The question

For the past week, there have been contractors here replacing our cracked up driveway. They know we are homeschoolers. It's kind of hard to miss since all four boys file out of the house onto the porch any time a piece of new machinery starts up. One day we had a Bobcat, a front loader, a dump truck, and a cement mixer.
Cement mixers are definite boy magnets.

So the boys have watched all this work going on. They've also helped by turning on and off hoses and moving various small items. And they've asked lots of questions.

In the process of getting a new driveway, we've discussed how concrete was used since Roman times; how it cures instead of dries, exothermic reactions versus endothermic reactions, hydraulics, how the screw inside the mixer worked like the screw in our ice maker, and a myriad of other topics.

Each afternoon, and by the time the novelty of the concrete work had worn off and all school work was finished, it would be time for the school kids to appear and they'd all play Yug-gi-oh, bocce ball, lawn darts, or football, or they'd ride bikes, scooters, and skateboards.
Most days there are about 10 kids playing in the area in front of my house or on my front porch.
Which makes yesterday's conversation with the contractors so funny.

The owner says to me, "You really can tell that your boys are smart. I mean, just listening to their conversation and the things that they ask. They must get a lot from homeschooling."
You homeschool parents know what's coming next don't you. What always comes next in these conversations. I expect the question, but it still surprises me every time.

He went on, "I don't how they are doing social wise. I mean, do they get time to be with other kids?"

For a moment I wondered what he thought all those kids were doing in my yard. Or if he the 15 additional children came to my house for science lessons on Monday while he was tearing up the driveway.

I assured him that the boys have plenty of interaction with the public. That they play football, soccer, basketball, and two seasons of baseball. That my oldest is in a drama production and they all attend PE classes, field trips, and bi monthly activities. Plus play dates, parties, and family visits.
In fact, I have to limit the social opportunities.

Then I had to laugh. Sure they're smart but are they socialized?

Why do we always get that question...especially when said children are in the middle of a spirited bocce ball game with half a dozen other kids.
How much more socialized do they need to be?

Ha, ha, ha, ha....where's the straight jacket?

I'm slowly going insane and all my stuff is falling apart.

Here's a list of things that have had to be replaced, removed, repaired so far this year:

Refrigerator supply line (repaired)
Kitchen sink cabinet (replaced)
Kitchen faucet (replaced)
Kitchen floor (replaced)
Dishwasher (replaced)
Giant pine tree (removed)
Bradford Pear tree (removed)
Driveway (in process of replacing)
Stump from the Bradford Pear Tree (removed)
ZD's car (repaired)
My van (oil leak repaired)
My van (another oil leak repaired)
My van (body damage caused by a lady that hit me)
oldest boy's teeth (new braces)
TV in the living room (bought a new one)
Lawnmower (bought an electric one)
storm door handles (replaced)
and newest on the list....Front door (thought we could repair but we'll have to replace it.)

It's ok really. I have hated that door for almost 10 years. I don't mind getting a new door at all. However, I do mind that the Lowe's people have to come over and measure the door before they can order the one I want. Like I can't tell that I need the 32" door versus the 36" door.

But the new door is all picked out. I'll still have to paint the thing which will set off a whole chain reaction of painting/replacing. (New door will need new light fixtures, numbers, and shutters. I'll never match the old door color....not that I really want to.)

So what color should we paint?

More work?

I'm at a loss on what to do with my oldest boy. The one from the previous post who is in 7th grade.
You see, he's finished with all of his work for the day. All of it. At 11:15am. He started at 8:3o after getting up at and doing some reading this morning.
And what exactly has he done?

1. A lesson from IEW Middle Ages. He even typed it and printed it.
2. His 8th grade spelling assignment.
3. A vocabulary lesson
4. Read "The Monkey's Paw" and answered the assessment questions.
5. A lesson from Latin Prep 1 including making vocabulary flash cards
6. 40 math problems from Lial's College Math
7. A section from PH Physical science, the accompanying workbook pages, and a discussion with me.
8. Read two sections from his Middle Ages study and outlined the material.
9. 2 Mindbender exercises from level C.
10. a lesson from Rod and Staff English.
11. and a lesson from Artistic Pursuits.

And he's done. He's currently playing Fantastic Contraption. I've checked his work. he had a couple of minor errors that he caught the same time I did. He happily fixed those.

So my question is....what do I do with this child? Double up his assignments? That doesn't seem like a reward for working diligently. Accelerate his work? I think that will just create more problems for me next year. I planned to drop grammar after 8th grade. The level 8 book is pretty much the same as the level 7 book. His science and history are already 8th grade material. I could move him straight into algebra but that will create issues with our state's graduation requirements. (He'll need four years of math in high school. I had planned that those four would be geometry, algebra 2 and 3, then calculus.)

Or do I just encourage him to start some outside projects in hopes that his work will be more time consuming later in the year. I know that the material will get harder as the year goes on, but just how hard will he find it. School has never been a challenge for him. Ever.
I can't past the idea that 7th grade should take a little more than 3 hours a day. Right?

So relax and wait or ramp it up?

A Saturday Morning Education

My oldest is using Rod and Staff English 7 this year. Apparently, the first few lessons are a review of everything they learned last year.

Also apparent, he's forgotten a few things over the summer.

"Mom, What's an interjection?"
I break out into song: "Interjections show excitement or emotion .They're generally set apart from a sentence by an exclamation point,Or by a comma when the feeling's not as strong. So when you're happy (Hurray!) or sad (Aw!)Or frightened (Eeeeeek!) or mad (Rats!)Or excited (Wow!) or glad (Hey!)An interjection starts a sentence riiiiiiight."
The 12 year old stared at me and he did that little fast blink thing. "Okaaaaaaay, thanks Mom"

A couple of minutes later....."Mom, Which part of speech connects words, verb phrases, and clauses?"

Yep.....those of you who grew up in the 70's know exactly what's coming next.
"Conjunction junction, What's your function? Hooking up verbs and phrases and clauses. Hey, boy. You know I learned my grammar from Saturday morning cartoons. You might need to watch more TV." He gave me that look that says, "This is why I never ask you anything." and walked back to his school books.

He never asked me about adjectives or adverbs. I would have been ready if he'd asked though. "Lolly, Lolly, Lolly....get your adverbs here."

heard and read

Each of these are things I have recently come across. Each of these as affected me. How do they affect you?

