a quick post, too?

Our schooling went well today. I watched math videos with four different kids; had a good Russian lesson with one; finished a book about Nathan Hale with another; discussed Eratosthenes with another; and even had a fabulous and funny read-aloud session from the Book of Virtues on the couch.

To top it all off, I made the Party Potato Skins that Barb posted this weekend for supper, and they were everything that I'd imagined and then some.

Any mix of these things on an ordinary day would be amazing, but altogether on one day they are nothing short of extraordinary.

Yes, this first day of school in 2007 may be an anomaly, but it shows me what can be done and gives me a little hope for what we can accomplish in any given day, with a little resolve and a whole lot of grace.

Blessings to you and yours!

Feeling Good

2007-01-08T08:52:00.000-05:00

Psyching myself up for back to school (this has been going through my mind all morning)...

Feeling Good

Birds flying high
You know how I feel
Sun in the sky
You know how I feel
Reeds driftin' on by
You know how I feel

It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life
For me
And I'm feeling good

Fish in the sea
You know how I feel
River running free
You know how I feel
Blossom in the tree
You know how I feel

It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life
For me
And I'm feeling good

Dragonfly out in the sun you know what I mean, don't you know
Butterflies all havin' fun you know what I mean
Sleep in peace when the day is done
And this old world is a new world
And a bold world
For me

Stars when you shine
You know how I feel
Scent of the pine
You know how I feel
Yeah freedom is mine
And I know how I feel

It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life
For me

And I'm feeling good

You like?

2007-01-06T01:55:00.000-05:00

I've been anticipating making over the blog since before the holidays. My husband saw what I was doing and said, "But there are still snowflakes!"

That's a good excuse to do it again in the spring.

Ouch!

2007-01-04T01:04:00.000-05:00

When we gave our 15-year-old a new chess set for Christmas, he told me that I'd have to learn to play. Tonight we had our first lesson. I felt much less apprehensive once I decided that I didn't have to actually master the game in one night, just get a feel for it.

By the end, I decided my goal for the evening was merely learning how each piece moves; I spent the whole time looking at the instruction booklet which diagrammed it. My son was very patient; it took me forever. I told him the story of Barb cooking up tons of Christmas goodies because her mom took 15-20 minutes per turn at Scrabble, so he pulled out our awesome new hardback complete works of Lewis Carroll (leatherbound at BJ's now for $14.99!) and started reading Alice in Wonderland during my turns.

My boys have played chess for years, so he's quite the pro while I'm quite the amateur. [Remember, I told you mothers of young ones that one day your children will arise up and whip your rear at Monopoly? Well that goes for chess, too.] At one point he he just shook his head and said, "It's really hard to develop a strategy against someone who has no strategy."

Ouch.

Bow Madness!

2007-01-04T00:40:00.000-05:00

I am so excited that my Picasa has decided to work with blogger beta now!

I wanted to share this crazy picture of my Sabra and her friend, Rachel. Rachel and her brother spent the night last night with my kids. The girls were having fun today looking through the two big boxes of bows that I have here to photograph for my friend's bow website. Rachel styled this fabulous bow hairstyle creation for Sabra! Aren't those bows gorgeous (and the girls, too!)?

New Year's Meditations

2007-01-03T00:34:00.000-05:00

I have been thinking a lot about this since reading that Laurel Wreath was organizing New Year's Meditations. Some of mine probably sound familiar to many of you: I want to lose about 8 pounds; I need to read my Bible more (and towards that end, I just ordered this after reading about it on my cousin's blog); I need to exercise (I've actually done a workout video for 6 of the last 7 days, which is amazing for me).

Laurel Wreath asked, "When you look back December 2007 where would you like to be?" so that's what I'll try to answer now:

A lot of what's on my heart concerns my family and my personal goals. I have written about the reading and hours that I've been putting into learning programs for web design. Some days are rewarding. Some days I am so frustrated or overwhelmed that I just want to walk away and never look at this computer again. I want this learning part of the journey to pass quickly. I don't want my family to think I'm neglecting them or don't have enough time for my domestic duties. Mostly, I want to help my family financially and take some stress off of my husband. He's diabetic, and I worry about his health. A lot.

Also, I hope to make progress towards certification as a childbirth educator and labor doula. I just ordered this book, which is on my required reading list. I am quite blessed to have three friends whose births I can attend in April and May; however, I am really nervous about one of them. Two of them are experienced mothers. I think Crew Mom's biggest fear is that I might try to talk her out of her epidural (just kidding, honey!). One, however, is a friend who is expecting her first child at age 41. I am absolutely thrilled for her: she and her husband have adopted 5 children in their 18 years of marriage and now she's pregnant for the first time. She is reading and studying the process just like I did with my first pregnancy, and she wants that amazing unmedicated birth. I am praying the Lord will grant her a safe delivery and that her birth will be all that she desires, and that I'll know how to help and support her to achieve that end. Also, I pray that she'll have medical staff (please, give us a midwife!) who are receptive to her wishes and treat her like an individual, instead of plugging her into the standardized childbirth model common in hospitals today.

