Wow, that's a lot of fish.

We took a little trip yesterday to the Georgia Aquarium. I'll write a little more about it later but I wanted to get the pictures posted.
Cow nose sting rays in the touch pond. The also had shovel head sharks in here. The boys were happy to touch the rays but would pull their hands out when the sharks got close.

Here's a small flock of Cow nose rays in the big tank. To give some perspective, the bigger ones are about 2 feet across.

The biggest whale shark. This thing is huge. 25 feet maybe. I shot this from the large window and I just barely got all of him in the frame.

Cool jellyfish shot

Cool shot of the boys looking at the jelly fish. The Medusa's on these were about plate circumference.

Cuttle fish. We watched these changing color for about 15 minutes. This guy is about rabbit size.

Better shot of one of the FOUR whale sharks. Those two big groupers were each about 4 feet long. Those tiny fish were eating size. Guess how those big whale sharks got from Taiwan to Atlanta...UPS of course. No kidding.

Leaf sea dragon. We had a big laugh over the fact that this little creature probably thought he was unseeable. "Ha, ha. I am hidden. You big mammals, you can not see me. I am so well hidden here amongst my sea kelp."

Perspective shot of the big wall. See how big the 'tiny' fish are?

Snow crabs. These things were dog size. The sign said that they could reach car size and live over 100 years. Can you imagine having something big as a car and looking like that crawling up to you underwater. (shudder)

Belugas. There are four females and two males. One of the males, Gasper, is sick and in quarantine.

There's much, much more.
I can't wait to go back. (We'll pack a lunch because the food was way to expensive.)

Plan big...you can always scale down

Penny and I are knitting new socks together. We're having our very own Knitting class on my living room floor. (There is furniture in the room. Penny and I just seem to be floor sitters.)

We have big plans. Very big plans. We are knitting 2 socks on 2 circular needles. And they are toe up socks with a provisional cast on and a short row heel. With some fancy patterning.

All we have is our own general knowledge, our tenacity, some written instructions, a few web site pictures, and total lack of fear.

Fearless knitting.
Don't question whether or not you can do it. Just plan things out the best you can, search out the information you need, and then drive on...full speed ahead. Expect mistakes and make a plan B just in case.Hmmm... also sounds like my plan for homeschooling.

Fearless Learning.
Don't question whether or not you can do it. Just plan things out the best you can, search out the information you need, and then drive on...full speed ahead. Expect mistakes and make a plan B just in case.

I guess I should make this my mission statement. Zoo Full of Boys. Be fearless.

Faith

Faith[feyth] –noun
1.confidence or trust in a person or thing
2.belief that is not based on proof
3.belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion
4.belief in anything, as a code of ethics, standards of merit, etc.
5.a system of religious belief
6.the obligation of loyalty or fidelity to a person, promise, engagement, etc.
7.the observance of this obligation; fidelity to one's promise, oath, allegiance, etc.
8.Christian Theology. the trust in God and in His promises as made through Christ and the Scriptures by which humans are justified or saved.

I am not a religious person but I am a very spiritual person. I'm not the person who leads prayer and I very seldom discuss God or faith at all. But I do have great faith. My faith is defined by two things.

Oddly enough, a college class was the first impetus that defined my faith. I was a biology major who was forced to take elective classes for my degree. I had managed in the previous 3 years to take elective that had some science background or, at the very least, were interesting to me. But now I was forced to take a "philosophy" type class. I chose a course called "Dialogs of Reason and faith" that was taught by a theologian PhD. I can't even remember the man's name but it turned out to be one of my favorite classes and the only one that has served me daily.
He reasoned that there were four types of people: Faith includes reason, Reason includes faith, Reason excludes faith, and Faith excludes reason.

I determined that, even though I was a scientist at heart and mind, as a Christian...my Faith excluded reason. I believe because I believe. He says He has a reason for all things, so I believe it. He says that we shall have everlasting life, so I believe it.
I don't seek out answers.
I don't seek out proof.
I don't pray for things to happen or not.

Where am I going with all this?

A friend knew of our recent diagnosis and sent me a link to a website for support.
From that website:

If you are the parent of a child with autism, you know the agonizing pain of the shock, grief, distress, and even the hopelessness that can grip your soul. If you are a friend or family member of someone with a child with autism, you may well have spent time trying to comfort or bring clarity to a grieving parent. And in the midst of the dark night, one question burns in our spirits: Where is God?

That perplexed me. I have had many questions as a parent. I have grieved for losses real and imagined. But I have never had the question: Where is God?
Never.
Not once.
Why? Because I believe. I don't have faith in God because he has given me a wonderful husband and four blessed children.
I have faith because I faith. I need no proof, no miracles, no answered prayers.

More than once, I have been asked how I can handle homeschooling the 5 boys with my husband off to war. How do I handle the eight hours of scheduled therapy each week with all the extra home therapy? How do I handle the needs of two special needs children and all the extra stuff we do? How do I do it all?
The answer...I don't.

Most times, I just trust that it will work out. That there is a reason for all things, even if I'm never told what that reason is. I pray to be reminded of that when I forget. I pray that those I love will be reminded. And I, most importantly pray to thank God for His gifts.

In the early 90's, I got an impromptu invitation to hear Maya Angelou speak. She was vibrant woman. The poet Laureate spoke of being a woman, about growing up poor and disrespected, and about rising above all the things that you allow to hold you down.
It was an electrifying 90 minutes.
But the part that has stayed with me it this:
Ms. Angelou told a story of her childhood about a summer spent with an aging patriarch. The young Angelou was hot and miserable and let her hostess know about her discontent.
"You know child," the matriarch replied, "there are people all over God's great Earth that won't be rising this morning. They would give all they ever had for just five more minutes of all your troubles."

I'm reminded of that at therapy each week. It's why I seldom complain about my children's needs. I know for a fact that there are many parents who would gladly trade for my troubles.
I see how blessed I am.

Do I have troubles? Yes. Everyone does. God never promised us a life on Earth without trouble. But I can't get lost in those problems. I can't let them be what defines who I am.
Has He blessed me? Yes, every minute but even if He didn't, I would still have faith.

The Soliders fire back

Oddly enough my dear hubby is quite well educated. But he's stuck in Kuwait so that might make the difference. But he's trying to get to Afghanistan.
Nephew and Nephew-in-law are stuck in Iraq, except they chose to go so that might not fit the "stuck" label.

Goodness, what's a war hating politician to do about all these soldiers who don't consider the current war to be the end of the world.

Just in case you need more info on these great guys you can click to get to a link from the New York Post.

The Whole Gang

The Whole Gang
Originally uploaded by ZooMom.

I'm still playing around. This is a flickr feature and not a Beta Blogger one, so get all excited.

Here's the gang that wen out TOT-ing last night. Well, the gang minus one. One other cousin showed up after this picture.

The tiny Darth Vader was a hit with the parents. He even ran into a Jedi who wanted to duel. J's Black-eyed Pea costume was judged as most original. He got a lot of laughs.
Scroll down to the bottom for my flickr stream. It's just random right now. I still have to figure out use this fancy stuff.

I've emerged from the tunnel on the other side.

I'm think I'm unscathed. We'll see.

Expect Halloween photos later on and an overhaul to the place in the next few days. I've also got a homeschool post simmering away.

Oh...the first bad thing about the new move...I had to save a cookie from Google. I hate cookies.

Oooo.......first good thing. The new spell checks and editing on Beta are ROCKIN"!

I'm biting the bullet.

I'm going to switch to Beta Blogger.

If my little world goes crashing down...I'm gogin to be so pissed. If you're in the South East and you hear a mad woman screaming her head off...it just might be me.

Cross your fingers for me.

from the 5 year old

Conversation #1"If you're shy, you should move to Japan.
Do you know what you do in Japan if you want to say hello?"
Puts hands together and bows in Japanese greeting.

"And if you want to say Thank You, you know what you do?"
Puts hands together and bows in Japanese greeting.

"And then if you want to say Goodbye, you just do this."
Puts hands together and bows in Japanese greeting.

So if you don't like to talk to people....go live in Japan.

New socks, New cat.

I've finished a new pair of socks. Check out my knitting blog if you feel the urge to heap praise upon me. (hint, hint)

I finally took pictures of the new cat.
Here's the new girl in the family, Mango

As you can tell, Mango is also a yarn enthusiast. She's partial to Peaches n' Cream cotton. She also an aficionado for legos. Thankfully, both are in great supply here in the Zoo.

Mango will not be thwarted by yarn attempting the escape. All yarn must be hunted down and chewed on. Or at the very least batted about until it poses no threat.

She's a tri-color calico. I love the little tiger stripes she has in her ginger spots. Her tail is entirely orange and black. And lest you get envious and decide to sneak over to the zoo and steal our new littlest member.

If you have a yarn stash, you might want to think twice........

This is the cruel fate of her first ball of yarn today. Poor innocent dishcloth yarn. He had such potential. (I have no idea how she got the yarn wrapped all around the leg like that. She's clever in her torture.)

Been hiding out

The two sick kiddos are feeling a bit better. I still have to chase them both down four times a day to make them use the nebulizer.

We had our follow up appointment with the developmental pediatrician today.
After going over all the information collected and the in office testing, the doctor confirmed what I have known for a few years now.

I have two little boys who just aren't wired for this world.
Oh, they are bright, highly intelligent. On par in all cognitive and academic areas. Gifted in language and spatial reasoning. Highly inquisitive but also well below average in motor skills and articulation.

And diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome.



As much as I expected it, it still seems like I'm standing at ground zero in Hiroshima.

Even from Kuwait, ZooDad is my rock. "Sounds a lot like me when you describe it and I managed to have a career, land you for a wife, and have a family. I think the boys will be just fine."

Happy with a job and a family and having faith in God is all I've ever wanted for all my boys.

Hee, hee, hee, hee

That's our Lord giggling at me for complaining. "You want to complain little girl? If you're in the mood for complaining, I can hand you a little more to make it worthwhile."

2 kids, six prescriptions, and a nebulizer later and I have learned my lesson.
I am thankful that one of the children will sit peacefully and breathe in the vapor. I am thankful that I am stronger than the one that won't sit peacefully. I am also thankfully the treatments only take about 15 minutes.
I am thankful that there are antibiotics to treat infections. I am even more thankful that they only have to be given once a day.

I am thankful for health insurance.

I am thankful that the kids can be treated at home.

I am also thankful for a sweet husband who with no prompting at all sends me an email asking, "Would you like something like this for Christmas?"

Are you kidding? Oh heck yes, I would!

Bad Aunt? Bad Mom?

Does burning a copy of my Violent Femmes CD's for soon-to-be 14 year-old great-niece make me a very bad Aunt? Even if I have her mother's permission?

Does including some great Blue grass and some Johnny Cash negate my bad influence?

Also, say a hypothetical mom threw away her 10 year-old son's Kid's Bop 10 CD and replaced it with most of the same songs but sung by the actual artists instead of off-key children and added some other profanity free songs...would that also be bad?

A bad day

Most days, I'm ok.
I can handle it all.
I can handle the house, and the four kids (two of which are sick), and the homeschooling, and the scheduling, and the therapy, and the deployment of my other half.

Today was not one of those days.

Nothing put me over the edge except maybe my own loneliness. I have plenty to do...too much even, but I'm bored. Nothing is particularly bad, but I feel as though my heart is breaking. I have no motivation and if I didn't have 4 kids to take care of, I would curl back into bed and sleep the whole day away.

I miss just being with my husband. I miss watching our favorite shows together. I miss talking to him. I miss his encouragement. I miss not having to worry about him every moment. I miss having his help with all the day to day stuff.
I miss his voice. I miss his face.
I know it's cliche, but this man is really my other half. He really is my best friend.
How do I cope with my husband being gone, when my best friend is gone too?

And I can't even tell him just how much I miss him and how vulnerable I feel right now.
He really doesn't need something else to worry about.

I'm hoping that I have a better grip tomorrow.
So if you happen to be Kuwait and you run into this guy...don't tell him how sad I am. He's got enough going on.

Ladies' Man

Don't let that shy little smile fool you. This boy is apparently quite a charmer.
ZooDad and I aren't quite sure why.
I know he's precious. I know he's a sweetheart. This one is my little romantic and thoughtful one. He's the one who draws cards for me when I'm sick. He's the one who suggests that the men-folks pick up flowers when they are out. He has particular ideas about how his future wife will be treated. (She'll get flowers every week and she won't have to paint the house.)
And he likes girls. He enjoys playing around them and he never balks at being paired with a girl at sports.

But he's all boy though. He would take a 6 foot detour rather than risk touching a doll. He would die if he was forced to wear something pink. He's becoming a great military strategist and has no qualms about war or violence when needed.

But the girls flock to him. He can be sitting there, minding his own business and playing his gameboy...totally absorbed in Pokemon or Mario...and a girl will come up and sit beside him and start talking.
ZooDad and I have witnessed this several times. And we are just baffled.

What makes this boys such a girl-magnet. They seek him out at practices and games. They make plans to meet up with him the next time we are at the park. They even make cards and drawings for him.

He got this one yesterday.
Notice all the hand holding. I'm sure this is wishful thinking on the girl's part since M is not yet into actually touching girls. Play with...yes. Talk to... yes. Do little sweet things for...yes. Physically touch...not if he can help it.

I don't know if the Mom knows about the little girl's drawing. I'll show her next week. If she's like the other moms, she be mortified. Although I did warn her that M is quite the unwitting Casanova.

M of course just takes it all in stride. He smiled and thanked his little friend. Then, as we got in van he piped, "I'll have to make her a card before next week. Do you think she'd like horse stickers?"

He's know how to treat a lady. Show her some attention, make her a card, don't speak harshly to her, and be happy to see her.

Maybe they know that and that's why they flock to him.
And he's just turned eight. What are we going to do when he turns 16?

In which the girl is supposed to be all funny

I've got nothing.
Sorry.

Hold on...yes I do. We were talking about pet names today when we picked up our new kitten. DS age 10 said "The neighbors cat is named Pooh...with a 'H'. Not like the other Poo."
The other 2 moms didn't laugh but I sure though that was funny.

New cat. Her name is Mango. And though I know it's wrong of me, but I just can't help thinking of Chris Kattan, "NO! You can't have-a da Mango!"
Her full name is Mango Smoothie. Can you tell that we are Sonic Devotees?
She's got a vet check on Friday. Until then, she's quarantined from Max the mega cat.

That's all I've got. I'll try again later. I'm going to knit a while and then check on the Mango.

I didn't even need to take this quiz

My friend, who doesn't even knit but will have to learn to so she can some hang out at the Homeschool Mom SNB, had this quiz on her blog.

As soon as I saw the title, "What kind of knitting needles are you?" I knew immediately. I'm those cheap metal needles, preferably double-pointed with the paint rubbed off at the ends from constant use. You know the ones that you have 4 of one color and a 5th one from some other set so you can knit socks. Resilient, durable, nothing to show your neighbor but they get the job done.


You are pink aluminum.Retro, straightforward and fun, you love classic things. If they're 99 cents at Goodwill all the better! You are moved by striking colors and tasty morsels, and you like a stitch-n-bitch session in the sun. Just remember, while you're being kitschy cool, don't get too cold. Ice cubes are best kept in your cocktails, baby!
Take this quiz!


I love metal needles. You don't want to use them outside in 40 degree weather but you never have to worry about breaking them. Plus you can poke your hubby with them if you get bored.

BTW, I have new kntting over in the other zoo. More socks, as usual.

Go, go, go shorty

It's your birthday
We gon' party like it's your birthday.

My second boy has hit eight. Wow....eight. The party was today and the rains held out so all the kids could hang outside. It was chaos but fun chaos. All the kids had fun and that is my definition of a good party.


Cake was a hit.
Food was plentiful.
Folks had fun.
Kids ran amuck.
Presents were appreciated.
Thanks were given.
Friends and family were treasured more than cake and gifts.

I'm winning the kid over.

This year I am "tutoring" my great nephew. He's been in PS for 6 years and didn't have a very successful year last year. His parents asked me to homeschool him this year to try to make up the gap in his education.

It's taken a few months, but he's getting it. Rod and Staff English seems totally logical to him. Of course "there" and "not" are adverbs. History is something that is fascinating and exciting. (Thanks to Story of the World.) Tests should be A's only. Spelling lists should be mastered. Math is something you attempt on your own then ask for help if you can't figure it out.
In fact all learning should be self directed.

He's getting it. He enjoys the freedom of learning outside a classroom. He enjoys being able to practice his Ollie Flips in between math and science. He's even starting to enjoy reading. That's going to be my happiest moment, when he just reads for fun without prompting.

But I knew for sure that he was fitting right in when he got excited about watching a 2 hour documentary on the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtzte river.
And he asked his Dad in Iraq if he was near the Tigris or the Euphrates.

His grandmother, my SIL is concerned that he will be behind when he returns to public school. I don't worry level of work at all but I do wonder if he'll want to return at all.

A lucky girl

I'm sitting on the deck and thankful for the wireless doodah that ZooDad hooked up for the cable modem.

A and M had soccer games today at the same time. Both boys won. I had plan to wander between the two fields so I could catch a little of both games. Unfortunately, only 4 members of A's team showed up, so those four little guys had to play the whole game. A started out as goalie and I stood near to encourage and coach him. When they switched out players, I ended up being goalie coach for the rest of the game.
Coach said it was the best game they had played all season. A was recognized for offense and for playing hard for the whole 45 minutes. (That's a lot time for 4 and 5 year olds. Those boys played hard for the whole game.)
I have no idea how M did. I tried to watch from across the field. He got a blue offense star and he said he had two assists.

We came home, had lunch, and then started some much needed yard work. The back yard has suffered since ZooDad left. I cut grass, trimmed hedges, hauled off some branches, supervised toy clean -up, and then smoothed some leftover mulch piles. Then we moved the small swing set and the kiddie fort to the mulched area and set up the soccer goal in the grassy area. The deck has been blown off and the table cleaned. Two other tables have been set up near the fence.
All this to get ready for tomorrow's birthday party.

My back is aching now, so I am resting a bit while the boys play in the hammock and kick the soccer balls around. I have to bake a cake tonight and clean up what looks like a tornado path in the house.

Then it's back to our normal weekly schedule.

My life should be video taped

I could pretty much keep that AFV show well stocked if we had cameras going here non-stop.

S asked for a snack and brought a miget tootsie roll for me to unwrap for him. He handed it to me with the caveat, "Don't eat it, Momma."

I unwrapped it and then absentmindedly tossed into my mouth. As soon as I bit down, I realized what I had done.

