Discovery Channel field trip

We had a great field trip today to the Discovery Channel TV station!!

My cousin, Jonathan, works there and was able to score a couple of tours for our homeschool field trip co-op. There were about 25 of us in each of the 2 groups.

This is their library - where every episode of each of the 13(?) stations (Discovery Channel, Discovery Health, Discovery Kids, Animal Planet, Military Channel, TLC, Science Channel, Discovery Home and more!) they broadcast is housed:

More library (that's a whole lotta episodes!!):
Control room where Jonathan works:
Other side of control room:
Travel Trailer is now torn. He still wants to work with RV one day ..... but on the other hand, he DOES love all those Discovery stations and thinks it wouldn't be a bad gig to get paid to watch tv for a living. I don't know - it looked pretty stressful to me, making sure everything gets on the air without a hitch. The amount of work involved was astonishing! They, however, made it look like a piece of cake!

Thank you, Jonathan, for spending part of your Saturday showing us around ..... the kids will be talking about it for years to come!

Under the microscope

The boys just came RUNNING in here ..... clammoring and yelling enthusiastically as they approached ...

"MOM!!! MOM!! PopUp fixed the microscope!" -- a yardsale find several years ago whose sole purpose, since it wasn't in working order, has been to grace the shelves of our schoolroom. Hey, it's all about the decor!

"All he did was move around the light and change the batteries! It works!!! Isn't that awesome?!"

They sat and looked thru it for a few moments, mesmerized. Then excitedly exclaimed "We're studying dust!!!!!"

I can assure you, it looks even nastier up close and personal than it does on our tabletops, shelves, counters, nooks & crannies and everywhere else it can be found in abundance in this house.

When they trotted off from showing me their latest discovery, they gleefully shouted "Let's find some dustbunnies!" Hey, why were they so confident and certain that they'd find such a creature living among us?

Most days we are lacking at least one ingredient in getting our science experiments done, but not today! No, today I can provide my children with enough material to entertain them for hours on end. What a blessing!!

Now, if only RV was so excited about living in the midst of one big science project!

ATTN: Parents of Sons!!

Speaking of "the sophistication of females" ... haha! ... (see yesterday's blog)

I just sent this to a few of my homeschool email loops and thought I'd post it here too. It was a GREAT radio broadcast, and I presume the whole week will be fantastic!! I just listened to 3/26 and am listening to 3/25 now.

I recently had a conversation with a mother of boys who was lamenting the fact that the Christian community has largely ignored boys and their purity (there's lots of stuff out there for girls)!

I just listened to today's Family Life Today broadcast. IT WAS EXCELLENT!!!!!!!!! So fantastic!! They are discussing aggressive girls all week, and giving tips on how to help your SONS maintain their purity. I missed yesterday's broadcast, but plan on listening now. And will definitely tune in all week long! GREAT STUFF!!!

click here: http://www.familylife.com/

you can listen directly on their website or download to an iPod

3/26 BROADCAST: Training & Educating Your Sons in Dealing with (sexually) Aggressive Girls

When? Beginning in elementary school! The radio broadcast gave examples of (sexually)aggressive girls/children in 5th grade!

6 assumptions in training & educating your sons in how to handle aggressive girls:

1. Young boys are clueless - when do you start preparing them? Elementary school! Teach them to make wise & not foolish choices.
2. Aggressive girls will likely occur in your son's life. You will likely not know about it because teenage boys don't talk about it.
3. As a parent, you need a pro-active plan.
4. That plan will involve fathers/sons and mothers/sons.
5. Your teaching & call to accountability with your sons doesn't end with the adolescent years. It continues into adulthood and possibly even after they are married. Why? Because women still prey upon married men.
6. Ultimately the call to a young man is to step up and become a noble, moral, spiritual, Godly man.

Proverbs 24:5 - a wise man is mightier than a strong man ..... a man of knowledge is more powerful than a strong man

Read Proverbs chapters 5-7 with your boys. "The Message" version is particularly effective for these passages.

Tune in & enjoy!

Interestingly, this was on my "verse of the day" sidebar today:
Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character."
1 Corinthians 15:33 (NIV)

The sophistication of females

During Science today, we were studying insects and .......

Firefly Patterns

male flashing pattern:
1. flash, flash, pause, pause, flash, flash

female pattern:
1. pause, flash, pause, flash
2. pause, pause, pause, flash, flash, flash
3. pause, pause, pause, pause, pause, pause, flash, flash, flash

TT excitedly exclaimed: "Who knew females were so sophisticated!!?"

Oh yes, my darling boy ....... so much to learn! ........ :-)

A few happier events of the weekend

There were a few happier events of the weekend (thank goodness)!!