"I don't seek the presidency on the presumption I'm blessed with such personal greatness that history has anointed me to save my country in its hour of need. I seek the office with the humility of a man who cannot forget my country saved me."
Sen. John McCain

"There are those who speak about you who say, 'he lost an arm, he lost a leg, she lost her sight.. I object. You gave your arm. You gave your leg. You gave your sight. As gifts to your nation. That we might live in freedom. Thank you. And to your families. Families of the fallen and families of the wounded. You sacrificed in ways that those of us who have not walked in your shoes can only imagine."
Gen. Peter M. Pace Returning Heroes Home

You can say what you want about President Bush; but the truth is that he can take a punch. The man has taken a swift kick in the crotch for breakfast every day for 6 years and he keeps getting up with a smile in his heart and a sense of swift determination to see the job through to the best of his abilities. You don't have to like him but you have to respect the simple physical resiliency of this man.
Varifrank

"We the people" tell the government what to do, it doesn't tell us. "We the people" are the driver, the government is the car. And we decide where it should go, and by what route, and how fast. Almost all the world's constitutions are documents in which governments tell the people what their privileges are. Our Constitution is a document in which "We the people" tell the government what it is allowed to do. "We the people" are free.
Pres. Ronald Reagan

15 Years

Think back on the last 15 years of your life. What would you tell someone that you haven’t seen or talked to for 15 years? How would you sum up your life? You get 10 bullet points. A list of 10 things to summarize about you. At the end of your list, tag 5 more people and send on the love…



Mine is a note to my old college roommate who is still single and childfree.
1. I married a wonderful man. He's everything I could every ask for. He rescued me

2. We've been married 14 years. Together for 15 years. It feels amazingly secure and freeing in a way. I have someone who is always there to help me when I need it but still expects me to take care of myself when I can.

3. I have four wonderful boys. I know! Can you believe it? I'm a mom. With FOUR children.

4. No, I'm not crazy. The husband and kids are what I needed to ground my life. They are my purpose. (Don't faint on me.)

5. I used to be a middle school science teacher. I decided med school was not where I wanted to end up. I thought I could do more good in a classroom.

6. I'm currently a SAHM. I just reached a point where my own kids mattered more than everyone else's.

7. Oh, yeah...I homeschool them too. no I don't wear denim jumpers or grind my own wheat. I haven't gone that far over the edge...yet.

8. I haven't seen Steve since we graduated. See....I beat that addiction. Things seem to work out for the best, even when can't see it at that moment. I also left behind everything that he represented.

9. My Dad died. He had esophageal cancer and he fought it harder than anyone ever though he could. He was as funny as you remember right up to the very end.

10. The rest of the family is still as crazy and tight as ever. If you thought Easter was wild back then, you should see it with all the Grand kids. We still do the bunny hop and the chicken dance.

And I tag the following:
Jennie, because I know she'll have some uplifting ideas.
Dy, because she will make me laugh.
Jacqui, because she will "think" the most.
Penny, because she needs to blog more. :)
and Becca because she will be able to pick out 10 things easily.

And, of course, anyone else who likes this meme feel free to join in.

Ok, time to fess up.

I am a planning junkie.

Yes, it is true. I love to plan. I don't love the follow through so much. But I love to organize, and schedule, and lay out the most grandiose plans.
I've been this way all my life.
Even as a little girl, I organized my Crayolas in the box. Sometimes alphabetically. Sometimes by spectrum.
I organize the laundry. ZD gets tickled when he sees a pile of underwear and shirts sorted by color: white, brown, and tan.
The calendar on the fridge is set up by person. My email inbox is color coded and automatically sorts into different folders. The pantry is organized by type of food and who eats it. The main cooking stuff is at my eye level. The snack foods are at kid height. ZD's odd stuff is above my head since I won't touch it anyway.

So right now I am in my "most wonderful time." It's time to plan for school. And boy am I planning. I have spread sheets and book lists. I have notebooks and dividers and more office supplies than I can possibly use. I am one busy chick, overwhelmed and craving more at the same time.

But part of me is starting to doubt my "planning" ways. I'm starting to think I should put the energy into the "doing" instead of the planning. I know, I know, it's blasphemy. But I'm just entertaining the idea.

Maybe this year.....I'll just figure out the very bare bones what what needs to happen and by when. Then I'll just wing it. (I heard that snort from someone who knows me IRL. I can wing it. I can.)

So what do you do to get ready for the school year....even if you don't home school. How do you prepare? Do you plan out each week? Do you have a monthly goal? Do you just do whatever comes next? Do you decide over morning coffee?

And does planning cause you stress or does it alleviate it? (Or does it do both?)

Well Trained Men

It was my Happy Birthday today.

I went to eat at our favorite family place.
The boys made me brownies....by themselves.
And I got this because I have always wanted one.

ZD laughed because after we purchased it, the bag was first put into a cloth drawstring bag and then in a shopping bag. It was a bag in a bag in a bag. I'm kind of scared to use it. It may stay inside the bag in a bag.

And I now have M&M's, skittles, Fudge Stripe Cookies, chocolate truffles, and chocolate covered caramels here in the house. Very good.

The incedent....as the boys are calling it.

thump,thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump.
That's the sound of Sam running up the stairs. I hear that sound 20 or more times each day.

Today it was followed by a house shaking "Boooooooom!" and then various crashing sounds and a faster thump,thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump of Sam running back down the stairs.

WHAT HAPPENED?!?!?!
The tiniest little Zoo dude says rather unemotionally, "Something fell."

Yeah..."something" did. I walked upstairs to find the older boys' room completely destroyed. A four foot tall dresser lay knocked over in the middle of the room and laying flat on it's front. A 6 foot tall bookcase lay leaning against it. All the contents of both pieces of furniture were strewn everywhere and covered with pine bedding to add further insult.

And then....a very scared hamster crawled out of the rubble.

Sam is fine, thankfully. Either piece could have hurt him terrible. The story so far is that he was climbing up the dresser drawers to get a Nerf gun. The dresser started tipping so he grabbed the bookcase. The dresser is one of those 6 drawer jobs so it weighs a lot. If he had gotten pinned under it, he would have ended up in the hospital. Rooms can be cleaned up but little boys (and tiny hamsters) are a little harder to fix.

As it stands he gets to spend the day on the couch watching the new and is banned from his brothers' room. The hamster is waiting patiently in a bucket while his owner cleans up the disaster left by Hurricane Sam.

I would like to share with you....

the unconscionable crimes that my husband has committed this week.
Just to get you up to speed, the boys have been down on the farm for the past week.

The first day they were gone, a lady hit my van. She just didn't see me and decided that she needed to be in the left-turn lane. Unfortunately, I was in left-turn lane.
$975 worth of damage. No one hurt though.
So the week was got off to a grand start. Then the PMS began.

Night 1: dealing with the wreck.
Night 2: I discover that ZD has eaten the last of the chocolate pudding.
Night 3: I discover that ZD has eaten all of my Fudge Stripe Cookies.
Night 4: I discover that ZD has eaten all of the chocolate ice cream and left the counter, blender, and cabinets all chocolately.
Night 5: I find an empty box of fudgecicles in the freezer. (Hmmm...it was not empty when the boys left.)
Night 6: I discover that there is absolutely no chocolate in the entire house but there are plenty of healthy fruit strips and fat free snacks.

I haven't killed him yet. But I am considering a padlocked cabinet for my chocolate.

Almost Wordless Wednesday: Party edition

That's a cake of two monkeys on a surfboard.
Soggy boys.
Superman!
The other Superman!

Seven and five. I don't know how that is possible

Tour de Kitchen

Recently, there was a thread about kitchen on WTM. I wanted to share our little spot here with y'all.
So grab a mug of coffee and settle in for the tour. Lunch will be ready soon and then we'll have some fresh bread.