The look on the boy's face was sheer shock, astonishment, and then utter disgust.
he could not believe that I had just eaten his tootsie roll.

I couldn't believe I did it either.

He got another one and had is oldest brother open it.
I guess he didn't want to take his chances with me again.

Good Neighbors

My across the street neighbor is a Handy Man by trade. He own his own company and employs a couple of workers.
He's a great guy.

Today, I got this bug in me to pressure wash the front porch. (to highlight my fall decorations.) I've never used our machine before, but ZooDad had great faith in me. His advice: read the manual.

As I was working on this beast of a machine, my neighbor came out. I remembered that his company did pressure washing also so I asked him for an estimate to pressure wash my house. I get the "neighbor discount."

I let him know that I planned to do the porch and deck since we had guests coming over soon and he asked, "Do you know how to use your pressure washer?" I admitted that I didn't and he then showed me everything I needed to know and even set it up for me.

He is such a nice guy.

I've completed the front porch already. I've also learned that you should never pressure wash the house in a men's white t-shirt, especially when wearing a nice floral bra.
It's amazing the number of neighbors that walk by and wave when you're hosting you own private wet t-shirt contest.

Didn't mention it.

but my Mom had cornea replacement surgery yesterday.
boy
The surgery was supposed to be routine, but little is with my Mom.

They ended up putting her under complete sedation and she was slow to wake up. When she finally woke up, she was disoriented and weepy.

Eye surgery does that to people, in my experience. Our boy, M ,was slow to wake after eye surgery. He was confused and weepy for hours afterwards. Losing your vision, even temporarily, seems to have that affect on people.

She slept the rest of yesterday...but she's not answering the phone this morning. I'm hoping my sister has taken her to the eye doc for her post-surgery check. (That just occurred to me...the post surgery check. I've been here worrying since 8 am.) They are supposed to leave for Charleston tomorrow to hang with my Aunt and Uncle for a little vacation. (Mom's bro and SIL)

I'll wait 15 more minutes and then I'm going to start phase two of my "hunt down Mom" project. Stage three includes loading up the van, driving over, and peeking into windows.

Never a dull moment around here.

Late Update
Found Mom with my sister at the eye doctor. All is well. She just has a lot of stitches. She did however, miss out on her trip to Charleston. Her vision is fuzzy but she's not in much pain. Doc says that the procedure went well and her vision should be optimal in 6 to 12 months.

I just uploaded stuff on my knitting blog.

It's over there ------------------>
in the sidebar somewhere.
Except I forgot one project and blogger wouldn't let me upload it.
So here it is.

This is my poor neglected rag rug. It's just so bulky and it makes my arms hurt. You can't tel by the picture but the bottom log cabin part is 12 inches square and 4 strands of worsted weight cotton.
It's heavy too.

Random stuff

J (age 10) is reading My Side of Mountain and is completely engrossed with the story so far. I mentioned that there was a sequel to this book that I could not remember the name of, but was on our bookshelf available to read. J quipped, "It' probably called My Other Side of the Mountain.

I've had young children for so long that the I stay in permanent "sports announcer mode." I'm constantly explaining what I'm doing and why. Today, as I explained the mess in the kitchen that needed cleaning, 5-year-old "A", the resident smart mouth piped in, "I can see the mess. I have eyes, you know."

I have stuff for my fall decorating. The place is kind of overflowing with artificial pumpkins and silk foliage. But I lack the mood to put our the Autumnal colors when the temperatures are creeping to 90 each day.
I mean, really... if you can go swimming outdoors, can you still put out the cute Fall leaves flag?

I knitting like a mad woman. In fact, I plan to take pictures this evening of the various projects being knitted concurrently. I should just go do it right now....but that would take away from my knitting time.

I'm also considering starting my own little Homeschool Mom Stitch and Bitch here at the house. That way, no one will need sitters. It's getting cool enough to sit outside in the afternoons and the kids can just run feral in the backyard.
Hmmmmmmm.....need to plan that one. That might be a winner.

More Waiting Room Weirdness:
I love the waiting room. You never know what will happen.
Today,there was a lady who had just turned 71. She told everyone that walked in. She also asked them their ages. It was funny to see the way various people reacted. I'm 36 and don't care...So I just told her when she asked.
A 45-year-old lady (That's how old she said she was.) kind of balked but then figured that it would be rude not to answer such a question from such a elder. A 56-year-old man happily answered and even ratted out his wife who had just turned 50 this year. I couldn't tell if wife was mad about the 50 part or the hubby offering the information.
Or course, S was happy to tell the lady over and over again that he was "free-years-old" and the lady was genuinely surprised each time that he was so big to be only three.
I also re-met a homeschool mom there today. So that was nice.

I'm enjoying Dancing with the Stars this season. In fact Tuesday nights are great TV for me. I record "Dead Like Me" and "House," and then watch DWS.
Joey is creepy as a bald guy but I do think boy can dance. Mario is way too smug. They should let you call in to vote them off. Emmett is a hoot. The big boy can move. Willa Ford is NOT getting a fair shake. And I had no idea that Vivaca was so manly. I think this show will really bring out her feminine side and be help for her professionally.
Harry Hamlin is this year's George Hamilton. Homey is stiff and he's picking up George's "toasted" look.
I don't have a favorite to win. Anybody but Mario.

Just checking

making sure I could still log in.

Sorry I've been gone for so long. I'm unmotivated and a bit lonely.

ZooDad has arrived at "parts hot and sandy" and is all settled in. It was 118 degrees yesterday. He said he could actually feel his eyeballs sizzling.

Boys are well. School is driving on. The house is suffering but that can be fixed easily.

The skylight has been replaced. M's eyes are doing ok enough to avoid a 3rd surgery for now.
The same can not be said for my Mom's eyes.

Speech and OT is showing improvement in M and A. Both boys are 1-1 in soccer and J is loving baseball camp.

I'm eating fairly normal but my energy level is still low. (Hence the house disaster.) Even the knitting is going slowly.

Tonight is a smorgasbord of TV for me. I can DVR "House" and "Dead Like Me" for other evenings and just watch "Dancing with the Stars." (I can knit and watch TV. It help pass long evenings.)

So overall, we're fine, relatively healthy, well fed, clothed, and fairly tidy. But we're missing something very important. And unlike previous trips...will be missing it for a while.

I'm going to Jackson

gonna mess around
I'm going to Jackson.
Look out Jackson town.

The time is nigh for ZooDad's deployment. We have only days left. So we're heading back to Mississippi in the morning to hang with the man until he up and leaves the country.

I know what you're thinking: Jackson is no where near Hattiesburg. Yep, I've figured out that too. But Hattiesburg is not a family hotel friendly as we need. In fact, no one in town can guarantee us co-joined rooms. Since the 6 of us won't fit in a plain old room, we need either a suite or co=joined rooms.

So we're hangin in Jackson instead.
They have a real zoo. They have a Natural History Museum. They have a yarn store.
All winners in my book.

And we can sing Johnny Cash all the way.
The boys have already started singing in preparedness for the trip.

If you invite me over for a nice Italian meal.....

don't be offended if I turn you down.

I love garlic. I love garlic bread. I love garlic on my fries. I love garlic all over my spaghetti. I love cheesy garlic bread from Red Lobster and garlice sauce over pasta.
But the garlic has never been that fond of me. It's always punished me a few hours after ingestion, with a hour or two of gastointestinal discomfort and a day or so of swollen tongue and lips.

But that's not enough to stop me.
Oh, no. I'm not that easily swayed. Garlic fries are worth the few minutes (hours) of distress.

Wednesday evening, the garlic fought back a bit harder. In fact, the garlic has totally won the war.
I found out just what the garlic could do and just how much of it I could handle.

By Thursday afternoon, I was reduced to a dried out husk of a woman who could barely stand. I was so dehydrated.
At 4, my sister picked me up (and my niece came to watch all the boys) to haul my very ill and sorry self off to the ER.

I felt silly going to the ER for and IV. I've done enough ER trips with the boys to know that the doctors hate dealing with these little issues when they have real trauma going on. I hated to be one of those "little" issues but I was so miserable and could barely even sit up.

They took me back right away, which isn't saying much since there were only 2 other people there..one of which was a toddle with a fire ant bite.

ER doc was a hoot. He tried to make us laugh but I couldn't follow the conversation enough to really get the jokes. My legs had started cramping and my fingers were becoming numb. After a bag of fluids and some meds, I was still in no better shape. I couldn't even answer the doctors questions without thinking really hard.

After a few tests, the ER doctor came back in and announced joyfully,"You flunked them all....you get to stay." I didn't quite get it. "You're being admitted," the sweet nurse explained to me, "You're severely dehydrated and very sick."

Oh good. I didn't want to be a little problem.

The rest of the story is short. I stopped counting at 7 bags of fluid. I weaseled out of the contrast MRI test. (The test dye is a laxative and causes nausea. They quickly rethought that idea but not quite fast enough.)
I had no viruses, no bad bacteria, and no sign of any life long serious disease. I also was not digesting anything and had effectively kicked off the lining of my intestines.
After 2 days of torture, they determined that the garlic had to be the culprit or all my troubles and it was to be avoided from here on out.

Then they sent me home to follow up with my IM doc and get a referral to an allergist.
I'm still on liquid diet today and tomorrow. Tuesday, I can can add some starches back into my diet. It will be another week until I can eat meat again.
I can't wait. I am so craving a nice steak....without the garlic.

