It's all good

My van is fixed and is parks like sweet dream.
It took an extra day since transmission cables aren't an "in Stock" item. So we rented a van for cheap and went along on our merry little ways.
Today I picked up the blue whale. I'm now $250 poorer (including the cost of the rental) and my blue baby is parked in the driveway.
Oh yeah.

I did discover that I hate the new stow and go seat on the Chrysler T&C. Blech! Skinny, dinky, cheapy looking seats. When to old blue bus bites the big one and goes off to the great junk yard...down on Gordon Highway, I think I'll have to get a Honda Odyssey or something.

We had art today. The boys painted. The mamma's talked. It was all good.
Then the sky opened up and everybody freaked. Thankfully, it was one of those typical GA monsoons that flares up then high tails it away leaving a path of sogginess and humidity to rival the finest sauna.

We had sandwiches for dinner and I'm currently overhauling our homeschool support group's web page. It's a total re-do.
I'm a self taught MS Publisher chick and the self taught part is tough. Let's just say I make things harder than they should be.
I'm getting better though.

My van won't park and other small potatoes

That's right. It won't park. It'll do every other gear and sometimes I can get into park but I can't count on it. There's something wrong with the actual gear shifty thingy. That stick thing on the steering column. I don't think it's a transmission problem because it parks quite well when it does go into park.
By the way, I have discovered that "park" is a very important gear. I just didn't realize just how useful it was. So while I can still go places. I can't stay long.

So tomorrow, I will haul all the boys to my mom's while I hang out at the Chrysler place and work on cub scout plans while waiting for my van to regain its parking ability. I can't wait to explain that problem to the car-fix guys. No run of the mill basic auto problems for me. No sir-ree. I always have to go straight for the freaky deaky.
Those of you in the know should have a big clue as to why my van is no longer behaving itself. Yep...my hubby left for a series of trips today. He's on his way to Germany right now. Then next week is another trip and the week after that is yet another trip. Fate knows when these trips are planned and she pulls out her big problems just for the drama.

Oddly, I'm not even the least bit concerned about the traveling nor the van problems.
My issues are small potatoes compared to the people in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.
And I know one mom who would give everything she had just to have every last one of my problems.

She lost her 10 year old son to brain cancer today. A cancer he fought for half his short and precious life. She wrote: "Today at 3:21 pm C's journey here on earth ended as Jesus met him and took his broken body and healed it forever and carried him to heaven. His passing was peaceful and quick and his suffering has ended. I feel like a part of my soul is missing, but my heart knows he is at peace and that he is better off, even if I am not."

I can understand that emotion of relief and then the guilt of feeling that relief. I felt it when my Daddy finally ended his own great battle. It was almost a joyous feeling of "Oh, thank you God. He's finally stopped suffering." Immediately followed by the selfish pain of loss that feels as though someone has reached in and pulled out your heart.

As hard as it was for me to lose my father, I can't even imagine what I would do if I lost one of my children.
I look at my own son who is almost 10 and the concept is unfathomable.
It sure makes van problems seem insignificant.

So hug your precious gifts and be thankful to God for loaning you these souls to love and cherish. And pray for all those in the path of this storm.

You can come too, too, too

We took the Zoo to the zoo yesterday. Guess which kid isn't mine?
(Mouse over for the answer.)

I have been going to the Riverbanks Zoo since they opened in 1974. In fact a pair of Gibbons on the monkey island have been at the zoo since it opened its doors.
I've been looking at the same monkeys for 30 years. This zoo specializes in breeding endangered and threatened species. It doesn't look like some fancy Zoo but it does far more.
The zoo was a second home for me while I was in college at USC. As a biology major, I had several assignments that required a trip to the zoo and there was always Free Fridays for a little zoo fun for poor college kids.

But Riverbanks is never boring. There is always something new to see. Yesterday's trip held the following treats.

New baby Penguin

His head is too the right and burrowed into the towl. This baby Emporer Penguin is only one week old. He was on display at the bird care center. The day we visited was only his second day on display. He'll be out for another week and then the public won't be able to see him until he is 9 months old and joins the rest of the flock. Emporer Penguins get about 3 feet tall. This little guy was about 5 inches long.