The smile returned, momentarily. Oh, I love his smile! Pop Up and I worked on these:
Talk about breaking my heart - just a few minutes ago while the boys were taking a lunch break today (Monday), he said "thanks for making those cookies with me, Mom, so I didn't have to be alone" (after receiving "the news"). This bunny he created is my favorite, although PUp wasn't happy with the way the nose ran - it was supposed to be a triangle:
These were such fun!! I got the recipe from a friend of a friend: http://www.stillhisgirl.blogspot.com/ Thanks, Cindy! (It's in her archives from her 2/14 post - sorry, I don't know how to link to it.) While Travel Trailer & RV were outside fixing this (the reason for the aforementioned newly purchased toolboxes). The winds are horrible up here on this hill where we're perched, and during the last 2 storms, about 6-8 playgrounds in the neighborhood toppled over - including yours truly:

Can this toolbox mend a broken heart?

(aeriel view):

Travel Trailer has been drooling over this toolbox at Costco for about a month. Begging for it so he can help dad fix stuff. So we thought it'd make a great Easter basket this year. Even filled it with candy in addition to the tools it came with. The boys were beside themselves this morning when they found them. So ecstatic! So short lived.

On the way home from church, Travel Trailer asked Dad if he bought it. RV hesitated and then said "yes, Bud, I did." Oh my goodness. Oh no you di-int! We wanted the truth to come out this year, but ON Easter?!!? Oh no you di-int! You've got to be kidding me. It's not enough that you scarred my children to begin with but now you're going to finish the job off - on Easter!?! One of us wanted to start the whole Santa, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy thing years ago and one of us didn't .... but I won't say who was in which camp.

You could see the wheels spinning in the back seat. By the time we got home, Pop Up was in tears. He ran upstairs. His poor little heart was broken. I don't know who cried more, him or me. So then came the questions. Was the whole Santa thing a lie too? And what about the tooth fairy? So, we hugged and cried some more. He said "I can't believe my parents have been lying to me." Finally, Travel Trailer came up and bounced in the room "what's going on"? Pop Up instantly declares that their parents are liars and tells him everything. TT says with a smile on his face "oh, that's ok, I still love you! I don't care about those other things, I just love you so much!"

Now, RV and I have had discussions along the way about how each child will take "the news". We couldn't have gotten it more wrong. We totally thought each of them would react the opposite of how they actually did. But PUp is my very sensitive child. He has always worn his heart on his sleeve.

So I did what any good mother would do and tried to solve the situation at hand with food. And since I didn't want to cook anyway, tonight we'll dine at one of Pop Up's favorites: Texas Roadhouse. A good steak can solve almost anything. I even told him to order dessert to take some of the sting out of the day.

My children will always remember Easter 2008 as the day part of their childhood and innocence ended. About the only redeeming thing I can find out of it all is: Those other things might not be real. But Jesus IS real and your Heavenly Father won't let you down like those earthly parents have been known to do.

And I'll remind him of that every time he laments over the fact that his Easter Day was ruined. I know there will be hundreds, if not thousands of times over the years that he'll remind us. He already HAS mentioned it 1/2 dozen times just today since noon.

It's a lot for a 9 year old to take in. He vascilates from: "I'm not going to lie to my children" to "I'll wait to tell my children the truth until they are 20 so they can still have a happy childhood" to "I'm still going to believe". :-)

18,250 days young

Tonight was a surprise birthday party for an old friend. No, not that kind of old. Well, yes, maybe. Ok, both. Pastor Kelley turned:
Without 2 of these people, 2 of these people wouldn't be here: *
That's Pastor Kelley & Jane. If it weren't for them, we wouldn't be blessed with these 2 beautiful and amazing boys. Kelley & Jane led the Singles Ministry where RV and I met, 23 years ago. They taught us pretty much everything we know about anything, as far as relationships and life in general. They even helped talk me into marrying RV, when I thought cooler guys were more interesting (how could I have been so wrong?! young & stupid is all I can say). So, thank you, K & J, for the foundation you gave us & so many others along the way, and pointing us in the right direction (and always toward Him)! Sorry we gave you so much gray hair. Although, RV says "at least he still HAS hair!"

I think he's the first of our friends to turn 50. Wow, life really is but a mist. Totally unbelievable how fast it all goes by!

Happy Birthday! Hey whazzup wif dat? I always thought your birthday was the 1st day of Spring, but now they're saying Spring is on 3/20 -- did they move Spring!?! Or is it like new math?

* without 2 of these people, 2 of these people wouldn't be here ... when RV walked by, he said "oh, I thought you meant without Travel Trailer & Pop Up, Kelley & Jane wouldn't have moved back from Michigan!" haha

Awwwww - great way to start the day!