I am Super Homeschool Mom

Woohoo. Yes, I am.

We did it all. We. did. it. aaaaaaaaalllll, baby. That's right. Five in a Row with the little ones, Hooked on Phonics lessons, 4 different levels of Singapore math, Kumon numbers, 2 levels of Explode the Code, 3 levels of Handwriting Without Tears, 4 sessions of speech practice, 3 levels of MCP math, 3 levels of Rod and Staff English, 3 levels of spelling, reading comprehension lessons for two boys who are having trouble, a deep literature discussion for the one who isn't, Mindbenders with 2, listening and following direction practice with another, 2 levels of Wordly Wise, 3 levels of science, Story of the World, and even....Latin.

J is driving me nuts with the Mindbenders. He did 3 today and is right at this moment begging to do more. Begging.
I guess I'll be ordering the next level later on this evening.

And...We all ate 3 meals, cleaned the house, and played video games together. I managed to get a little knitting done.

All that's left is bath, pajamas, and bed time reading. I can't guarantee that tomorrow will be as productive but for one single, shining day...we did it all.

Z..............

Jacqui the Dolphin Lover has challenged me to come up with 10 "Z" words and explain why I picked those words.
In Shakespeare's King Lear "Z" is used as an insult.
"Thou whoreson zed! Thou unnecessary letter!" (II.ii), intonating that Z is a useless letter, an afterthought.

Here at the Zoo we find "Z" to be a much more valuable symbol. Beautiful even. It can easily be flourished in any typeset or can be left in nice straight lines.
I tend to use a European "Z" with a line at midstaff to distinguish it from a sideways "N". (at least on practice balls.)

Having a last name starting with "Z" is handy too. On any alphabetical list, I can easily find us. You don't have to write your whole name on belongings. When the coach picks up an errant ball with a "Z" on it, he know exactly which child it belongs to. Monogramed stuff is easy to find. The "Z's" never get snapped up.

Obviously word number one is...

Zoo.
We really have our own Zoo here. Sure, it's chaos with 4 boys (plus one visiting boy) running around all day long but we do have some things in common with real zoos. We have the same goals: education, conservation, respectful care, and recreation. We strive to learn about our place in the world and to respect all the living things around us. We do our best to be good stewards of the gifts that are given to us. We do our best to provide an environment that is stimulating, caring, comforting, and educational. And...like modern zoos, we do all this without iron bars. (Though they might come in handy some days.)

2. Zany
We're kind of silly and foolish here. ZooDad and I have a sick and twisted sense of humor and we love every moment of it.

3. Zoom
On the go. All. The. Time. For "home" schoolers, we don't stay at home much. We do a lot of van-schooling, porch-schooling, forest-schooling, and waiting room-schooling. It also describes the motion of at least 2 of the Zoo Children. They lack any kind of speed control and only have two settings: on and off.

4. Zaftig
That's me all over. Look it up. It's a good word.

5. Zig-zag
It's appropriate that the word that describes the lovely "Z" shape, had so many "z's" in it. Non-linear motion. Not following a straight path. A path with sharp bends and turns.In other words, Life. The trick in enjoying life is how smoothly you navigate these sharp turns. Do you just barrel along right over them, not deviating from your straight path? Do you worry and watch, anticipating the turn and consumed with staying on course? Or do you just ride and along and wait to see what pops up around the bend?

6. Zest
An enjoyment or excitement. Do I even have to explain this one? I often tell people that if they even need time to relax and just to have fun, to just come on over. You can't stay sad here. You can't be bored here. And it never...ever...quiet.

7. Zealous
I'm one of those people who goes overboard in just about everything. From making a birthday cake to knitting a pair of socks, I can't just do something "a little." Not only to I have to do it "all out," but I am driven to get it done. For me the destination is just as important as the journey.

8.Zing
A lively and energetic quality. It's funny that most "Z" words are related to movement and energy. Maybe by taking on a "Z" as your label, you bring in some of the energy that is implied by the letter. That might explain the boys, who are playing "launch your brother like a rocket" in the living room as I type this.

9. Zebu
Because I am a biologist by training, we sing it the correct way.
"Zebu! This is a song about a boy...a song about a little boy and his Zebus...a song about a little boy and his 3 Zebus... the little boy who had a sick Zebu, a sad Zebu, and a mute Zebu. and also a hippo."

10. Zenith
The pinnacle. The highest point.That's what we strive for. Not the highest point that anyone can attain, but the highest point that we can attain individually. My own personal zenith. If you don't try to do your very best, your personal best, not a "best" based on anyone else's abilities....then what are you doing in life?

So, reader, do you have a letter that is important to you? Leave a comment if you plan to do your own "Important letter." Or if you haven't found your letter yet, I can give you one to think about. Even though I know, that Z is the best letter out there.
ZooMom is the Zippiest.
z00t

Sittin' and knittin'

We had four more days of school. All went well with my boys. Nephew is starting to realize that we work hard, every day. And that 90% is not acceptable.
This is a new concept for him. We'll see if he can handle it or if he'll decide it's time to go back to public school.
Here's what Max the Cat did every day during school time.*

Notice the proximity of the chair and bookbag. The cat is lucky he doesn't get stomped on.

*Except for a brief protest in which he sat on J's math workbook and refused to budge and eventually started howling at anyone trying to force him to move. The cat has issues.

In the afternoons, the boys and I trimmed the hedges, pulled weeds, and moved mulch. We've also made acquaintance with a seemingly homeless kitten who may be joining the zoo if it turns out he is actually homeless. In general, I worked my tail off in hope that I would be so exhausted at bedtime that I could just fall asleep.
That plan has failed thus far.

Today, I slept in, lounged around with the boys, watched the Discovery Channel and knitted. We went by the yarn store and picked up more sock yarn, including the ugliest yarn I have ever seen. (Lime , navy, and grey striped Trekking XXL

Now for the knitting.
I started a new project from Mason-Dixon Knitting: the tailgate rug.

I know it doesn't look like much but I did cut and wind that rag ball today. I just have to cut and wind the other fabric. I'll use all of that yarn and another 2 cones for the whole rug.
Well...so much for more pictures. Blogger is acting up.

Instead, I'm going to finish my sleep inducing beverage, pop in my earbuds, and try to get to sleep before 1am and not wake up until 7 am. That's my goal anyway.

I forgot to post the knitting.

If I'm going to annoy people, I need to make sure I get all the pet-peeves.

I have knitting pictures that I am too lazy to post my knit blog. So lucky y'all...you get to see them here.

Here's M's socks. Let's see. It's a slipped stitch pattern on a basic sock. French heel, round toe. Done with Denim Sockatta that I picked up very cheap. M wears them as soon as they are clean and happened to have them on today.

I'm currently working on dishcloths and another pair of socks for J. I'm not loving his pattern though so I am doing that passive aggressive thing. I knit a few rows and then start reading a book.

A teaser

Dy wanted pictures.
Things aren't quite finished yet, but here's a teaser or two.

We use these manipulatives a lot more when they are right out where we can see them. I'm planning to make some cute labels for these jars using that mountain of scrapbook supplies I have stored upstairs.

These board are on hooks and are reversible. Dry erase boards on one side and chalk boards on the other. Those 3M adhesive strips are a gift from God. (I am thankful for all gifts, great and small.) That is not the home of that basket. It is just the current resting spot. ZooDad picked that particular basket up while out on his last combat mission.

Here's what Max the Cat does during school time. Please note that this is right out in the open where he could easily be stepped on by any or all of the 5 boys or myself. The cat has a death wish or the cat has just lost all sense of fear.

I had almost stepped on his little cat head prior to this picture. He didn't even open his eyes. Can cats get shell shock?

Haters

Beware, this is all rant. Don't let it bother you.

I just don't get haters. You know those people who for some reason live their life just to make other miserable.
I just don't understand it.
I understand not liking someone or something. I dislike lots of stuff.
But I don't go around slamming these people.
I generally just try to ignore what displeases me and if I can't ignore it.... well, I figure that's my problem to deal with.
Every now and then I vent. But when I'm venting, I know that the issue is really mine to deal with.

I got slammed a few weeks ago. It was a total blindside.
Really.
I read how this person had pigeon-holed me and it was vitriolic. I had no idea I could make people vitriolic. I've got power I never even realized. (BTW, this slam was in no way connected to any online community. This was a rank stranger.)

I spent some time (about 10 minutes) wondering what the heck I was doing that annoyed this person more so than the other thousands of people doing the same thing.
I finally decided that I really didn't care what this person thought of me. Just as I am sure that this person doesn't care what I think of them.
I could lambast and belittle this person, but there's no need. We're all entitled to an opinion.
You can sit back and steam over people who disagree with you of you can say, "Wow. Who knew that bothered you so much."

See, it's all good.

Who knew, I bothered you so much. I was just doing my thing. Feel free to do yours. You don't bother me. Don't allow me to bother you.
Don't give me that power.

Day 1 finished 179 more to go.

This is supposed to be a homeschool blog, so I guess I'll have to start actually talking about the homeschool part.

Today was "official-day-one-marked-on-the-attendance-form-that-is-sent-to-the-county."