Three Baby Tigers

These Siberian Tiger Cubs are three months old. They just came on display. They are triplets who were born to a second time mom. She was unabel to nurse her first cubs so they were hand fed. She is nursing these on her own so the family gets to stay together.
Their father was an orphaned cub who was found in Russia then hand reared and brought to America. New baby tigers with wild blood.

And finally....
the smiling goat

I don't know anything clever about the goat. I've just never seen a smiling goat before.
He just kept grinning at us. It was kind of wierd.

He's Dr. Doolittle

A is 4. From what I remember about 4 year olds, they are a bit odd at times.

Setting: my dining room where I can hear things going on in 5 different rooms.
A screams in Mock pain, "Yaaaaaaaaaaah"
"Mom, mom...Max tried to bite my bum."
Your bum?
"No...my fffffffuuum. See?"
Shows the me the thumb
He'd tried to bite your thumb?
"No. But he said Meooooooow. And that means, 'I'm going to bite your thumb'."


Then he tracks down poor Max in the kitchen where I hear him saying (the kid, not the cat) "What did you say Max? Are you hungry? Would you like a mouse?"

This is normal four-year-old behavior right? Lie to me if it isn't.

That Target commercial.

The backpack one that is a parody of Sir Mix-alot. I love that commercial. My guys dance their rears off when they hear that song. I have to embarrassedly admit that they knew the tune before the commercial ever aired because I sing that one. No, I don't actually sing *those* lyrics but that is my diaper changing song.
That one and a creative version of a Queen song in which I sing "Stink Bottom Boy."

You gotta stinky butt and I can not lie
Your other brothers can't deny.
When the little guy walks in, stinkin' up the place
and puts that rank thing in your face.


Oh Brothers...Brothers
Does the baby got a stinky butt? (Oh yeah)
Let's change it, change it
Change that stinky butt.

Oh yes, all kind of high brow entertainment here at the Zoo.
To my credit, A's favorite song of all time...even over "Who Let the Dogs Out" and "Itsy Bitsy Spider" is Wagner's "Ride of the Walkyres."

That's has got to give me some credit, right?

I'm sure the "Rod and Staff" publishers never meant for sentence like these.

Today was lesson 8 of Rod and Staff English 4.
J is loving it. Oh my goodness. I have raised a language nerd. He said he liked it better than the Easy Grammar that we used last year.
I thought he would balk at all the writing but instead he has welcomed it.

Today's lesson was on Noun Phrases. J was given a list of Noun Phrases that he had to use as the subject of sentences. I'm sure the sentences he came up with are not at all what the R&S people had in mind.

Miss Marilyn Foster was eaten by a wildebeest

Sister Elizabeth is very ugly and quite mean.

Brother John jumped in a lake.

See the entertainment I get each day. I couldn't make this stuff up.

Reason #43,675 to homeschool

Here's an actual blog post from a 14 year old girl.

ok i was lookin a my frends journals to see how there first week of school
went. but i realized that they hate 1 thing . ....HOMEWORK!!!! i dont blame
them! Ok my Math teacher gives us homework.. we had school ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLL week
she gives us homework on a FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! its like dude? its
friday?so yea. and it takes like 15 min to do so its like if it takes that short
or time then y assign it? she doesnt make sense at all. She talks on and on and
on. and u kno wat i hear? blah blah blah blah BLAH! lol seroiusly its wat i
hear.but i will sit in class and watch her eue brows. wenever she talks 1
eyebrow ALWAYS goes up. seroiusly it does ive watched cuz its sooooo boring in
there. iu think its cuz its 7th hour and im ready to leave. i dunno. but its
rediculous. i dont like ne of my classes from after lunch.

Woo, hoooo....boy am I glad I have boys.

I showed this to my 9 year old son. His comments: She doesn't spell very well. She doesn't capitalize anything. When asked how old he thought the writer was...he answered "five." He added that she must not be paying attention in school. (Obviously. She's to preoccupied with eyebrow watching.)

He was also shocked at the 7th hour comment. 7 HOURS of school. That's beyond his comprehension. If we start by 10 am, we're done by 2:30 and that includes lunch. I guess homegirl would be shocked too.

The rush to not be four

"I'm almost 5."

That's what A told me. The boys who is "almost 5" just turned 4 at the end of June.

"When will I get to sleep on the top of a bunk bed?'