First of all, our house was built in 1984. So it's got some dated issues but we've done some things to try to drag the house into at least the 90's without breaking our budget.

Here's the green thing, formerly known as the yellow thing. I painted it to match our green cabinets. But it just didn't look right. So I painted the top of the buffet and the hinges black then replaced the white knobs with black ones. I really like the effect and it was cheap. Those curtains are also low budget. I bought the rods on sale and then spray painted them black. I bought the ring clips to match. I made the curtains myself with fabric I got on an end of bolt discount and then 40 % off that price. I think I paid about 5 dollars per yard for the heavy canvas fabric. The whole look took no time and I can easily change it out if I want to.

Here's my buffet. On top: the baskets that ZD sent me from Bosnia. Top shelf: My green glass that I adore so much, plates that my MIL painted just for me, and a few of my favorite frogs. My goal is to hang these plates on the back of the hutch instead of having them lean on the plate rail. Second shelf: More baskets, my tart warmer of the day, an aluminum bowl I bought at an auction, my cake plate (sans cake at the moment) and a set of nesting bowls that are the most used dishware in the whole house.
Back door and the first glimpse of the cabinets that we painted. These used to be baaaaaaad 80's brown. You know the brown I'm talking about. A a few coats of paint and new hardware and they look a lot better. In fact, the new paint makes my ugly laminate fake butcher block counter tops look almost good. Our future plans include adding new moulding on the cabinets, adding bead board to the ends of the cabinets, and putting in under cabinet lights. I'd love to also cover the back splash with inexpensive tile or the metal sheets. And maybe one day....maybe...replace the counter tops. I don't see that happening any time soon. But look how good my new floor looks with everything else! I love my floor. I could not have picked a better material for our life.

That door way leads to a wide hallway that is our utility/laundry space. There is also another closet right around that corner where my baking supplies are kept. And you can see my other homeschool mom accoutrement's: a bread machine (in the process of making bread) and my Kitchen Aid mixer.

Ok, standing at the back door and you can see that lunch is almost ready. We're having burgers today. I wish I had more counter space in this kitchen. I have so much that has to stay out. Everything gets used almost daily. You can also see the one cabinet that makes no sense. See the bottom one on the right side of the stove? Notice how it opens.....I have no idea why it opens that way. Oh...that glass on the counter holds some flowers that Sam picked for me. I have a little bid vase that my MIL painted just for little boy flowers, but Sam thought these needed something bigger.
Ok, facing out the way you came in. Here's the fridge, the cabinet that I cannot access without a step stool, my calendar, the Leap Frog letters and a couple of doors. The door to the right is our pantry and that hall leads to our dining room/school room. (Which is painted the same color as our kitchen cabinets.) The other door is the infamous under-the-stairs-closet that holds school supplies and doubles as our tornado hidey-hole.

So that's it. That's the place. I hope you've enjoyed the tour.

Another good reason to homeschool

When oldest boy got his mouth full of brackets and wire, the desk person at the orthodontist office scheduled his next check-up.

"That will be August 11th, it's the first day of school," she asked hesitantly. I told her sure since we homeschooled, it really didn't matter.

She looked up at me quite happily, "Oh, we love homeschoolers. It is so easy to work them into the schedule. Everybody wants a late afternoon appointment but homeschoolers will come in any time."

Glad to be of help in balancing out the appointment book.

Metal Mouth

Jacob got his braces yesterday. Well, he got part of the final system that he will wear for the next two years. He now has brackets, wires, and some metal bands on his molars.
Tomorrow he has to have two baby teeth pulled... I'm sorry "extracted." Then he goes back in August for heavy duty wires and more brackets before getting the big spring things attached in September.

He chose orange bands (his favorite color) on his brackets and for about 2 hours he was thrilled with getting braces.
Until it was lunch time. Then he discovered that eating with braces really hurts. For the past two days he's eaten, pudding, spaghetti-o's, soup, and a lot of applesauce.
He's also brushed his teeth 5 times and flossed twice. And....I'm proud of this one...he remembered to not chew the ice from Sonic.
I feel for him since I love some Sonic ice. (When I win the lottery, I am buying a restaurant grade ice machine that makes the ice like Sonic's.)

But he hasn't complained much. This morning he asked for Tylenol. And he did grump around after spending half a hour flossing this morning.
His orthodontist would be quite proud of him. I wish I could say that I would be as well behaved.

More Cakes

I haven't posted cakes in a long time. Here's a couple.

First up, Jacob's 12th birthday cake. He turned 12 right before the Chinese New Year so we rang in the Year of the Rat a little early.

Those are very bad representations of the Chinese characters for 'rat' along with Chinese keys and a yin-yang symbol. Along with 12 little fondant rats.
ZD thought that they looked a little too realistic. I made them all by hand. 12 little rats that the party guests fought over. I had to split them. Each kid got half a rat and the birthday boy got a whole one.

Ugh!

But the inappropriate cake-ness doesn't stop there. (Or it didn't start there.) Way back in October, Matthew had a Halloween Costume party complete with an

EYE CAKE! See my little Harry Potter look-alike and the flaming eye.
And then we cut that eye open and it bloomed like on of those onions at Outbacks. That's some yummy goodness right there.

a pricing question

Let's say you signed your kids up for a science class taught by a former public school teacher who was now a homeschool mom. This particular homeschool mom has a degree in biology and organic chemistry and a secondary education degree.
She also taught at well-known (in the area) science education center, developed activities for the US Forest service, and was a trained Star Lab, Project Wild, and AIMS instructor.
Let's just say that she can teach some science.

Also say that said homeschool mom was offering science classes out of her home for small groups. (6 students per class) And she planned to teach three different groups K-2, 3-5, and 6-8th. These classes would be 3 times a month and 12 classes per semester. Classes would last 1 hour and 15 minutes and the price would include materials and handouts. The 6-8th grade classes would follow an actual textbook but the homeschool mom is not the biggest believer in science textbooks even when she was a PS teacher.

Bottom line...how much would you pay for these classes?