Day one went by fairly smoothly. All kids were educated, fed, dressed, and loved on a bit.
We started at 9am, finished about 2:30 and that included lunch and a recess period to play Mario Mix DDR.
J is loving the new Wordly Wise 3000 book. He's a word-o-phile. He loves language. It's hard to explain just what this kid is like. He writes spontaneously and reads voraciously and he makes puns.
Today, we went by Barnes and Noble's once the day was done and picked out a few books. I grabbed the kids Illustrated version of Eats, Shoots and Leaves and J spent the rest of the evening guffawing over the pages and explaining them to his 7-year-old brother.
"Don't you get it? The Panda eats, shoots and then leaves. Instead of eats shoots and leaves. Commas really DO make a difference."

Once the big kids were done with their heavy workload, A and I did Singapore Math, Hooked on Phonics, Explode the Code, Handwriting without Tears, and started his very first FIAR book: Lentil.
Lentil is a great book to read when you don't have 4 boys and 3 harmonicas in the house. If you do happen to have any number of harmonicas in your house, it's a bad idea to even take that book off the shelf. I should have read a nice calming book like The Raft. Instead I had kids trying to see if they could suck on lemons and still blow a harmonica.

And it's just day one. Tomorrow will prove even more exciting. We're having our monthly support group board meeting at Chuck E Cheese's. Are you feeling my joy?


ZooMom---She walked on her head, a little higher than usual.

Spray paint

I am so amazed at what you can do with a couple of cans of spray paint and some knick knacks. Serious. Spray paint is fabulous and it comes in some many new colors.

I've bee busy decorating the dining/school room today. It's getting there. So far I have hung new curtains, moved furniture, pulled in the new canning cabinets and loaded the boys school books in there until I get the new book shelf comes in, organized the highboy, put up some little shelves, loaded manipulatives in cute jars. Put daily art supplies in cute painted buckets that are hanging from a coat hook rack, hung the chalk/dry erase boards, and done absolutely no lesson planning.

LOL

Tomorrow is "school."

On a mission

I'm converting the dining room to a school room/dining room.

That doesn't sound like much but it is. I just moved all the furniture around and I ordered a new short 60 inch long book case to take the place of my buffet. Next month I will start my quest for an new table and chairs. My current furniture is Duncan Phyfe style stuff from the 1920's. It's great for occasional use but not for wiggly boys every day.

The low book case will be painted to match the walls and so will a canning cabinet that I had squirreled away in the utility room. It's just going to be a frilly school room.

I bought some spray paint to match my cornice fabric and some metals buckets to paint and use for storage. And some new organizers for the highboy shelves that will store manipulatives and art supplies.

Some wooden letters to paint and put along the wall for motivation. An old time looking world map complete with sea monsters. A couple of shelved to paint to match the wall to hold the buckets. And my greatest find... panels that have predrilled holes. They are 14x14 and have dry erase board on one side and chalk board on the other. With hooks to mount them. So cute.

When I finally finish the transformation, I'll post pictures.
Won't be anywhere near ready for Monday's re-start but hey...the local middle school started while the workers were still painting ....why can't I?
I really want that giant number two pencil from pottery narn kids. I may have to just make my own.

ZooMom....is motivated! Woohoo.

It was a day

Guess what I did today?
nothing

Guess where I went today?
Nowhere

Guess how many trips I managed to get scheduled?
Not a dang one...but I tried.

Guess how much laundry I did?
Not one item.

Guess How much knitting I did?
not one stitch.

Guess how many lessons I planned?
not one.

I didn't exercise.
I didn't read.
I didn't so anything productive or fun.
What a wasted day.
But I sure needed the rest.


ZooMom, well rested and now quite bored.

Because my business is everyone's business

"Are they all yours?"
"All but one."
"Are you sure?"

I had to pause. That was a new one. Not the "Are you sure?" I've had that one before with a different comment.

"Yes, I'm sure. One of them is my nephew." I wanted to add that I knew that I had a lot of kids but that I was confident that I had not forgotten a pregnancy.

One day I was asked if the younger two, the two who are separated by only 2 years, were twins.
"No," I responded, "They 2 years and 2 weeks apart."
The woman then looked at the two boys who are similar in size and appearance and wrinkled up her face. "Are you sure? They look like twins."
I told her that I very distinctly remembered being pregnant twice to get those two. She still wasn't convinced when she walked away.

"Your boys sure all look alike. Does their Daddy have blue eyes?"
"No, actually, my husband has dark brown eyes."
"Well, you can tell they have the same Daddy because they sure look all alike."
"They do have the same Daddy...my husband."
She kind of hemmed and hawed after that comment because she realized what she had been insinuating.

"WOW! All are those children YOURS!" As I entered an elevator with a man whose child was attempting to scale the walls. I don't mean figuratively.
After looking around to make sure I hadn't picked up the extra number of children needed to actually cause someone to make that sort of comment, I told the man that yes, these four children were in fact mine. While "monkey" child repeatedly failed in his attempts to climb the stainless steel covered walls, my four stood watching curiously and quietly. We've been riding the elevator at the hospital twice a week for almost 3 years now. We've gone over elevator behavior and curtsey extensively. And I reinforce it when needed.
"I don't think I could handle four boys. Just the one boy is enough for us." said the man with a smug smile on his face, though what he was feeling smug about, I'm not sure.
I really wanted to say, "Yes, I could only handle your one kid too." But instead I smiled and gave the boys the look that said "Just in case you didn't know, there is no climbing up the elevator walls. Do not not get any ideas of trying."

"No girls? Aren't you going to have a girl?" Asked the old man with a little pity in his voice.
"No girls, I guess God gave me all boys for a reason."
"Well you should have a girl. I wouldn't trade a million dollars for my little girl."
Now I get these comments all the time. Each dumb person only says it once. But my boys get to hear each and every one of them. I don't ever want them thinking that I feel bad because they are all boys.
So I looked that man in the eye and said very directly, "I wouldn't trade a million dollars for ANY of my boys."
I felt bad for a split second for being harsh with an old man but then I saw my two oldest boys smile in pride.

An older woman stood watching us with a wistful smile as we unloaded two full grocery carts. As I finally paid for this mountain of food, she leaned over to me and said, "I have four grown boys. No one ever realizes how lucky we are."
"Aren't we though? I'm almost embarrassed to be so blessed."
What good boys," she said as she walked away, "Y'all take care of your Mamma, now."
"We will," said the oldest three as the puffed out their little proud chests and continued to move full bags to the buggies.

Be thankful for all your blessings. No matter the number or gender.

ZooMom, Queen of the Zoo and quite a lot

Six degrees of Kevin Bacon

Oddly enough I'm only three degrees removed from Kevin Bacon. Yes, that's right me and Kevin Bacon are practically fast friends.

My dear Husband (first degree) went to high school with Diane Lane (second degree) who starred in My Dog Skip with Kevin Bacon. (third degree)

And if we are splitting hairs, I'm even closer because I once slept in the same bed that Kevin Cosner slept in (In the early 90's this was a big freaking deal. "Kevin Cosner sat on this toilet. Kevin Cosner ate from this fork. Kevin Cosner put in head on this pillow." It was a funny weekend.)
and Kevin Cosner was in JFK with Kevin Bacon.
That's two degrees.

So dear readers,
do a little research. How close are you to Mr Bacon? Because Kevin is connected to everybody and you don't even have to go back to Noah.

Zoomom...she's shared Kevin Cosner's bed

It went like this

Last Saturday, I noticed an itchy, painful place on my side. I chalked it up to an irritable waistband on the junk shorts I was wearing while painting my kitchen cabinets. (Saturday was day three of that job.)

From there on it went something like this.

Sunday: Hey this spot feels even worse. What the heck? Did I get cleaning fluid on it? Maybe that Bam! is caustic to my skin?

Monday: Ok...Weird...The itchy painful spot is bigger. Now it runs from my waist band to bra line in a 2 inch swatch. But I don't see anything.

Tuesday: Ow, ow, ow, ow...rash. Oh man. This really hurts. It's like it was burned. I'm not even a pain wimp. I had one kid with pitocin and no pain meds. I should be able to handle a little rash thing. Gosh, I am so tired. Why do I feel so tired?

Wednesday: Worse than yesterday. Ok, that's it. I'm going to the doctor even though I feel stupid making an appointment for an itchy, painful rash. I was so tired I took a nap today and yesterday. I am not a nap person. This can't be related to the rash and the terrible pain around it.

Thursday: Don't touch it. Don't touch me. Oh this hurts. As soon as MIL arrives, I'm going to the doctor...if he laughs at me I'm going to be so mad.
MIL arrives and looks at the rash as says...."Hey, that looks like shingles."

Shingles!
Shingles is an old people thing. I'm not old. So I do a little research before my doctor's appointment.

Chicken pox? check that one
compromised immune system from a list of causes including stress? Ha, ha,ha, we've got stress in spades around here.
The pictures were pretty scary but they looked similar to what I was wearing.

The doctor agreed and I started a topical ointment and some horse-size anti-viral pills. Yesterday, I noticed that the larger area wasn't as painful. The rash is slowly getting better I don't cringe if something brushes up against me. And I can knit again.

What amazes me is how such a small area could be so debilitating. Some older people get shingles all over one side of their body. I've often heard about older people with bad episodes just losing the will to live.
I can understand that.

Bad stuff

This just about sums it up

I snagged this from Blue Star Chronicles. (Blue star as in Service Flags not Blue star of Israel)
It pretty much sums up things. Or course, you can replace "Palestine" with Hamas, Al Qaida, Hezbollah, Iraqi Insurrection, et al.