When you are 6, little man. That's the rules. It's even printed on the new bed.

"Oh, but what happens if I get stuck at 4?"

Stuck at four?
I can wish can't I?
How do I explain to a little boy who can't wait to be bigger, that I wish time could just slow down a bit. That I would take a few more hours in the day or a few more weeks in the year.

What I wouldn't give just to stop time for a while so I could enjoy these boys just as they are for just a little longer. To keep them 9, 6, 4, and 2 for just a while. Because I know that all too soon they'll be 29, 26, 24, and 22.
And though I will love those no-so-little men just as much, I'll mourn the loss of my little children. The funny things they say. The way they entertain each other with a couple of rolled up posters. The little boy hugs which are unlike any other gift on the earth.

Stuck at this very moment. Is it terrible to wish for such a thing?

Or course the boys will grow up. They'll become husbands and fathers.
Maybe one day, A will hold his own little four-year-old son who is wistfully wishing to be older. Maybe at that moment he will remember when he was four with the same wish. Maybe he will remember how I looked at him with tears welling up and said,

No, you won't get stuck at 4. You'll grow up and be a big like Daddy one day.

But don't grow up too soon.

And at that moment he will finally understand just how much I love him.

And as a public service announcement

For the people coming to visit to find out how to pronounce tilapia:
It's pronounced
Tuh-lah-pee-uh. Accent on the "la."

For all the folks looking for birthday cakes:
I can post some and my friend Jacqui can critique them. She's seem 'em in real life. I just have to dig out the pictures. I got my ideas from others online so I am happy to share the love.

For the person searching for help on a dishwasher leaking around the door:
Don't buy a new dishwasher form Sears.

For the person whose backspace key stopped working:
I'm sorry I laughed, but I thought that was funny. You haven't had a two year old playing around with your keyboard, have you?

For the people looking for high ankle sprain information:
Mine is still bothering me. It's been almost 4 months and nothing is helping. May yours heal better.

For those other people..you know who you are:
Eeeewwwww gross. You are nasty. Go to church. Confess you sins and get a normal life.
Blech!

to the other Sheila

Your fabric is on it's way. It shouldn't take long to get from OR to Washington State. It would take a lot longer to get here.

There's this other Sheila. Sometimes she buys things online. She has friends who forward funny jokes to her. She has a BIL who mails cute photos of his kids to her. She is in some dancing club and she quilts.

She also doesn't get a lot of her messages because she doesn't know her own email address. Instead, she gives out mine.

So I get the tracking emails with her order information and her address.
I get the funny jokes from her friends.
I get the photos from her BIL.
I also get the reminders of meetings for her dance club and quilting clubs.

It's kind of odd.

I've tried emailing the various groups/people who send out these messages to let them know that the "wrong" Sheila got the news. It hasn't helped. They still email me.

Now, I'm just living vicariously.

So Sheila...I don't know what you ordered. But whatever it is, it'll be there in 3 to 7 days. Have fun with it.

For everybody else, make sure you are giving people your own email address.
Don't give them mine

An odd thing about me.

I've noticed an odd thing about myself. I'm assuming it is a character flaw. It's not a pretty thing, that's for sure.

In any group of people there is usually this one person that everyone** thinks is the greatest, nicest, more knowledgeable, or hardest working person in the whole group.
Everyone just loves this person.

Inevitably, that person annoys me to death.
It's not that I feel threatened. I sure don't. I'm not envious beaus my life is good from where I see. I have no delusions of grandeur and I never expect any recognition, praise, or reward for anything I do. (I do things to get them done. Not to make other people proud of me.) But yet, in every group...real world or online...there is this one beloved person that I just can not understand why this person is so highly revered.

I go through stages of annoyance too.

Stage 1: Who is this person?
Stage 2: ok, everyone else likes her. I should like her too.
Stage 3: I do not like this person, what's wrong with me?
Stage 4: I still don't like this person, what's wrong with everybody else?
Stage 5: Ignore your annoyance and feign a smile when she's a round.
Stage 6: Just ignore her.

Strange.

Then I have to wonder. Does anyone feel this way about me? I am busy in quite a few activities but I like to think that I'm more of a stealth volunteer and not a chick out to run the show. When I offer what measly advice I have, I hope I seem like a mom who has walked that path with some failure and some success and not a big ol' know-it-all who just can't keep her lips shut.

hmmmm......