Patrick Henry

March 23, 1775

No man, Mr. President, thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, as well as abilities, of the very worthy gentlemen who have just addressed the House. But different men often see the same subject in different lights; and, therefore, I hope it will not be thought disrespectful to those gentlemen if, entertaining as I do opinions of a character very opposite to theirs, I shall speak forth my sentiments freely and without reserve. This is no time for ceremony. The question before the House is one of awful moment to this country. For my own part, I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery; and in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be the freedom of the debate. It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fulfill the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country. Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the Majesty of Heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings.
Mr. President, it is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts. Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and, having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation? For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst, and to provide for it.
I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, and that is the lamp of experience. I know of no way of judging of the future but by the past. And judging by the past, I wish to know what there has been in the conduct of the British ministry for the last ten years to justify those hopes with which gentlemen have been pleased to solace themselves and the House. Is it that insidious smile with which our petition has been lately received? Trust it not, sir; it will prove a snare to your feet. Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss. Ask yourselves how this gracious reception of our petition comports with those warlike preparations which cover our waters and darken our land. Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation? Have we shown ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled that force must be called in to win back our love? Let us not deceive ourselves, sir. These are the implements of war and subjugation; the last arguments to which kings resort. I ask gentlemen, sir, what means this martial array, if its purpose be not to force us to submission? Can gentlemen assign any other possible motive for it? Has Great Britain any enemy, in this quarter of the world, to call for all this accumulation of navies and armies? No, sir, she has none. They are meant for us: they can be meant for no other. They are sent over to bind and rivet upon us those chains which the British ministry have been so long forging.
And what have we to oppose to them? Shall we try argument? Sir, we have been trying that for the last ten years. Have we anything new to offer upon the subject? Nothing. We have held the subject up in every light of which it is capable; but it has been all in vain. Shall we resort to entreaty and humble supplication? What terms shall we find which have not been already exhausted? Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive ourselves. Sir, we have done everything that could be done to avert the storm which is now coming on. We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne, and have implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the ministry and Parliament. Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult; our supplications have been disregarded; and we have been spurned, with contempt, from the foot of the throne! In vain, after these things, may we indulge the fond hope of peace and reconciliation. There is no longer any room for hope. If we wish to be free — if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending — if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained — we must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of hosts is all that is left us!
They tell us, sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot? Sir, we are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. The millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable — and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come.
It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace — but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!

If Patrick Henry were here today, almost 7 years after September 11...he would be horrified by most of the politicians today.

If you ask the soldiers who are fighting this war if they want the "peace" that most of our politicians want....they would answer no.

They want others to know freedom...not peace. Peace is easy. Peace is cheap. Peace is attained by selling out. Freedom is more complicated. Freedom is worth life.

Traveling papers.

ZD got orders yesterday.
Official orders for our first duty station since he returned to the Army.
We were all looking forward to a little excitement.

Would it be the two year tour to Korea?
Would it be time in the DC area with all the great history and museums?
What about Colorado? Now that would be something brand new for all of us.

Where are we going?
Nowhere. That's right. No. where.

ZD's orders are for the very post that I've lived around for 31 years.
My life as an Army wife has been sooooooo exciting. I've been here and Ft Bragg.

It is good news though. ZD has numerous contacts at the post. He has a reputation amongst military and contractors alike.
All of our family is here or nearby. We are entrenched in the community and we love our life. And our very old dogs will live out the rest of their lives in the yard they know so well.

But........

Some excitement wouldn't be a bad thing.

Orders could change. His report date isn't until March.
ZD has had reoccurring dreams about us being in Germany. He said that in his dream that I loved it there.

Maybe next tour.

I am not ready for this.

My oldest son is growing up.

A few nights ago he and ZD were up after bedtime having "a talk." I was banned from the area but I overheard a few phrases and questions.
"How do you know if a girl likes you?"
"....always be a gentleman."
"How did you get mom to like you?"

Then oldest child started using the phone to call his friend and a girl. (2 different people) The conversation with the girl was a marathon session.
Last night he ate dinner at his friend's house. It was very strange setting the table for only 5.
It was a glimpse of our future.

"Soon, we'll be eating dinner alone." I told ZD.
"Thank goodness the youngest is only 4." he countered. I didn't want to remind him that the "baby" will be 5 in a few weeks.

Then, just to hammer the point home, Andrew came up complaining that his back teeth hurt and must be loose.
Nope...they aren't. He's getting his first adult molars. And he'll be seven this week.

Where is the pause button?

Water WIngs

Yes, for only $6.99 (times 2) and a pair of healthy lungs, you can can have your very own water confident child.

And even better, these roll right off the little tykes arms just like that water worm toy. (Am I dating myself? Do you know what toy I'm talking about?)
Actually, I think they are called "Arm Floats" now and not "water wings."

But who cares about semantics when you can go down the water slide with all your brothers, their friends, and several hundred strangers.

Be wary of the side effects : Cannon ball jumps, repeated wandering out into the really deep water, and big white tan lines on your biceps.

Also beware of hot metal items or you'll be shelling out another $6.99.

A visit with the Orthdontist

The oldest boy has an overbite. A week or so ago, he went to do his initial x-rays and let the orthodontist make a plan on how to fix his mouth.

Initially, she planned to to do the treatment in two stages. Stage 1 would last a year and would cost us $1000 after insurance. We never discussed stage 2. Apparently, stage 2 is a really big deal

Today, we met with her to hash out all the plans now that x-rays, molds, and pictures had been done.

Things changed...a lot.

The oldest boy apparently has a skeletal overbite and a dental overbite. The good news is that according to his growth plates, he hasn't yet had his major growth spurt. In fact, he's god another 10 to 12 months of slow growth before he really starts growing.

Both the Orthodontist and I found that quite amazing since the 12-year-old boy is already 5 feet 8 and wears a size 14 shoe.
I don't want to think about him growing a lot more.

Anyway, The dental overbite will be treated with braces. The skeletal overbite will be treated with this contraption to encourage his lower jaw to grow quicker.

Yeah....that's what I thought also. It's called a Herbst appliance. They look like the things on our storm door to keep it from slamming.

The poor boy will have to wear this and/or braces for the next TWO YEARS. And he will will most likely wear a retainer until he is in his 20's. (So says the orthodontist.)

Poor kid. He's got years of torture ahead of him. Paid torture.

How much will 2+ years of dental torture cost us?

Are you sitting down?

I would recommend it.

Especially if you have a kid with an overbite....and very little in the way of a chin.

And you know insurance only covers about $1000 to $1500.....lifetime.


Ok....you've been warned.
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$5900.00, plus $170 for all the x-rays, molds, and photos.

The boy got spacers in today. He hasn't complained but he did ask for some Tylenol. In a week he will have metal bands put in instead of the crowns in the above picture. A week after that, he'll have 4 baby teeth pulled. Then he'll be measured for his torture device....umm...Herbst Appliance.
Two weeks after that, everything will be installed. Braces, spacers, Herbst, and a few bands just to round out the event.

But it's better than the option of waiting until adulthood. Adults with skeletal overbites have to have jaw surgery.

Thank goodness he's still growing.

I wonder if the mil-pay can set up an allotment to the orthodontist. We do have three more boys coming up behind this oldest one. We might be able to fund our own treatment room.

Oh...and we'll need to start a shoe fund. We can't find many shoes larger than a 14 around here. I don't foresee his foot to stop growing any time soon.

Summer update

We're still playing baseball. Matthew's team is 4-1. Jacob's team is 3-1. Andrew's team is 2-2. And Sam's team has just discovered where 1st base is. We're having a great time though. All the families on the boys' teams are just wonderful. That makes the practices and games a lot of fun for me.

We're swimming almost everyday and the boys and I are getting brown as Indians. Um.....Native Americans. Um.....we're getting fairly tan. My favorite life guard is back for one last summer before he graduates college and enters the real world. He gets tickled at Sam's new found love of water and just shakes his head as Sam cannon balls into the big pool.

On Friday, my oldest managed to get on the front page of the local newspaper. Even underwater he's a complete ham. We didn't even know that the lady was a reporter. We thought she was just a nice lady who has a new underwater camera and wanted to try it out. (No that's not me in the background. We were out of shot laughing at the whole thing.) ZD and I were rather surprised when we saw that shot right on the fold.