When I came downstairs this morning and passed Pop Up in the family room, he started cheering:

"Mommy! Mommyyyy! Mommyyyyyyy! Mommyyyyyyyyyyy!" (go team!)

So I made a detour and gave him a kiss. At which point he said:

"I'm just excited to see you. My inner cuteness accidently came out."

Awwww. It'll probably all head south when we move on to the schoolroom, but at least it was a nice way to start the day! He CAN be so dagonne sweet when he wants to! :-)

Happy "Gotcha Day" Solomon!!

Dear Solomon (aka "Pup Tent"),

It was one year ago today that you joined our family. What joy and happiness you've brought us. (edit: As I was just re-reading this post with Travel Trailer, when I got to this point, he said "oh yes, Hallelujah, Praise God!" LOL!)

Almost every day as Travel Trailer frolicks with you, he joyfully exclaims "every boy should have a dog!!". The boys often thank us for getting them a dog. But thank YOU for getting us and capturing our hearts! At first, you were shy and uncertain, but now, you are more confident and want nothing more in life than to be sitting at our feet and loved. And you are much loved, Pup Tent! You are SUCH a GREAT dog and we're so glad we "gotcha".

So, Happy Gotcha Day, Solomon. And to the rest of you, Happy St. Patty's Day!!!

Horton Hears a Who

We saw Horton Hears a Who tonight at the theatre. What a cute movie! Two thumbs up. If I had MORE hands, I'd give it more thumbs up! The animation was astoundingly breathtaking. You might even enjoy it & get more laughs out of it than your children do! RV almost laughed till he cried, during the dentist scene. I think this could quite possibly be one of the best children's movies I've ever seen. Or maybe I just need to watch more of them. Nahhhh, it really was ALL THAT and more.

Boomin' Beyond Measure concert

The little redhead was feeling better today, so we were able to make it to the concert. Even managed to sneak in a steak dinner beforehand. Ate there (Texas Roadhouse) for cheaper than junk food was priced at the concert. $4 for a small bottle of water. :-0

Above: Matthew West was in concert too. Didn't know that beforehand. Recognized a lot of his songs from the radio (Next Thing You Know/Thirteen was one of them). He had surgery last year on his vocal cords and was not able to even speak for 2 months.

Above: Jeremy Camp - loved his music. He shared some of his testimony. I had forgotten that his first wife died from ovarian cancer (she was only 21, he was 23). He's now remarried with 2 little girls. He also is an ordained minister with Calvary Chapel, if this music thing doesn't work out for him (no chance of that)!

Above: TobyMac - we recognized about 2 of his songs and realized he's not quite our style ;-) But he did have a big ole heart for the Lord! He grew up here and his family was in the audience.

All in all, we had a great night!

Mourning the loss of a church

Tonight I'm in mourning. RV met this evening with the pastor of our church, resigned from the church board and told him we won't be worshiping there anymore.

We've been there for 17 years. Started attending the week we got back from our honeymoon - so our entire married life, it's been all we've known. RV has been on the board for probably 14-15 years.

I worked there for 5 years before we had kids and loved every single minute of it. It truly is my passion to work in full-time Christian ministry, behind the scenes, using my administrative gifts, lifting the burden from the people out in front. I'd rather do that than almost anything else. Ok, if I could sing like Darlene Zschech, I might rather do that, but I can't. One day when the boys are grown & gone, I hope the Lord will bring about a similar opportunity to serve Him somewhere in an administrative role. That would be sweet.

But tonight, I'm sitting here crying over the loss, for so many reasons, on so many levels. We've been there almost half our lives. It's hard to start over. And yet, there's really nobody to say goodbye to. It's been a very lonely place for me - as you know if you've been reading my blog for any time. Any acquaintances (dozens of them) we've had there have all moved on to other churches. We haven't made any deep, lasting friendships there like we did in our old church (I loved those people so much - some of them are still 'family' 23 years later). Different stage of life? That's what some people say, but I don't buy it. I mean, I'm just as busy as the next mom with pre-adolescent kids, but I'm still willing to make time for adult friendships. When we're empty-nesters, I know I will cherish friendships made along the way. I want to look back with fond "remember then" memories through the years. I'm not so sure how I'll feel about people 10 years from now saying "ok, my kids are gone, I'm bored, now I finally have time for you." I hope I can be gracious. I'll probably feel like screaming "where were you when I was out there dying?" It reminds me of a story RV tells of when he was in his high school youth group. Melinda called him one day after she'd gone through all her other friends, and said "I'm bored, so I decided to give you a call." He laughed about it, but I often feel bottom-of-the-barrel-ish, myself. Hmmm, how'd we get here? Back to the story at hand:

I've probably been mourning our departure for about 5 years. Trying to hang on, but not fitting in anywhere. Watching people leave and figuring one day it would probably be us. I needed a place of service, but never found one. Many Sundays I stayed home in bed and cried for hours, as RV and the boys went to church by themselves. I hope it doesn't take 5 years to come through the other side of this loss. Grief cycles. Blech!