Of course this has nothing to do with the current drama on the WTM board. I actually wrote this post back in July. It's just popped up again.

This is why I had guy friends in high school. I relate better to men.

**This is an assumed "everyone." Other people may be just as annoyed as I am and do a better job of hiding it.

An almost unbearable weight

The Anchoress writes about the Newsweek's glimpse of President bush with the War families.

And Trying to Grok points out something I haven't thought of.

I'm all for keeping out American noses out of everyone else business but I'm also for finishing a fight that someone else started.
We didn't start this fight but we need to be the ones who end it. If we don't, no one else will. And I say this as the wife of a Reserves officer who has a green light to be called up and deployed.

We need to bring our county back to the point of power where we can grin and say, "If you don't start no trouble, there won't be no trouble."

Why ZooDad does not homeschool

Since ZooDad was home doing pre-trip to Maryland stuff, he watched the rest of the inhabitants while I took M to the Evil Public School for the first day of Speech therapy of the new school year. (By the way the 2 PS girls that was supposed to be there, never showed up. Their teacher forgot to send them. How's that for dedication to children with special needs.)

As I left, J started his math. ZooDad helped him.
When I got home 45 minutes later. J was still doing math and looking very frustrated.

Wouldn't you know it, the day I hand over the reigns is the day a totally new concept was introduced.

The instructions read: Write a subtraction sentence to determine the number for n and find that number
The example problem showed that there were 5 girls and some number (n) of boys on the bus. There were 12 children on the bus. How many were boys?

The example showed that you set up the problem like this:
5 + n = 12.
You could then change this to a subtraction sentence (because we have studied fact families) by writing it as 12 - 5= n and then just do the problem.

So what did ZooDad do?
He taught him to solve for an unknown quantity.

Yep. He told him to subtract 5 from each side to isolate the unknown reduce the answer.
The poor, 9-year-old boy was writing out this for each and every answer. 50 in all.
5 + n = 12
5 + n-5= 12-5
0+n=12-5
n=7

But he didn't know why this worked. He was confused and frustrated. ZooDad could explain the process but not the reason why. Or at least not on a 4th grade level.

So when I got home, I spent about 15 minutes with our balance, and unifex cubes showing how equations had to be equal and that as long as you added or took away an equal amount from both sides, the equation would stay balanced. We practiced finding out the unknown quantity in the balance bucket by comparing it to a known number on the other side and then subtracting them until it balanced.

Then I showed him the shortcut of just converting it to a subtraction sentence. (Which is what the book asked him to do in the first place.)

ZooDad said he thought that it seemed a bit difficult for 4th grade math.

Day 2 comes to a close

Unlike those seriously dedicated homeschoolers, we take of the whole summer. Yep, we just sit around like bumps on a log. As A say "We are the pirates that do nuffin'." (Chuckle...he even sings it that way.)

Yesterday, marked our official First Day of School!
Everything went fine but we never got around to art or history.

Today...we did it all. Yes siree. We just jump right in and hit the ground running. We won't stop until Christmas with a small slow down for Thanksgiving. Then we'll be done by the end of April and can veg out for another solid 3 months.

Here's what everyone did today:

J (age 9 and in 4th grade )

• one lesson in MCP math D including mental math and a multiplication review.
• lesson 2 from Rod and Staff English. I was reluctant to use this program but the boy is loving it. He is such a "do this, do this, do this, then do this" kind of kid that this text just fits him to a tee. I humbly admit that I should have switched to it last year.
• Spelling Workout D, lesson 14. Yesterday we did a pretest and did the worksheets. Today he alphabetized the words and wrote them in cursive. He has decent handwriting. I am impressed.
• One science lesson in Singapore Science. Today's was on reproduction in animals. We had a big discussion about animals that laid one egg at a time versus those that laid many eggs at one time. (For those not in the know...birds: one at a time. Fish, amphibians, reptiles...lots at one time.)
• Story of the world. We are starting over with M. He wasn't that involved when we began this and now he is interested. So here we are at the beginning of the Ancients. We're doing history every darn day. I plan to skip a lot of activities and focus on the extra reading instead. J loves the books and M is thrilled to color a coloring sheet. That way I cover both boys learning styles. I have the CD's from "Hold That Thought" to add to our coloring options.
• Read the first chapter of Where the Red Fern Grows , discussed it and the vocabulary and wrote a summary of the chapter. I got these guides from Garlic Press. They are wonderful beyond my humble means of description.
• Handwriting Without Tears Cursive: letter e in the 4th grade book.
• Latin: Reviewing chapter 1 in Latina Christiana I before moving on. We both need to relearn stuff.
• Geography from the Evan-Moore book Daily Geography this covers all that silly Social studies stuff on the ITBS test but without the silliness.
• Read for about 45 minutes from his Fun Reading book. He's currently reading The Capture from the Guardians from Ga'Hoole series.