We've had a run on car trouble here. ZD's car busted a manifold and my van developed an oil leak. Our stimulus checks went to the local Goodyear place. It was nice that we had the money....i just wish it could have gone towards something more fun.

Oh....and ZD has a request for orders. For the non-military people, that means that he has a new job lined up and planned for. I don't want to get too excited about it just yet. A lot of things could happen between now and the end of February. Another unit could need someone. Jobs could get shuffled. Plus the unit doesn't even exist yet.

I don't want to say too much yet but it's the ideal place for us. And we won't be going to Korea. We're quite happy.

We are here. We are here. We are here. We are heeeerrrrreeeee!

Sam wandered into our room while ZD worked on his laptop. "I need a hair cut." he said in annoyance. ZD playfully asked him if he wanted a haircut like his...a soldier's cut with a little length on top.
Sam inspected his father's head and replied, "Yeah....but without all the bald parts."
We're still giggling with each other about that one.

It's been baseball central around here. Season I is finally finished and they are now onto Season II. On Saturday we had a bit of overlap. M & A had games over at the Y and the oldest boy had a double elimination tourney at our church league.
Holy Moley! That boy played baseball all day. The first game was at 9 am and they finally lost the last game at 5 pm. His team came in second place overall, which was how they were ceded coming into the tourney. The team that won really deserved it. We couldn't have lost to a more encouraging coach or nicer man.
I spent the time managing the dugout, keeping the score book, and knitting a very orange pair of socks. Oh yeah, and working on a seriously hot farmer's tan.


I spent half an hour trying to order curriculum for next year's school year. It should have been a quick click and then type in my credit card number, but the company's system wouldn't acknowledge my address. It kept trying to assign me to the town next door. I finally called customer service and convinced them that the two town share the same zip code...though we have our very own post office.
I felt like a "Who" trying to convince the rep in some cold Midwestern place that I really did exist and that I wasn't existing in the town she thought I was.


I'm just about to start the planning for next year's school year. I still have to order a new microscope and decide on a logic program. The basics are all done though. We're sticking with MCP math and Singapore math for the younger ones. Oldest boy will be using Lial's Basic College Math. Everyone is using Rod and Staff English, Spelling Workout, and Wordly Wise.
Oldest boy is reading short stories and poetry this year. We'll sprinkle in a few good novels and introduce Shakespere. But for now he is content to work through an Edgar Allen Poe collection.
Matthew has a school literature book and a whole shelf of biographies to read. This weekend he started with the biography of Albert Einstein. (Who, according to M, left his wife for his cousin. He was quite outraged by that.) The two younger ones will continue with Hooked on Phonics and Explode the code.
History is way off the classical method. Sam will be covering stuff through Five in a Row. A & M will continue with the Core Knowledge History and Geography series. Oldest boy is happy with a Geography and cultures textbook. (We had an interesting discussion about GDP this morning.)
For Science we're using Five in a Row, Harcourt Science, and PH Science Explorer Life Science.
Oh....and we're returning to Latin this year. I've ordered Latin Prep from Galore Park for my oldest. He plans to study it on his own. I think he can knock himself out on that one and I wish him well.
Now I just have to schedule everything to make the upcoming year as smooth as possible....especially since we'll have to move in the middle of it.


The pool opens this week. It's the last week of public school. So either way, my peaceful mornings are over.
If the kids don't bug me about going swimming, the neighbor kids will be ringing the doorbell at 8:30 in the morning.
On a positive note, the ice cream man hasn't been seen in weeks. Maybe he's moved on to more fertile pastures.


Last bit o' news. J has started his road to cosmetically straighten teeth. We start "stage 1 intervention" tomorrow. Let's just say that neither none of us is filled with joyous anticipation. Thank goodness for that Health Savings Plan and the fact that he could walk home from the orthodontist if he had to.

Enjoy your pearly whites, straight of not.

What if God were one of us?

At the baseball field on Saturday.
Sam runs up to me and hands me a book mark with images from Jerusalem.

"Don't 'woose' that. I got it from Jesus." (pronounced in a way to rhyme with Cheese-its.)
Really? From the Man himself?
"Yeah, so don't 'woose' it. It's my Jesus thing. Jesus gave it to Coach Bobby and Coach Bobby gave it to me.

Well, that clears things up a bit.
The book mark from the Jesus has been quite the favorite thing around here. Of course in Sam's eyes, Coach Bobby ranks as pretty important too.

This makes us all crack up laughing.

It's got all the cuteness. Momma Panda, baby panda, and a sneeze.
We laughed to tears.
Turn your speaker up first. Nothing will jump out and scare you. My kids have watched this a dozen times and we still can't stop laughing.

I need a swift kick in the rear.

I have to finish painting the "big yellow thing." Its the buffet and hutch that needs to be a big green thing. The base is done.
And that is all.
The drawers...not done.
The shelves...not done.
The doors...not done.

And the hutch itself...it hasn't even been primed.

All the stuff that used to be in the big-yellow-soon-to-be-green-thing is in totes in my dining room and on the dining room table.
That means that the "school area" is now my kitchen table. Which further means that laundry must be folded....somewhere else. So I'm not doing laundry as promptly as I should.
When I see the pile of laundry, I feel guilty about sitting out on the sunny deck and painting.
(sigh)
It's a "hole in the bucket" situation here at the zoo. (Dear Liza, Dear Liza.)

Somebody give me permission to paint!

Test time

Yep...it's high season of the all-important-state-standards-test here in the Peach State. It is time for the CRCT. Which means the school year will soon end.

My kids have been attending speech at the local elementary school for....4 Springs now. And I have been looking at the same CRCT posters each and every year.
Up and down all the halls, are signs reminding the children to "read carefully" and to "reach the stars."

My not so favorite posters, however, have been conspicuously absent this year. (The Rosa Parks and MLK ones.)
That's an improvement in my book. But sadly, my other ideas have not crept into the school's head. The art displays are still without any educational merit. (But they had some pretty neat artwork this year. I do have to give credit there.)

It's very ......um....interesting for me to visit the school each week. I get a glimpse of what most homeschoolers do not.
And it doesn't change my mind about wanting to homeschool.

Sure, I get a little wistful when I watch the school plays. (We get to see the ones on our speech days.) The Principal is exactly the type of person that I would want as a principal and the custodians are the absolute nicest people I have every met. And the students are happy to be there. I don't think I have ever witnessed a major bad behavior. The music teacher is downright phenomenal.
And they conduct a very quick and thorough fire drill. (We've been there for two this year.

But I'm not tempted. No....not at all. Sometimes I am impressed by the level of work shown but I don't for a minute think that they maintain that level of work day in and day out across all the grades.
So I don't feel that I am dropping the ball with my sons.
I don't see that they are missing out on enough to justify enrolling them. Or to justify them missing out on the stuff they get here at home.

But my kids are a bit odd. My oldest is highly self-motivated and is an absolute dream student .... at home.
Around friends, he metamorphoses into Mr. Social. In a classroom setting, he would be every teacher's nightmare: the kid who does all his work quickly and correctly then chats with his buddies who haven't finished their work.
He would be like me...in class until he finished all his work and being sent on errands for the remainder of the school day.