Updates from the Zoo

Random Stuff

Mississippi is more humid than here. I didn't know that was possible. Even at 101, it feels better here than 93 in Hattiesburg.

Adjoining rooms are worth double the money.

A 40 acre zoo (including a park and parking lot) is not really a zoo..even if you have a tiger.

520 miles, one way with 4 kids through 3 states is a long, long, long time in the van with just one adult.

In 100 weather the bolts that hold together the outdoor play structures at McDonald's get hot enough to cause second degree burns

Small pools in the South are too warm to swim in by the end of July.

After 4 days, you can get sick of eating out and crave just a simple sandwich at home.

If you have a service member in you family, you need to know the Army Emergency Response number for the Red Cross. If a family member dies while they are deployed, they are the only people that can contact the member's unit to confirm the death and get permission for that family member to go home for the funeral.

520 miles one way with 4 kids through 3 states isn't any better with 2 adults.

I can not knit in the car. It makes me car sick.

Cracker Barrel restaurants are wonderful for families on the road.

A solid black dress, with hose at an outdoor funeral in the south...in July is really hot.

You can be sad enough not to care how hot it is.

If you leave an old car in the driveway for a month and you don't crank it even once...the battery might just give up the ghost.

Batteries aren't that bad to replace.

Driving 520 miles with just one adult is very lonely. People doing so tend to call their loved ones at home on a hourly basis.

ZooMom is agreeing with Burt Bacharach..."I hope I don't get hit in the rear again."

Talladega Boy

S has become obsessed with how the car works. He's even turned into a mini backseat driver at the wise old age of three.

It's raining Momma. Turn on your rain flippers.
The light is green. You can go Momma.
Hey Momma, your spinning wheel is turning. (My ADD brain starts singing "What comes up...must come down.")
Did you put on your "clinkers?" You're tunring...you should put on your clinkers, you know.

And while I am greatly appreciative to have such a highly verbal and curious child...I could do without the constant advice from the middle seat.
Gentle requests for a little quiet tend to fall on deaf ears. Loud requests for just a little quiet please get me about 5 seconds of peace.

The boy has an agenda. He plans to do all of ZooDad's constructive driving advice while he is gone.

Not only that...the boy is making plans to drive too.
Yesterday, we all exited the van after a monumental grocery shopping expedition ... all except S. He climbed into the driver's seat and refused to leave as the older boys unloaded a beastly amount of groceries. I finally retrieved him from the seat with much yelling and tears with him howling, "I just want to push all the buttons."

Later that evening, I got in the van to run an errand, forgetting that car-obsessed child had been working the driver's area like a madman. My seat was in the wrong position, the wipers were going (both front and back), my blinkers were on, and the lights were dimmed down completely.
Thankfully, you can't mess with the stereo system when the power is off.
Car boy. In 13 years, I'm going to have some trouble.

Speaking of cars...on our trip to Mississippi we passed the Talladega speedway. It's right there on I-20 in Alabama.
Now I don't follow NASCAR but I know enough to recognize the drivers and a few tracks. I'm probably going to make some fan cringe in sheer horror, but the first thought I had when I saw the track was...."Hey, that looks just like the racetrack in the movie Cars."
I also noted that the condition on the track was far superior to the condition of that portion of I-20 but that's not saying much.
I've been on clay roads with better conditions.

Zoo mom is pulling in to the pit for new tires.

I can't believe it

I forgot to post cake pictures.

Geesh...and I didn't even wax poetically about the birthdays of the smallest boys in the zoo.
Oh well, A had a birthday. He's a big boy 5 now. S had a birthday two weeks later. He's a not-quite-ready-to-be-a-big-boy 3.

We had a Spongebob and Gary themed party. I'm particularly tickled with the Gary cake. I just freehanded both of them.

As you can tell from this picture, one of the boys is extremely excited about being a whole year older. Oh yes sir-ree. He's been telling everyone he meets that he is now 5 years old. Even the people who were at his party and have been told several times before.

He just wants to make sure that no one forgets.
Five.

Yes, I'm procrastinating. The van is clean. I have new brakes. The DVD players are fully functional. The toys and swim stuff has been packed and laundry is clean but neither folded nor packed. I still have a lot to do. (sigh)

When I get home, I'll tell you about our hamster healing miracle. It's really amazing once you get past the gross factor. The boys are thrilled. They've been holding a hamster death watch for the past couple of weeks.

Enjoy y'alls weekend. I sure will.

Butterflies

7:08 and I am up again, showered, dressed, breakfasted, and waiting to wake the minions of Hades from their slumber. (The boys do not like to be awakened early.)

I have nervous/excited butterflies.

This time tomorrow, we'll be pulling out of the driveway for our 520 mile (according to mapquest) road trip. Now 520 miles seems daunting enough but I plan to do it with 4 boys ages 10, 7, 5, and 3...with me as the only adult.

I am crazy. That's all I can say.

ZooDad said he had a couple days of and I was crazy and desperate enough to pile us all on in the van so we could see him again.

things that I have on my mind.

What if I get sick? Sick on the road is bad enough. Sick on the road with 4 kids and you are the only adult will take some orchestrating.

What if I get a flat? I can change a tire. I have done it. But keeping 4 little ones safe on the side of the interstate while doing so adds a new challenge to the formula.

What if we get lost? Well, I don't get lost really. I'm one of those map fiends. But sometimes I do end up taking the wrong turn, it usually doesn't bother me but I have to worry about it anyway.

What if I lose a child somehow? Big time worry. Yesterday, we got an amber alert for a girl taken from a rest station. Note to self: take all boys into the restrooms with me and keep them under close observation at all times. No matter how much the other restroom women glare at me.

What if the van breaks down? It shouldn't but it could. Call insurance, arrange for a tow and then cry like crazy I guess. Get a rental and get back on schedule.

sigh

Tonight's agenda: No zyrtec no matter how bad my allergies are. Finish all trip preparations by 10 pm then an hour of the History Channel while drinking a beer.
Then hopefully 8 hours of sleep.

Cross your fingers for me.

Can't sleep

Yes, it's 2:35 am and I am up. I can't sleep. I haven't really slept in 3 weeks. I wonder why.

We're taking off tomorrow. We are driving 500 miles to visit ZooDad for a couple of days and then driving 500 miles back.
We're that desperate.

I'm behind on everything. I won't have time to get books ready for out used curriculum sale. (Though I really need too.) I haven't done any lesson plans for the upcoming year. I have ordered all the new books though and only one order is outstanding.
I haven't even sketched out a plan for the co-op class I'm teaching. The plans that are due August 3rd.
My house is a mess with scattered toys and a mound of laundry to fold.

Today, I have to take the van back to the shop to correct the problem they created yesterday during my routine maintenance. Oh yes, I am cussing up a blue streak in my head over that. I have to get the boys up at 7 am so we can be there when the shop opens.
Then we have 4 hours at the hospital for therapy. Yes....FOUR hours. My laptop battery won't last that long but I'm going to take a few things to try to do some planning.
When we finally get home, I have to clean out the van and start packing.
I have to install the new DVD players. (8 hours, 4 boys, one mom....the DVD is going to be a necessity.)
I have to get all the pets set up for my sister who has graciously agreed to handle the house for me.
I have to clean my house so I don't come home to chaos and loose my mind entirely. (too late)

And am I getting a good nights sleep so I can awaken at 6:30 all bright eyed and bushy tailed, rearing to start my very busy day......nope. I'm up at 2 am after tossing and turning for 3 hours.

Let me count my blessings so I can sleep a bit:
1. My hubby is still in county and can call me every night (I have the $155 cell phone bill to prove that.)
2. The sunflowers that set off my allergies are just as beautiful in the vase outside on my deck table as they were on my kitchen table.
3. The mound of laundry is clean thanks to my nice new washer and dryer.
4. None of the pets have died of old age yet and my sister is happy to come take care of them while we are gone.
5. I found a car DVD player with 2 screens for only slightly more than ZooDad's cell phone bill.
6. I got birthday money and bought a cool knitting book.
7. We have enough money to travel to see ZooDad without worrying about finances and we can stop and explore without feeling guilty.
8. We're all healthy.
9. ZooDad got body armor and a helmet that fits.
10. My van should be a quick, free fix.

See all is not gloom and doom. Maybe I can catch a little sleep before the alarm sounds.

Night y'all.

A meme I liked

Awaking..........after a couple of the boys
Missing..........my soldier
Drinking.........too much pool water
Reading..........The Out-of-sync child has fun
Writing..........lesson plans
Sending..........care packages to ZooDad
Hearing..........Star Wars blasters
Weathering.......a sunburn
Bouncing..........too many scheduled activities
Breakfasting.....grits with butter and salt
Dressing.........in loose, cool clothes (sunburn)
Praying.......... for patience and peace
Ironing..........some curtains I just washed
Flushing......... no toys anymore. It makes quite a mess
Measuring........a space to put the microwave
Cleaning.........the food pantry
Wondering........what time we should leave to get to the fireworks on post.
Reunioning.......not for some time. ZooDad will get one week of leave
Telephoning......Mississippi
Eating...........a picnic under the stars
Watching.........the boys work together to clear a video game
Sleeping.........poorly and waking often

Give him 20 years and he'll be in the majors

Look at that ball fly.
Here's baby S. He'll be three next week or so. Three.
He substituted on A's t-ball team for 4 and 5 year olds and he wasn't even close to being the least talented on the team. In fact, he stayed on task and hustled on every hit.