M (age 6, in grade 1 but doing mostly 2nd grade )

• one lesson from MCP math B and four exra word problems.
• a lesson from Houghlin Mifflin English 2. We'll switch to Rod and Staff next year. M does well with a lot of planned activities.
• He did the two activity pages from Spelling Workout B. This is his first year for spelling. He's not sure if he likes it.
• one lesson from Singapore science. Today was grouping objects by characteristics.
• SOTW with older brother J
• Reading: the first Tommy book from Learning Page. I don't know if I like this series or not. I appreciate the worksheets but some are much harder than the reading level.
• HWT letter w and some fine motor practice skills: mazes, tracing scribbles, and pushing a magnet on a dry erase board to build up his hand strength. M has fine motor issues and a weak upper body.
• 2 lessons in MCP Plaid Phonics B. M is loving this one for sure. I'm glad I got it instead of Explode the Code.
• A lesson from Evan Moore Weekly Geography.
• 30 wall push-ups with Baby S shadowing him.
• Speech practice. r-controlled vowels
• 30 minutes reading and A to Z mystery

A ( age 4, Pre-K with developmental delays and apraxia of speech)

• half a lesson from MCP math K. We take this very slowly.
• one activity from Easy Does It-Apraxia
• speeh practice from therapy
• 2 brushing therapies
• 2 cut and paste activities
• a couple of games of sound Go Fish (Do you have any mmmmmmmmm's?)
• Read Katy No Pocket for Before Five in a Row.

Baby S (age 2 and no where near school ready)

• listened to Katy no Pocket
• drew lots of pictures
• cut paper in little bits
• drove his train all over his brother's books
• gave lots of hugs
• enjoyed a quiet morning TV show with no brothers to complain about the "baby" show
• played with unifex cubes
• broke two crayons

2 days down. 178 more to go.

In which Sheila goes from refilling ink cartridges to "Why I homeschool"

Have you seen that movie Being John Malkovich? If you thought that was odd, you should try being in my head. The ceilings are just as low and my hair is about as crazy.

This morning I was in the shower,thinking.
I noticed my left index finger was stained. Well, that happens every time I refill the ink cartridges on the upstairs printer. I'm too lazy to put the little plastic plug over the bottom opening so I just use my index finger. The ink washes off eventually and I couldn't care less about how my finger looks most days.

My black and purple finger (I had to refill 3 different cartridges.) reminded my that my finger looked the same way during my Organic Chemistry classes while I was in college.

I had to take Organic Chem lab as part of my credits. I would have taken it anyway since I am a big time science nerd.
In lab we had to do a series of reactions to determine an unknown material. This amounted to putting said unknown substance in a test tube, adding reagent, and noting the results. If a particulate formed, you'd have to pour off the liquid and then figure out what the two substances were...the liquid and the particulate.

I loved that stuff. But I was a bit lazy. I was supposed to use a rubber stopper on the test tube. Instead, I would just cover the top with my index finger and give it a quick shake.
This was not a safe practice since more often than not, the additive was some sort of acid. Eventually, my index finger developed a thin, black scab and then my fingerprint sort of peeled off.

No biggie in the grand scheme of things. My finger is fine and I got an A in both organic labs.

But the lack of fingerprint did cause trouble when I started my education practicum.
I was assigned to the C-STOP program at the state youth detainment center. I was thrilled...really. I love a challenge and these kids were challenges.
C-STOP is the Chronic Status Offenders Program. It's a short term (maximum 60 days) kid jail for chronic truants, probation breakers, and runaways. To volunteer to work at the center, I had to be fingerprinted.
When my left index fingerprint didn't show up...the Officer jokingly asked, "What did you do? Burn your fingerprint off with acid. Ha, ha, ha."