My second and third would not be able to handle the distractions of a class room setting. The would come home every day with unfinished work that they were completely capable of doing. Another type of teacher nightmare: the one's who can but don't.

And then the baby would get into the worst possible mischief and flash that dimpled grin to get out of all repercussions. You know that kid from your own school days. The Teflon Don of the elementary school.
That grin works on works on everyone else...but I am immune.

Nope....I can't see it working for the boys. At home, they get more than what the school can provide them.

Except those school plays. That place can really put on a show.

A question from the Nine-year-old.

Momma, does the President get to pick the price of gas?

No, he doesn't.

Then why do they blame him on the news? They always say that the President needs to do something about the price of gas.

Yes, they do. But the President doesn't have anything to do with the price of gas.

Who does?

The people who sell the crude oil to oil companies and the companies that take the oil and turn it into gas. Plus the people that sell the gas too.

Well, why isn't anybody on the news blaming those people?

I don't have the answer to that one.

I think someone should let the news people know so they can start telling the right people that they need to do something about the price of gas.

Have

I have a floor. It is wondeeeerrrrrfuuuullllll.
I have a new cabinet too.
I have paint on the trim and the new cabinet.
But I have to paint the buffet and hutch some other color than the yellow it currently is.
I also have a big mess of clutter to put back where it belongs.
I have to put all my decorations back up.
I have to hang curtains too.
I would post a bunch of pictures
But I also have a dead battery in the camera and I cannot find the charger.

Until then want a peek?
Here's the replaced cabinet.

Yes, I have green cabinets. The color is actually "Outback" by Behr paint. The dining room is this same green.
Zd and I are partial to the green.

The floor....it is vinyl. A thick vinyl tile.
It's Adura Flooring from Mannington.
I have the the Sicilian Stone. Apparently it is indestructible. Or darn close to it. I wiped up a crayon mark. I wiped it up. With a paper towel. And plain water. Red crayon. Like I was cleaning up spilled milk.
That is so awesome! I opted for the solid surface installation but you can also get it with grout. I thought that the grout would just add to the maintenance and I wanted as little maintenance as possible.



Here's the back door. Please ignore my unattractive laminate counter. That's the next thing on my wish list.
Notice how the floor is 'dirt colored.' Yesterday, I swept up a pile of dirt and then walked away to find the dustpan. When I came back....I couldn't find the pile of dirt.

That is impressive.
Check out my white door. That used to be the home of the flat frog. He's gone now and the door is now glowing white.

That's my new wall color also. "Malted Milk" from Lowes. I really love the new wall color. I've been gushing over it since I bought it.
ZD is amused. He says, "It's just off white. Wasn't it off white before your painted it that yellow color?"
Maybe....but it wasn't that particular off white.

He likes the new look though. Last night I caught him standing in the laundry/utility room just staring with this approving expression on his face.

I do the same thing.

The email that cuased bad words to fly out of my mouth...

ZD messages: "There is a one in four chance that I will get this."

The attached message about a position that must be filled by one of the 4 people in his course (counting himself)......24 months command sponsored.......in Seoul.

Wonderful.

Holey Moley.
Our mothers will kill us if we try to take the grandsons with us. They will.

Any good yarn stores in Korea?

Updates

The painting is finished. Well, the walls and trim are done. The cabinets need a some work and the "big yellow thing" is going to become the "big green thing." (It's a buffet and hutch that are normally in my kitchen.)

The middle children go to the developmental Pediatrician today. That's always a fun filled life affirming trip. Then we have OT and after that, second child has a baseball scrimmage.
Tomorrow....my floor arrives. I will take pictures.

ZD did call the man who was so very annoyed at me about his problem. His conversation went like this.
"I was told that you had a conversation with my wife. I'm not happy about the tone of this conversation. You will not have any further conversations with my wife."
That was it. ZD was ticked off.
The guy was very contrite. His response was, "That's understandable." No apology was offered but ZD didn't ask for one either. He didn't want so I didn't need it.
So that is done.
I thanked the guy for standing up for my honor. My brave knight... slaying dragons and fielding phone calls.

Other stuff, there is knitting again.
I was so busy with the dang painting that there was no knitting. But that has changed.
I'm not happy about the knitted object so far so there may be frogging soon.

I'm off...I have to call a concrete guy. Can you believe that the county only offered to pay for half of the torn up section of the driveway. They seem to believe that we are half responsible for letting them in driveway in the first place.
They also feel we should have cut the tree roots ourselves. (But our insurance company begs to differ.)
I guess they live in an alternate reality where they are responsible for anything except the new library and a sports league.
ZD is meeting with legal tomorrow to see who is right in this situation.
But I need to start getting estimates on a new driveway.

Always some sort of action here in the Zoo.

This post is fueled by Paint fumes

I am painting the kitchen/utility/laundry room. The kitchen walls are painted and all is good. The utility/laundry is half done. Well, actually a quarter done. Half the walls have one coat. The washer and dryer are blocking my path to the other two walls. And the small mountain of laundry is helping block the other wall.
My plans to finish all this by Friday night were sadly derailed by the new eye drops that I have to take. They are very freaky...but this is my post about painting. More on the eye drops later.

In the kitchen, the 1st coat of trim is done. I am dawdling. I really don't feel like doing the second coat.
Oh, and if you have visited me before....the squashed tree frog in the door jamb of the back door....he's gone. It was surprisingly easy to remove his flat and very dried up remains. Then I painted over the crime scene.

The new paint color is "Malted Milk." It looks just like the inside of a Whopper candy. Quite nice. The children have stopped asking me if this is a base coat or if it will change color when it dries. I guess they've given up on the color becoming something more exciting than the creamy very light tan that it is.
The new floor is supposed to go in on Tuesday. I sure hope it looks good with the new paint.
After that, we can finally start getting back to normal. It will be nice to get the refrigerator out of my dining room hallway. The whole house has suffered with our house's heart in such disarray. It'll be nice to be able to find the cleaning sponges or the cookie sheets.

My to-do list for tonight and tomorrow:

1. Finish trim in the kitchen
2. Paint walls in the utility/laundry
3. Paint trim in the utility/laundry
4. Hang curtains in the kitchen
5. Hang blinds and curtains in the utility/laundry
6. Wait patiently for the new floor so I can put all the junk back into place and get all the stuff off the deck and out of my dining room.

$%%&#&*!!!

I hate people who chew me out.
I especially hate people who chew me out over the phone.....at seven o'clock in the morning.

People who are mad at me because they made a mistake and now they have a problem.

I really hate people who chew me out even when I am trying to solve the problem that they created. When I am going above what is required of me and trying my very best to help them out.

People that do not appreciate my very best. And feel that I should be doing way more them to fix the problem that they created...thusly chewing me out at 7 in the morning.
And if this "person" is someones husband with whom I've never even spoken to before....I will take it the wrong way.

According to him, I "dropped the ball."
According to me....The deadline was March 28th. I'm doing you a favor please act accordingly and stop telling me that I need an attitude adjustment for pointing out the time of your call.