Everyday there commented on how the boy seemed to love baseball.
In his own words: "I hit the ball and I run and run. I catch the ball, I throw to the base." He's got the major points down pat.

suds

One quick story.

Everything in the house has been breaking down lately. It's the number one rule of deployment. When your military spouse leaves or is preparing to leave...everything started breaking. It's like some cosmic requirement to remind you just how handy that missing spouse can be some times.

Anyway...the story. J loaded the dishwasher this afternoon. It's his job. To keep the mess down, we use those little dishwasher packet things of pre-measured dish soap. (This change was implemented after I bleached out a cabinet door with spilled liquid dishwasher soap.)

About 10 minutes into the cycle, J called me to see the catastrophe...about 4 inches of suds that had dripped out of the washer.
Oh crud! Do not tell me that my not even a year old dishwasher is on the fritz.

I stopped the machine to take a peek inside. It smelled like mountain pine. Strongly of mountain pine.

Then it occurred to me that J had loaded the pan that I had squirted with concentrated sink soap (Palmolive I think) and left to soak. The excessive soap led to the suds overflow.

Whew.
Crisis averted.

and just because I have a steep learning curve, I put too much soap in the new front loading washer and had to rinse forever. The boys got a huge jolly over the bubble filled washer window.

When ZooDad called, they immediately ratted me out. Mom over soaped TWO appliances today.

Carrying a "big boy"

S has always been "older" than his age. He's always been in such a rush to be as big as his brothers. He'll be three soon and now he's rethinking that "big boy" thing a bit. Right before he turned two, he stopped taking an afternoon nap. He didn't want to sleep and our frequent therapy trips interfered with naps anyway.
He didn't want to be carried, or ride in a stroller. Instead, he chose to walk alongside his bigger brothers.
He was never one to cuddle. He didn't want to be held and hugged often. As my MIL put it, "He didn't stay a baby for long."

But today, he fell asleep in the van on the way to Best Buy. To keep him from blowing up in a full temper tantrum, I carried him on my hip into the store. The whole way across the parking lot, I cuddled him to try to keep him from waking up grumpy and he let me do it.

On the way out of the store, he asked to be carried again.

He hasn't asked to be carried in a long, long time. And at 38 pounds, he quite a load to carry too. Since he's out of practice, he's a cumbersome package also.

When we got home, he climbed into my lap and just sat still with with his hands in my hair. My little rough and tumble man is turning back into a cuddle boy. My little almost three year old is becoming my "baby" again.

I've been knitting too.

My pictures are up on the knitting blog. Over there on the side bar is a link.

Warning boring post

I'm too tired to write an entertaining post.

Call us obsessed. We've washed everything in the house. We really have. The new washer/dryer is soooooo cool. I'm still a bit skeptical since it uses so little water.

Yesterday, the boys had a regular school day and played outside until they were covered in sweat, dirt, pine mulch. Then it was time for A's last t-ball game. His team was short a few players so S ended up playing again.
That boy was born to play baseball.
As an end-of-season party, we went to a local pizza buffet. A got his trophy and medal and S got one of the extra medals for being a great back-up player.

I also ordered the bulk of the boys books for next year. Now, I just have to hunt down a few stragglers and then start planning.

How I entertained myself last evening

I can get through the days just fine since ZooDad is normally at work, but in the evening...well, time passes really slowly. So I have to find things to keep me busy. (You can't knit for hours every evening.)
So last night after the pizza binge, I mowed the front yard, edged the drive and walkway, and blew off all the concrete surfaces. Then I finished another knitted washcloth while the boys played slo-mo freeze tag.

After baths, all the boys went to bed and I folded the last big load of laundry.

Excitement at the Zoo

Oh yes. We are waiting with bated breaths. We are hyped up in anticipation.

Someone's birthday?
Nope, that was yesterday.
Maybe a big game coming up?
Nope, that was last night.
Are we taking a trip?
Nope, ZooDad won't have any time off for Independence Day weekend.

So what has our household all aquiver with joy?

We are waiting for the delivery of our new front loading washer and dryer.
Oh yes.
And I'm not the only one excited. The boys have already picked out the first clothes to be washed. They were chosen based on color and size for prime washer viewing opportunity.
That's right...my boys plan on sitting there and watching the clothes wash.

They are such weirdos.


Quotes from the 2 year old who is very soon to be three.

That dog is woofing at me.

This feet is dirty. That feet is dirty too. Both my feets is dirty.

Oh please don't make me ride home on the car roof. (This was yelled loudly in a home improvement store.)

What I have been doing since the last time I posted.

Let's see. Rather than straining my sleep deprived brain and writing this up in some pseudo-clever way, I'll just do a list.

1. A had strep throat. He didn't spread it to anyone else but he did have 2 days of lethargic 103 degree fever. When the little guy who normally runs around eating all day long...stops eating and just sits on the couch staring, you know he's feeling mighty bad. He's one day 4 of the "pink stuff" and is feeling much better.

2. ZooDad had a marathon session of house fixing activities. He replaced my leaking garbage disposal. Replaced 2 dimmer switches. Replaced a broken toilet handle. (Same toilet handle that broke before. Finished the new swingset/play fort. Hauled 13 cubic yards of pine mulch. Replaced 18 feet of privacy fence. and then packed up all his stuff and headed out.

3. We saw Cars. It was funny but a total remake of Doc Hollywood. We started watching Zathura but the boys were so disgusted by the characters' behavior (And we were disgusted with the father's disciplining) that we turned it off after the first 10 minutes. Ugh!

4. We got Speech and OT approved for both A and M through Tricare. They will cover everything needed and the school will provide 2 speech sessions each week for both. It is such a relief to not have to worry about that anymore.

5. My nephew has joined our homeschool. I'm not even shocked anymore about what he doesn't know. He's very gifted in math but the school has failed this child in everything else. He didn't know what a predicate was. He doesn't know what an adjective is. He didn't know what geography was.
Oh my.
He'll learn. And he excited about learning too.


Today is more learning. We're re-starting SOTW I and using Kingfisher and the Oxford book as a supplement for the older kids.

First night alone

Well, that's no where near true. ZooDad has always traveled for work, both as a soldier and as a civilian. He's normally gone about a quarter of the year, every year. So it's not like I haven't been on my own before.

It's not even the first time I've been a wife of a deployed soldier. ZooDad did a stint in Bosnia during the Clinton years. He also fought in the Persian Gulf war. Great Day! The man is now entering his third combat operation. I think he has done his duty and then some. (It would have been 4 combat deployments but the 3 planes sent to Haiti in September 1994 were turned around.)

This one feels different though. It feels longer already.

I'm fixing to rearrange my pantry this evening. (Yep..at 10:30 pm) I'm hoping to tire myself out enough to sleep each night. At least ZooDad will come home to a clean and well organized house.

More info tomorrow.

We're circling....

Just a little more than a week to go and ZooDad will be gone.
16 months....geesh. That's like forever in "kid time."

So we're just kind of in "standby" mode and trying to make every single moment count but also trying to get all the stuff done that needs to get done.
(Who's going to change the light in the stairwell in the next 16 months. Who's going to clean the back house gutter? That thing is tall. Who's going to move the big heavy stuff, or get the Christmas decorations down from the attic? These are all the things I'm trying not to think about.)

But I do have lots to tell you about...but not today.

The monster-big fish that I caught. (10 pounds and 26 inches...I even have pictures.)

Baby S playing his first t-ball game at the age of 2 and wowing the families on both sides of the field.

Adding a new boy to the zoo.

Said "New boy's" take on homeschooling thus far.

Oh, by the way, no other children got ill and I managed to escape all manner of illness. I think was due to my iron constitution and the fact that I forbid it from happening. (laugh)

He gets that from his Momma.

My children have distinctly different personalities.

Over the years that we have been raising these boys, coded and I have come up with our own nicknames based on their personalities. S, who will be 3 next month, is "the boy." And he is all boy. He's physically active, thick bodied, and determined to do what he wants. He's tiny little line backer and when he gets set on a task, he will not be swayed.

A is almost 5 and he is the cuddle boy. He's physically affectionate and always smiling. He's friendly and touchy and not interested in rough play. But he will hug everybody.

M...well he's the dictator or "the little judge" as my Daddy used to call him. He's serious and lays down the rules. It's his way or no way. If you won't accommodate his needs...well he just won't play. He loved strategy games, especially war games. The boys is set on World Domination.
When he was a toddler, he always kept one hand on his stomach. We called him Napoleon. We joke that when he grows up, he'll be a military strategist.

J, the oldest, is the diplomat. He's always smoothing over issues and getting everyone to work together. Sometimes he uses this power for evil by convincing his brothers to do stuff they wouldn't normally agree to. (He gets busted for that.) He's soft hearted though and really hates true conflict. But he never, ever holds a grudge. (I admire that in him. I don't have that gift.) He's also extremely creative, but that's a gift that most diplomats need.
He'll either be a lawyer or an elementary school teacher. He's is great with the little kids. Amazingly so.

Last night at the pool, ZooDad got to see how our oldest's skills are coming along. The boy's were playing in the wading pool. J had made a friend and then a pair of sisters joined in. The children found 2 dive sticks and dive ring and J created a game.

We watched this for a bit and when J came over for a drink, we asked him what they were doing.
"Oh," he replied,"I've made up a game where they have to carry the ring fro one end to the other to score a goal. They have to carry it on the stick though. But they can steal from each other. One team member blocks while the other carries the ring."