Ummmmmmmmm...yes actually. I did.
He gave me that crazy woman walking...watch out look and then seemed to keep a close eye out on me for the rest of the semester.

As a college student, C-STOP didn't bother me that much. These were some bad kids. But as an adult and parent looking back on the experience, I am just horrified.

I can't imagine any child being treated this way for such minor infractions. The children slept on thin mattresses on cinder block tables to elevate them. They had no privacy at all. The toilets had no doors. The shower stalls had no doors. The rooms had a door that stayed locked at night but had a large window to the hall. The lights were on 24 hours a day. They could not wear their own clothes and were not given uniforms. Instead they wore "state clothes" that were given to the state from charitable organizations. These were the clothes that would not sell in the thrift shops. They were out or style, ill-fiting, and humilating for 11 to 15 year old children. The most shocking thing was that there were children who had been there for over a month and their parents had never visited them.

Looking back, I think...Of course these kids acted so terrible. They were taken away from home and put in what I saw to be a worse situation then treated with no dignity at all. Then they got proof of what they had always felt...that their parents really didn't care about them.

Most of the kids I met said that they were dropping out as soon as they could. There was no sense in staying in school when they were so far behind that they could never catch up.

I wonder how they all turned out.

The beautiful, tall, black girl who was all smile even though her Mamma's boyfriend beat her until she felt she had to run away, repeatedly. She would put on her "state clothes" every Friday night and put on a variety show. It was hysterical. She had a light in her that should have mattered to someone.

The pretty, blonde girl who just wanted her mom to tell her that she was special. But since that never happened, she was so desperate for approval and love of any kind that she ran off with various older men, across state lines and ended up pregnant twice by 14.

The angry boy who glared at me each time he saw me. When I gave him an extra fudge round that I brought, he asked me what I wanted in return. I told him, just a smile. He crammed it in his mouth and grinned a chocolate grin. From then on, he would grin at me like a maniac until we both started laughing.

I wanted to do so much for those kids. In the end, all I could do was hang out with them on Saturdays while they waited to see if their parents were going to visit. And then try to cheer them up when they didn't show up.

I wish I knew how society failed them. How could parents care so little about these precious little people? Who let them down and who could help them?

When I started teaching, I wanted to save them all. But there is precious little one person can do in a 180 hours. I did what I could to make them feel intelligent and worthy of respect. But I know I didn't do nearly enough.

A few weeks ago, one of my former students was arrested and charged with home invasion and endangering a child. He was a handsome, smiling, quiet boy in 7th grade when I last saw him.
Now he's facing serious jail time.

I can't save those other children but I can do my best for the 4 lives I know I can change. I will not fail them.


This is why I should refrain from filling ink cartridges. I promise the shower wasn't really that long.

Conversations from our House

Scene: Sheila at the dining room table with the portable printer, printing out lesson plans for the impending "first day of school." ZooDad in the living room watching a movie after all the zoobys have gone to bed.
Sheila Looks up just in time to see a woman in a bikini on the TV screen.

Sheila: "What are you watching? Some scantily clad woman?"

ZooDad: "It's a James Bond movie."

Sheila: "And it is surprising to find an scantily clad woman in a James Bond movie? What are you doing looking at other half naked women?"
This is said in jest.

ZooDad: "This movie was made in 1962. 1962! This woman is as old as my mom now. Ewwww! Feel better now?"


Why yes I do, dear.

Note to self

It's a "new" school year.

Make sure you cover the following items found on the ITBS test. These are apparently holes in the boys' education.

1. Show them how to use a card catalog.
I don't know a library that still has this fine piece of furniture but apparently it is still an important skill. Also, go over the Dewey decimal system so the boys know that they can find a specific book instead of browsing though the stacks. (But what's the fun in that?)

2. Practice alphabetizing.
This must be a more useful skill than I realized. I guess we can practice by alphabetizing spelling words. If we write neatly, we'll call it handwriting practice.

3. Explain what guide words are.
Yes, the boys know how t use a dictionary, but the "terms" surrounding the massive book have been overlooked. I didn't know what they were either.