ZD plans to speak the very unappreciative man. He feels that a man picking on a woman is a coward.

About the deck

**This post will be pretty boring for anyone who is not Dy or is not contemplating building a new deck. Sorry**

A few years ago, our deck fell off the house. It really did. It was nailed to our sill with flashing what-so-ever. The sill rotted. (That wood was supposed to hold up the whole house) and the deck came loose. Thankfully, it was only a 4 feet off the ground. That's when we discovered that not only did the deck not have footers but that the posts were just sitting on the ground.
ZD picked up the deck and moved it.

Very scary after the fact.

So we built a new deck.
After the house was jacked up and 18 feet of double sill was replaced.

New deck:
No nails at all. We used only bolts and screws. Each part of the deck is removable.

18 feet by 20 feet.
Completely over engineered. . Bolted to the house (not nailed) with 24 six inch lag screws. Flashed with nice big washers to make sure the holes do not strip.
We made sure that the joint across the span was not at the door that we use to get on the deck. (Previous deck had a joint at the high traffic area...bad plan.)

Double joists every 6 feet for the decking to sit squarely on. 1 inch deck boards with way more screws than needed.

We did two beams with four posts per beam. The beams are double thickness.
All posts have poured footers and are bolted in with galvanized post holders. (We set a j shaped bolt in the concrete and then attached the post holders.)

Then the entire deck has a 2 foot cantilever. This allows me to plant under the deck and hides the posts holding it up. The only problems with this was the railing. The posts holding the deck are not part of the railing in any way. (I see that Dy's old deck...the posts are part of the railing. Our posts are way under the deck.)

But this made installing the decking really easy. No posts to cut around.
The posts for the railing are bolted onto the deck and the rails were screwed into place. The rail was designed to have a 6 inch wide cap on it but .... well....that has happened yet. It will happen though.

Oh...on our railing....the bottom rail lets the pickets float above the decking. There is a 3 inch gap between the bottom rail and the pickets. That's so I can blow off the deck without all the crap getting caught by the pickets. You have to make sure the rail is set in though....or the kids will try to fit through that little gap.

Thing I wish we had done differently:
I wish we had left the rail posts higher than they are. That way we could put a nice decorative top on the post and put the cap rail between the posts.
I wish we had left a few posts very tall for a bird feeder or hanging plants. (To over hang the deck.
Also, I really wish we had not waited to stain it.

But I do love our deck.

Any other questions? Anybody have any other ideas for Dy's new deck? What about your own deck. What do you like and what is a really bad idea?

I have no floor

Well...I have floor. It's just really ugly. I was supposed to get a new floor yesterday but my new floor is in Florida. (Which is oddly apropos.)

My new floor will get here tomorrow and will be installed on Tuesday.

Until that time, my refrigerator will remain in the hall of my dining room blocking access to my kitchen. Thankfully, we can just walk around through the living room. So we can have cold food but we won't have ice. The supply line that caused all this mess in the first place, won't reach into the dining room.

So what do you do on Spring Break week and you kitchen is destroyed?
You paint it of course.

I've got one coat on the entire kitchen and today I'll finish that off and do the laundry/utility room. I may even repaint the cabinets before the guy shows up to put the new floor in.

Kids are being kids. Sam's foot looks better. He still screams and fights about the eye drops. Matthew's eye looks pretty good. He still has the redness and swelling. He's been awesome about the whole thing.
Andrew managed to miss the whole cold thing. So the nebulizer is back in the closet.

ZD however, did not that bus. He is one miserable Army guy. But he can't smell the paint fumes so he isn't complaining about them.

In which Sheila officially throws in the towel

The boys were supposed to go down to Grandma's farm today. They had planned to spend Spring Break down there. That was going to be a good thing because today is the day that the contractors are coming to tear out the water damaged cabinet and rip up all the flooring. (We had a refrigerator supply line leak.)

Tomorrow they will replace the flooring and then Thursday will be the grand replacement of all the things that they drug out.
My kitchen will be out of commission for 3 days. Hopefully, only 3 days.

Hopefully.

But the boys won't be at Grandma's. Nope.
M's eye are healing great but he has one medication he receives three times a day, another is 4 times a day, and then an eye ointment at night.
Thankfully, he is very compliant.

Just to add some excitement, the baby developed cellulitis in a cut on his foot. That means soaking his foot twice a day and antibiotics three times a day. Oh....and he also has some serious allergy conjunctivitis. So he also has eye drops twice a day.
Let's just say that he is not the best the little patient in the world and leave it at that.

To round out the troubles, A is developing a cold. Unfortunately, he also has asthma so any cold leads to croup and days on the nebulizer. I'm just waiting for that to start up.

So I made a check list of what to do for which kid and when.

Which will be fun ..... without a kitchen.

If you see me this week and I have that maniacal look on my face... you'll know why.

Third time's the charm

Today I'm sharing some pictures of my son, Matthew. I'm usually quite careful to make sure he looks his "best" for pictures. So some of the things that I am pointing out may not be so evident in these pictures. Plus M has learned to accommodate his eye alignment by turning his head or looking at us from the side.

Matthew has a myriad of eye alignment issues. Basically, he has strabismus. (lazy eye) He has had glasses since he was three years old. He's done patching for 10-12 hours a day for months. He had two previous eye surgeries.

Patching at age 5 to strengthen eye, 12 hours a day for 6 months. Second pair of glasses. Left eye went from 20/80 to 20/30.

He's always been very stoic about his eye problems. He has never complained about wearing glasses or not wearing glasses. He was patient and willing during all that patching. He trusts us and his doctor about surgery. He's just been wonderful patient.

Oct 2005 Age 7, first lost tooth, no glasses because he is working on strengthening eye muscles after second eye surgery to correct right eye going outwards.

Yesterday, he had his third surgery. This one was tough to recovery from. He cried in the surgical recovery room. His eye hurt so much that he needed three doses of morphine. This same kid cut his finger to the bone and needed 7 stitches...and never cried at all.

Nov 2003, age 5. Here's what it looks like when the patch is off. This was a few months before 1st surgery.

We got home from the hospital about noon yesterday and the poor little guy slept for the rest of the day.

April 2003, age 4 1st pair of glasses are 1 year old. Left eye starting to cross again.

Today, however, he's back to his normal self. He just looks terrible.

He has to take it easy for a few days to keep the swelling down. And he has eye drops and ointment several times a day for the next month.

Summer 2007, age 8. Left eye is going way outwards. Planned surgery for September 2007 but postponed because of ZD's deployment.

But his eyes look straight, to me at least. He has his first post-op visit on Monday.Cross your fingers....but not your eyes. But feel free to cock your head to one side.

World Autism Day

Autism Society of America

Autism: The Miracle Project trailer One of my own sons is very much Like "Henry."

If you have HBO, try to catch the documentary "Autism the Musical." But bear in mind, having a child with Autism is not all gloom and doom.
Not all families are torn apart and some even learn to embrace their children just the way they are.
We have.

Our boys play team sports. They get invited to parties. They have friends. They do well with their school work and plan to go to college.
They even have career goals. They plan to be husbands and fathers.
And Matthew can cook a mean grilled cheese sandwich.