While he was explaining this to us, the four players waited patiently in the pool for him to return. When he fished his drink, he got back in the water and the teams lined up for J to do the ring toss that apparently starts the game. A couple other children had gathered to see if they could join in too. No one seemed to question J rules or even offer any other suggestions. It sure seemed like a cool game.

ZooDad looked over at me. "You know, he gets that from his Momma. He's got to run things doesn't he?"

Well, somebody has too.

croak

It's noisy here at the zoo.
And it's not the boys.

It's the frogs. We have tree frogs. Lots and lots of tree frogs.
Our house backs up to a "wetland park" also called swampy land with a creek. But it's really not a bad situation. Our elevation is such that we have no concerns of flooding and we have no back neighbors. Well, not human ones.

We do however, get much of the swamp wildlife. Thankfully, in the 7 years we have lived here, we have never spotted a venomous snake in our yard. I'm sure they have passed through, but we've never seen them. My left side neighbor, The Snake Hunter, has both spotted and sighted a couple of bad boys and I have witnessed and identified their sad little carcasses.

Recently, we unearthed a cache of box turtle eggs. We reburied them lightly and later got to see one of the hatchlings emerge. A couple of weeks ago, a red tailed hawk landed right in the middle of the boys' play area. (That was way cool!) A Carolina Wren has built a sweet little nest, complete with 4 chirping babies, in my garage...on my fertilizer shelf. Mamma bird flies in and out the back door, past the dogs, the various gear, and any boys who are digging through the upright freezer.
So you get the idea. If I could get the critters to pick up a broom, I'd be Snow White in the suburbs.

But today is June 1st, so that pretty much means it is frog season. And my house appears to be prime frog mating territory. All morning long I have listened to one particularly vocal fellow boasting of his frog manliness. He's is nothing if not determined.

I happen to like the frogs. Frogs are my very favorite animal. I love their little bug eyes and froggy smiles. Frogs and newts just ooze of cuteness in my book.

Let's just say that ZooDad does not share my frog enthusiasm. For him, frog season is like a return of the plagues. (If ZooDad had been Pharoah, Moses and the gang would have been quickly escorted out of Egypt after the 2nd plague. It would have been quick victory.)
He stepped out of the house this morning and then looked back with horror, "What is that sound? Is that a frog?"

Yes, honey. The frogs are back.

He whipped his head around looking for the vile noisemaker, "You better keep the doors shut. Don't let those things get in the house."

My brave soldier. Let's hope the enemy doesn't come bearing frogs.

I'm ready...I'm ready...I'm ready.

Whoops..not that ready. I submitted too soon.

Here's the cake I made for my step-great-niece. (How's that for a family relationship.) She wanted a Spongebob cake. I couldn't find the Wilton pan, so I just had to wing it.

Here's how it turned out.

I was pretty impressed with myself.
I free handed the whole thing with a bamboo skewer and a print out from Nickelodeon.

"A" has already requested a Gary cake for his birthday party in July. "S" wanted Spongebob or Squidward.
I'm going to push for Spongebob because I can't imagine how to make a squid.

People of the SouthEast

I hope I didn't disturb anyone with my hooting and stomping this morning.
We got a bit of good news.

First, I'm sorry that I've dropped off the blogging Earth. We've been busy with deployment preparations.
ZooDad was due to leave us on the 3rd and not return until October 2007. Today, we get word that he will have another 2 week class here at the post in town.

YAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
He has to report on the 18th instead...unless we can get that week of leave approved. (cross your fingers, pray, and hope for us.)

We spent the weekend building.
Zoodad tore down and rebuilt the dog fence. (We had to move it to make way for the new play fort/swing that we are building.) The dogs' fence had to be done before we started repairs on the big fence between our's and the neighbor's yards.

I spent the time building what S called, "A little house just for me" that sits on top of a new play fort/swingset. Pictures will come later, once the whole structure is finished and the yard is tidied up. Some people have orderly sites with no trash, debris, with tools all neatened up and all that.
We aren't those people.
I also micro-managed ZooDad's fence building and pointed out branches that needed to be cut. (It was a very important job. ZooDad has a tendency to whittle full grown trees down to a single stick and leaf.)

Laundry is still behind but we have clean clothes. The house isn't quite what I wanted for clean but it will keep the health department away.
We're in the middle of summer reading programs and that's helping our weary brains a bit.
I'm even have my own twaddle reading to enjoy.
We just rejoined the pool that has a great children's area and wading pools.

And two more weeks of ZooDad.
I couldn't ask for more...except that week of leave. That would be the icing on my cupcake.

Total lack of motivation

Today is shot.

Totally shot.
I don't feel like doing anything. at. all.

school kids are out, so the boys are playing in the front yard. They'll have plenty of time for school once ZooDad is gone.

I really need to do housework, but I have no real desire too. The kitchen is trashed from yesterday's cake making. (Spongebob cake for my step-great-niece.) laundry is reaching Everest proportions. There are three boxes of school books in my dining room and more on the table. And my to-do list is getting scarily long.

So what am I doing? Absolutely nothing. I'm not even knitting ZooDad's boot socks.
I had to scrap up motivation to post this.

I think this must be time for my monthly crash. It happens. It just is happening at a bad time. I have way to much to do.

Run Forest!

Is this not the cutest thing!

Here's A running home. Notice...He's levitating.
Actually, he runs in a gazelle type fashion and tends to leap.

I was so amazed. A didn't cry, pout, or hide. He willingly lined up, batted, ran the bases, and chased just about every ball hit.
At only his second time at t-ball.

That's not the norm for A. He's usually slow to warm up to new things.

Not that I'm complaining. It was wonderful experience. It was nice to see him as just a plain old kid. He wasn't any less coordinated than the others out there.

On a funny note, the coach put him up front and the traditional "line up and high-five" the other team.

Well, A's team lined up behind him, but A didn't walk forward so neither did the team. Instead the other team walked past them all.
Hee, hee.
The other parent's laughed about it. But A did high-five everyone with great enthusiasm.



On a completely unrelated note:
I got two packages today. One a replacement USB cord for my Ipod. I can now update my ipod and add some new music.

Second was a Mario Mix Dance Dance Revolution and two dance pads for the boys. This is the second release of this game. I pre-ordered it a month ago to make sure I didn't miss getting it.
It's a big hit. Even ZooDad jumped on the mat to try it out. (In fact, we had to kick him off so the kids could play.)

It's like the DDR for PS2 except the music is dance beat classical music or traditional Mario tunes. (Right now the boys are dancing to a techno version of Pomp and Circumstance earlier it was Carmen. ) And it has the normal quest type game like a Mario game.
The boys are breaking a sweat even on the easy level.

The foot work has to be right on the beat. It let's you know if you are perfect, close, early or late.
Besides the exercise component, the timing and footwork mimic the interactive metronome therapy that M is doing.

I could sell tickets to watch little S play it. He studies the screen so intently and them stomps like a madman on random arrows.
Hysterical and totally worth the money.

Antici...........pation

Tonight A has his very first t-ball game. Well, actually it's t-ball school for 4 and 5 year olds and the "game" is only called that because it involves another team.

It's 1:08 and the game begins at 5pm.

A is already dressed.

First, thing this morning he came downstairs wearing his team hat. After breakfast, he put on his team shirt. I rounded up black sport shorts, black striped baseball socks and a pair of cleats to fit. (I keep a box of sports clothes and paraphenalia. With 4 boys, everything gets reused and passed down. I don't have cleats to fit M since J seems to have skipped that size, so he'll get new cleats this season. However I do have pants, shorts and socks in various sizes and colors to "shop" from.)

Once A spied the pile of sport clothes, he immediately got dressed.
So here it is 3 hours and 52 minutes before game time and the boy is set to go.
He even has his bat and glove beside the front door.

One more boy out on the grass and clay; chasing balls and running bases.
Three down and just one more to go.

Take me out to the ball game...

It's baseball season part two here in the zoo. 3 out of 4 boys are playing this season. J is in machine pitch II, J is in T-ball, and A is in t-ball school.

You want entertainment, watch a group of 4 and 5 year-olds playing t-ball. They leap over the bases, the entire outfield chases every long ball and then wrestles over them and they have no aim, which doesn't really matter since they can't catch.
It's crazy. They should charge for tickets but instead we get to watch the hilarity for free.

Not much really going on except baseball. Lots and lots and lots of baseball. Every darn day.

unfortunately this makes poor blog fodder. So until I get some motivation, y'all get to read about my baseball venting.
Lucky y'all.

Hey, you could be at the field with me every night.

What in the heck?

It looks like the Army exploded all over my house.

That can only mean one thing....
ZooDad is home.
Yep, he's home for 3 weeks. Well, he's not officially home. He just happens to be temporally assigned to our local base for the next three weeks.

Guess what he brought me for Mother's Day? Dirty laundry.
I don't mind though. I'll happily take his dirty laundry. I might even grow to miss it.

The boys gave me two new charms for my mega-charm bracelet. I got a frog with green inlay and a "We Heart our Mom" charm. Now, I just have to get them soldered on this week.

We'll, I'm off for our busy day. I won't be around much this week due to baseball season part two cranking up. Tonight 3 out of 4 boys have practice.
I totally did not think this baseball thing through at all. Way too much baseball. Way. Too. Much.