4. Bite the bullet and use the Rod and Staff grammar.
Worst case, I get a kid who hates diagramming but knows his parts of speech. There are worse things that could happen.

5. Figure out what equality sentences are and find out why my son has so much trouble with them when he aces all the other sections of the silly test. Once you figure them out...make the kid practice a few right before the test.

6. Keep reading.
Apparently, I'm doing that part just right.

7. Do more Latin.
It will help with vocabulary and logic.

8. Stop worrying about "Social Studies." It's too silly to worry about.

Since Dy is about to call out a search party

And Jacqui is sending "How are you doing?" emails.

As requested....
beep. be beep, beep, be beep, beep, beep....
NEWS FROM THE ZOO

The couch is in place. It is lovely and it does not sink when you sit in it. This is a good thing.
The moving guys scratched up my new tile when they took out the old couch. I refuse to let that bother me. It is a small thing to be fixed when we sell this house in the distant future or when some thing really bad happens to another tile.

I have a new dishwasher. The old one from Sears is gone, gone, gone. But they have yet to refund my money. If I have to show up in person...I will extract my pound of flesh from someone. (insert evil glare)

The new dishwasher is a Kitchen Aid and it is from Lowe's. The Lowe's people were fast, friendly and thoroughly satisfying. (Which has some dirty undertones that I'm not going to explore.)
This bad boy washes like a fiend. I'm not even using the Power scrub and my steel pots are too hot to handle. I mean that, I have to let the things cool for a good half hour.
ZooDad opens the dishwasher door periodically and man-speaks..."Stainless steel, baby."
I'm glad to have it. I was getting tired of planning meals around clean up time needed. Plus washing 16 plates, cups, and utensils a day is way more housework than I signed up for. (My heart goes out to the dishwasher-less. I don't know how you do it.)

We had an anniversary. As of the 30th ZooDad and I have been blissfully wed for 11 years. We spent the day installing the dishwasher. That is love! And since the 11th anniversary is steel, it totally works out.

Oh yeah...and I got a laptop for my birthday. It is a posh beast. 1 gig RAM and 100 gig memory. (shock....100 gigs. I remember when ONE gig was huge news.)I have a DVD burner on it. snicker .
It is total overkill for my needs but for ZooDad it is the equivalent of bagging the mighty mammoth and taking it home to the little women. Caveman grunt..."See, I bring you laptop. It good!"
I'm trying to get used to the keyboard and getting all my files transferred over. Of course, I have nothing I need on it. But I can play the Sims while I wait for the boys at therapy.
ZooDad has been informed that it is verboten to back up his laptop on mine. That's how my old computer got full of junk. I had back ups of back ups. This baby is mine and I change the desktop picture daily just to annoy ZooDad. LOL

What else?

MIL is having an upper endoscopy today. She's losing blood somewhere and that may be where. I'm waiting for news since she wouldn't let me take her today. Uncle N took her instead. She had to be there it 8:30. She's an hour and a half from me and the hospital is another hour from her. It wasn't the greatest plan logistically for me to take her but I could have swung it.
ZooDad had his upper endoscopy on Monday and was all kind of fun to be around. He thoroughly enjoys the meds and says the most hysterical things. I threatened to record our conversation for posterity. We're still waiting for results but everything should be fine as frog hair.

We have to buy a new bed. Baby S, who has just turned two, no longer wants to sleep in his crib.
Last night he climbed into his brother's bed. When I lifted him out he started yelling out, "But I a big boy. I a big boy!"
Heartbreaking. I guess it is time for a big boy bed.
I think I will be lost at the thought of not having the crib in the house. I've had a crib around or almost 10 years. He's also showing sign of potty training...but I relish passing that little torch. I've been changing diaper since January, 1994 with no break.

The PS kids started back to school here yesterday. I got my normal, "Am I doing a disservice to my boys?" thoughts. Then I looked up the bus routes and I found that the oldest two would have to board the bus at 7:40 and would get off the bus at 4:20.
The two hours of wasted bus time is half our normal school day.
(scoff)
I think we can use that time a little bit better.


So there you are. All the news that's fit to type.
More later.

Beep,...be, beep, beep...be, beep, beep, beep