I have the concern common to most homeschooling mothers: are we accomplishing what we need to accomplish? This year I want my children to become better and more prolific readers, and my 15-year-old and I to make serious progress in his learning of Russian.

It's hard to believe that Lily turned 18-months the week before Christmas. I have had little ones and babies for so long, but I know that won't always be the case. Every step for her has been difficult for me: moving out of our room, weaning, etc. I really want to savor the moments with my little ones. At the same time, my oldest son at home only has 2 1/2 years of high school left, and I've seen once before how quickly that time can pass. I pray for guidance in equipping him for life beyond the nest.

I am hungry for time to just sit and read again, which is evidenced to me by the fact that I've gotten five new books in the past two weeks. I want my 2007 reading list to branch beyond web design.

I've been quite blessed in my decision to start this blog in May. I never imagined the friendships I would forge with ladies I've never met, or the strengthened bonds with friends and family who blog, too. Thanks to all of you ladies who've encouraged and inspired me in 2006. I look forward to deepening those friendships in the upcoming year, and I hope to use the opportunity to bless others when it's presented to me.

If you would like to participate or read other posts, go here to the post on Laurel Wreath's site.

Oh, My Darling Clementine!

2007-01-02T14:03:00.000-05:00

Oh, my darling clementine!
You make my children's faces shine.

You dispel the winter gloom
And fill the air with sweet perfume.

The trick is how to pay
For the crate that we would eat each day.

(more about our favorite winter treat)

Christmas!

2007-01-01T16:03:00.000-05:00

I am very focused right now on my friend's hairbow website, so I'm a full week behind on blogging and checking my bloglines, but I wanted to post some photos from Christmas:

All of the kids opened new pajamas on Christmas Eve, so they're all wearing their new jammies in the pictures. In a tradition dating from my days as a child, everybody has Life Savers Sweet Storybooks in their stockings, although Santa brings our kids the Gummy Savers kind (since they're not as messy); he's kind of considerate that way. I think these girls were swallowing them by the handfuls!

This is a hugely popular item: a dollhouse/bookcase. Can you tell that it had already been decorated for Christmas?

My family has always loved Cabbage Patch Dolls. My 94-year-old great-aunt used to stand in line to get them when they first came out in the early 80s. I took the kids to tour Babyland General last year in December. I had a request last week to please go again soon.

This is my 15-year-old son. Doesn't he look half asleep (he is)? This is a really neat chess, checkers, backgammon set. I was just happy that he wanted a chess set for Christmas. All of my boys play, but I'm embarrassed to say that I never learned how. I just assume it will take a lot of time, so I never get around to it. I've been told that I have to learn, though.

We played a big game of Monopoly with this new set on Christmas night. For those of you with only younger kids, be prepared that one day your children will arise up and whip your rear at Monopoly (just a little something to look forward to).

Modesty Doesn't Become Him

2006-12-23T21:11:00.000-05:00

I was in our bedroom last night, surrounded by wrapping paper, tape, scissors, and yarn, listening to my old albums on that fabulous new record player my daddy gave me for Christmas. The album de jour was the J. Geils Band Freeze Frame. [For the record (pun intended), if this album was not an important part of your 80s experience, then you simply didn't inhabit the same 80s that I did.] I flipped to side 2, which started with "Flamethrower," and I immediately remembered performing a drill team routine to it in the 11th grade. If you were a member of a drill team or cheerleading squad, you have probably experienced the phenomenon which happened to me: although that was over half my lifetime ago, I remembered some of the basic moves of the routine, and began performing them in a manner which would have caused much pain to my former drill team sponsor.

At this point, Hubby Dearest comments, "I remember watching you performing to this song at a basketball game. Didn't I tell you about that?" [We attended rival high schools and didn't meet until May of my senior year. The performance in question would have occurred during the winter of my junior year.]

"Yes, but I thought you must have been mistaken."

"You were on the left hand side, right?"

"My left or your left?"

"Mine."

After a little more discussion, I realized that as amazing as it sounded, he had in fact been watching me. One of his best friends had been with him and had been watching another one of the girls, whom he remembered by name.

"Except he didn't marry her," he said.

And then with a look of what can only be described as smug male pride, nodded and said, "I guess we know who the better man was," and managed to make me feel like he still thinks I'm a catch.