In fact, we frequently get my least favorite comment, "Really? They seem so .... normal."
That's due to a lot of things. Wonderful therapists. Early intervention. Sensory Therapy. Sports groups that don't exclude "kids with special needs." Patient swim coaches. The world's best pediatrician.
And ZD and I have to take credit for our work. We try to be consistent in our rules. We teach the boys coping techniques. And we try to keep them in situations that they can tolerate. (Due to M's generalized anxiety...we won't be PCS'ing to Hawaii. M is a bit scared about living on a volcano.)

Sure, it isn't always smooth sailing. It does wear me down some days. But it's not some death sentence.
Sometimes it's even a good thing.

laugh

ZD is down right funny. He's so deadpan and sardonic that most people don't appreciate (or get) his sense of humor. They think he's serious.

So...ZD discovered that his credit card magnetic strip is no longer magnetic. (Most likely from his extended vacation to the desert.) He called the bank to request a new one. Now, ZD is not the type of person that enjoys the automated phone system. He really has no love for that particular bit of technology.

He finally got a real live person and explained why he needed a new card when the old one had neither expired nor was lost. (Automated system didn't have an option for "My magnetic strip is fried by all the sand and static.)

Bank person asked him what designed he wanted for the front of his new card.
Without a moment's hesitation, ZD replied, "Do you have one with little puppies on it?"

The bank person was quiet until ZD informed her that he was kidding and the plain gold front would be just fine.

I, of course, was cracking up.

Aren't you jealous!

My four children are all in the living room arguing quite loudly.

They are fighting over which one will clean up the carpet stain.

I kid you not.

I'm not sure if I should go break up the fight or just let them divvy them all up between themselves.
I'm thinking about starting a dusting war or maybe a window washing competition.

Words from Sam

I was whistling while I was knitting. I guess I don't whistle much since Sam was impressed by my ability.
"Mom! You can whistle..........with your mouth!"

Huh? I was genuinely perplexed.
"Honey, what else would I be whistling with?" I asked because I just had to know how he would answer me.

He looked at me with that "oh you poor foolish woman" look and he sighed at me.
"With a whistle." he answered. The boy is convinced that his mother is daft.

That's why the Army guys love them.

Littlest guy Sam came running downstairs after dressing himself.
He was was wearing a pair of tan cargo pants and a red shirt and we was really excited.

"Mom....Mom...Mom....Look!" he yelled to me, pointing to the pockets on the legs of his pants. "I've got TWO extras. Two! See." He pulled apart the Velcro holding the pocket and immediately began stuffing little Star Wars figures inside.

Apparently, when you're a four year old boy, having extra pockets is one of the best things ever.

Because we love excitement around here.

These are not my trees. They belong to the county. They county's property butts right up to mine. They removed these trees at our request because the pine tree was a. leaning towards our house and b. tearing up our driveway.

The Bradford Pear was a favorite tree for climbing. Most days, there would be at least 5 kids up in the tree. They even named all the branches. But it had to go because it would have been destroyed when the pine tree came down.

The pear came down fairly easy. The county folks knocked down my cable wire and tore up the corner of my siding. (I have that on my list of things to complain about.)

Then the pine removal began.

That's an 85 foot bucket truck. It wasn't tall enough. Notice the lean. This is the best angle to see just how non-straight the tree was.

That tree was a house killer. The boys had to sleep downstairs during heavy storms.
The roots grew under my driveway and pushed up the concrete...and grew into my sewage line. Can you tell that I have no love lost for the giant pine?

The view from across the street. This is after most of the limbs were removed. We left the house early and missed the initial action. This is what we found around 10 am. That's my driveway where the bucket truck is. There were another dozen county vehicles in the road. Wood chippers, backhoe, dump truck, fuel truck, and then various pickup trucks. They pretty much blocked the entire road.

While two guys from the power company cut down the big pine tree, another 10 county guys watched them. The work started at 7:30 am and they didn't finish up until after 4 pm.
And look what they left me with. I had no idea that they could possibly tear up my driveway more than it had been... I underestimated them. The funniest part was, they used leaf blowers to clean the debris off the driveway. I told them that that was an exercise in futility. (click on the pic to make it bigger. The expression of confusion on Andrew's face is hilarious. Ignore the ugly trailer. It's there temporarily.) Of course, the first thing I complained about was the oil stain. That set ZD off. "Well that's just the last straw....An oil stain. Now the driveway is completely ruined."

Here's another shot. For reference, those are ZD's size 13.5 feet. Notice the huge chunks of concrete sticking up. Lovely, huh?

And to add insult to injury, they left the two giant stumps. 50 year old pine trees leave a very big stump. I swear, my kids do own shoes. They just don't like to wear them.

ZooDad has already drafted his next letter.

And that's not all. Next post.....Water damage in the Zoo.

Guess what my children and the neighborhood gang are doing?

They are making origami water bombs, filling them with water, then climbing as high as possible in our Bradford Pear tree....and finally dropping them down on the driveway to see what happens.

Thankfully they aren't pelting the dog walkers with them.

This is apparently big time fun for the neighborhood gang.

Honestly, he really loves animals.

I walked into the house from homeschool PE and found that ZD had set up a table in the living room. And he filled it with file boxes from the attic.

This wasn't done on a whim, he needed copies of orders from 1985.
I'm not kidding.

Even more amazing was...he found them. I don't think I own any paperwork from the 80's except my high school diploma.

After about 10 minutes in the house, the sound finally registers with me.

"merow.....merooooooow......meeerrrrroooowwwww"
"Is that Mango meowing?" I asked when no one reacted to the very loud plainative cry.

"Oh, yeah" ZD piped up as if he just remembered something. "Mango might be locked in the attic crawl space."

She was.
She sure was glad to get out of there. At least the kids know where the saying "Curiosity killed the cat" came from.

We've been very busy

The last few days have been....welll...a little crazy here at the zoo.

I'll see if I can catch you to speed in a series of posts.

Let's start with Friday.


On Friday, I went to my special "old eyes" opthalmologist. She needed to check the little holes that she burnt into my irises, were still open. (I have narrow angle glaucoma and Fuch's endothelia dystrophy. I'm 37 years old and I have the eyeballs of a 60 year old.)

One of the holes was not doing it fair share of the pressure reducing work. So it will need further prodding along. Actually, I have to have some other laser procedure that will flatten my iris a little to help the hole stay open.
(The procedure was supposed to be today....but I had to rescedule. More on why later.)

When I came home from the doctor, I explained all this to ZD, who reacted by deciding that he needed to go ahead and sign in for duty.
(That's means he went and joined up with the Army again.)

He really did. He threw on his uniform, we packed up the kids, and we headed on post with a crate full of paperwork. By noon, we were an Army family again. Offical and everything.

We had lunch at the PX and then went to get ID cards. (For the experienced, it was not bad at all other than a DEERS issue. And the ID people were helpful and courteous. I was as surprised as you are.)

By 3 o'clock we had done all the work we could and then headed home. The kids played outside with friends while ZD and I kind of took in what we had just done.