Fall Into Reading: Wrap-Up

2006-12-22T11:48:00.000-05:00

Okay, I confess that I posted about Katrina's Fall Into Reading Challenge, but never posted an actual challenge for myself. Basically, my reading goals for the fall didn't sound too fun, interesting, inspiring, or like books anyone would want to take note of for their reading lists (like everyone else's). What I did read, however was exactly what I set out to (although maybe not as quickly as I'd intended). This is a period of my life where rather than a serious reader, I need to be a serious reader (clear as mud, huh?). Here is it:

Macromedia Dreamweaver 8: Training from the Source
I am working on a website for a friend who makes beautiful girls' hairbows, and this is the tool I need to make it happen. It took me forever to complete (lots of kids are fabulous, but not conducive to this kind of reading); sort of like taking a college course in the privacy of my home. It felt like I was chiseling new tunnels in my brain, only slightly less painful.

Adobe Photoshop CS2 Classroom in a Book
This is my current read; I have completed 7 out of 13 chapters. This is my tool for a lovely homepage for that bow site. I learned firsthand that you will not be the life of the party if you talk Photoshop. I was told that my friends' comments meant: "Please change topics - we have nothing to contribute to this discussion." What it sounded like is: "You have become so boring!"

These are books that you read with book in one hand, mouse in the other, while working on elaborate web and design projects. Maybe I can turn this post into an inspiration after all: don't be afraid to seek the information and learn what you need to know to do the things you want to do. You may not have to time or money to go back to school, but there's a lot you can do on your own. I'm hoping to have a lovely, functional site to show for my fall reading efforts!

Go to Katrina's Finish Line post to read about what others have been reading this fall.

Works-for-Me Wednesday: Popcorn and Cereal Night!

2006-12-20T15:30:00.000-05:00

Cooking supper every night for nine people gets a little overwhelming at times. Since we always have a big lunch on Sunday and I'm exhausted by the end of the day, we have declared Sunday evenings to be "Popcorn and Cereal Night." I don't have to cook, and the kids think it's the greatest thing ever!

Go visit Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer for more Works-for-Me Wednesday ideas!

First Corinthians 13: Christmas Version

2006-12-20T14:39:00.000-05:00

If I decorate my house perfectly with plaid bows,
strands of twinkling lights and shiny balls,
but do not show love to my family,
I'm just another decorator.

If I slave away in the kitchen,
baking dozens of Christmas cookies,
preparing gourmet meals and arranging
a beautifully adorned table at mealtime:
I'm just another cook.

If I work at a soup kitchen,
carol in the nursing home,
and give all that I have to charity;
but do not show love to my family,
it profits me nothing.

If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels
and crocheted snowflakes,
attend a myriad of holiday parties
and sing in the choir's cantata
but do not focus on Christ,
I have missed the point.

Love stops the cooking to hug the child.
Love sets aside the decorating to kiss the spouse.
Love is kind, though harried and tired.
Love does not envy another's home
that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens.

Love does not yell at the kids to get out of the way,
but is thankful they are there to be in the way.
Love does not give only to those who are able
to give in return; but rejoices in giving
to those who cannot.

Love bears all things,
believes all things,
hopes all things, and endures all things.
Love never fails.

Video games will break,
pearl necklaces will be lost,
golf clubs will rust,
but giving the gift of love will endure.

--Sharon Jaynes

The Birthday Tea, Part 2

2006-12-19T15:05:00.000-05:00

Here is the follow-up to Part 1.

One of the first things we did was decorate cookies. We used sugar cookies and gingerbread men, and decorated them with icing, sprinkles, and colored sugar. It was messy but fun!

All of the little girls had such a good time at the tea! You could tell they felt very grown up with their cups and saucers, eating their little finger sandwiches - so sweet! Some dressed up, but brought play clothes, too.

Look at this cute little "tea for one" set: it has the cup on bottom and the teapot on top.

We put ten candles in the cake, and after they were blown out we put in seven and did it again!

After the eating, cake, and presents, everyone went outside to play in the beautiful 70 degree weather. Who could have guessed we would have that for our December party? We have a large Little Tykes playset beside the house, which we were amazed to see in the front yard. Apparently it took four little girls to push it around the house. [I need to go move it before the homeowners' association Nazis drive through the neighborhood this week. Apparently children playing happily on play equipment in their front yards is detrimental to property values - at least in our neighborhood. {meow} ]

I was greatly assisted by the other moms; I expected no less from such a fine group of friends. I think the party was a big success. The most important thing to me was not disappointing my girls, and they had a wonderful time. Thanks for sharing this big event with us!