So, you'd think it'd be easy to leave. But you'd be wrong. I think I'll miss Ross C. most of all. I love that he's so real. We would often have dinner with him at Roy Rogers, before church board meetings. Then he and RV would go to their meeting and the boys and I would go home.

We're moving into some of the most important years of our boys' childhood. Where they will make their faith their own. Godly friendships are important during these years, when they will test their wings and fly. They soon won't be with us every waking moment. I know the next 5-10 years will go by as swiftly as the last. I pray that we are making the right move. For them and for me. I hope we can all find deep, lifelong friendships in our next church, that for whatever reason, were so elusive for almost the last 2 decades.

So, tonight I'm just sad for the things left behind that never will be.

And just before I was about to click "send", this song started playing on my iPod:

Glory to the King by Darlene Zschech/Hillsong

You're the comforter to the lonely
The lifter of my head (what'd she say? I start crying again)
I see You veiled in majesty
We cry glory, glory
We cry glory to the King

Lord, my heart cries out glory to the King
My greatest love in life, I hand You everything
Glory, glory I hear the angels sing
Open my ears, let me hear Your voice
To know that sweet sound, Oh my soul rejoice
Glory, glory I hear the angels sing

You're the Father to the fatherless
The answer to my dreams
I see you crowned in righteousness
We cry glory to the King
Comforter to the lonely
The lifter of my head
I see You veiled in majesty
We cry glory, glory we cry glory to the King

Piano (and sewing and choir) interrupted

As we were running out the door for piano this morning, Pop Up started saying he didn't feel well. I thought perhaps he was faking it and just didn't want to go to piano. Figured it was one of those cases where, apples don't fall far, since when I was a girl, I used to hide in the neighbor's yard before school in the morning to avoid my before-school piano lessons in the school's music department.

As luck would have it, I was wrong. He sat down on her bench and then ran for the bathroom to throw up. He later said in the car "I tried not to make a mess all over her beautiful piano, because I know how expensive those things are. Ridiculously expensive." And I quote.

He said he was feeling better so we managed to get through Travel Trailer's 2nd orthodontist appointment of the week. Still insisting he was all better, and figuring maybe it was something he ate, we headed 25 min. down the road to sewing, when he felt wave number two coming on. So we turned around and headed home.

Well, that took care of nearly 1/2 our weekly "to do" list, since Wednesday is our very full, busy day. I suppose I can also scratch children's choir off for tonight.

I hope he's feeling better tomorrow so our $150 worth of Jeremy Camp/Toby Mac concert tickets aren't for naught. Or at the very least, come up with a "plan B" for the little redhead.

Right now he's plopped on the couch with a blanket, watching How Mount Rushmore Was Made on Modern Marvels. He just might learn something today, afterall. He's paused the show a couple of times, commenting on this or that, and how he would like to visit it one day in our camper. I told him that has always been on the "master gameplan" - along with Niagara Falls, Grand Canyon, the Creation Museum, and all those fascinating sights out west, like the California Redwoods. I just hope diesel isn't $10/gallon by then.

Prayers appreciated for a speedy recovery :-)

The tailors & their projects

The boys LOVE their sewing class! It's definitely a highlight of the week for them. Both are excited about "sewing camp" this summer and want to take lessons again next school year. They enjoy using their creative energy and having something to show for it. Their instructors couldn't be any sweeter (or more patient). Below are some pictures of completed projects:
above L to R: John Deere quillow (blanket folded into a pillow), lounge pants/pj's, Disney stocking, John Deere apron, Disney stocking



above L to R: John Deere quillow, 2 Disney stockings, lounge pants/pj's, not pictured: cooking apron

A whole lot of nothing going on

Dear Diary,

I'm sorry to have been so neglectful. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me. I've been a little pre-occupied with a new toy. I finally got an iPod. I've been clammoring for the ability to download podcasts from various ministries and such - like Cornerstone, Focus on the Family, Family Life Today, etc. And it IS nice to download the music to it that the boys are singing in their new children's choir - so they can practice memorizing songs while they wait for doctor appointments and such. Multi-tasking is the name of the game when you're a homeschooler. Never enough time in a day!!

Couple that with the fact that I've always wanted a PDA (even though I never really NEEDED one - I think I've mentioned before I'm all about the gadgets) ...... and when I stumbled upon the iPod Touch, I knew I had to have it. So, now my address book, calendar dates (into 2009) and a bunch of well loved songs are right in the palm of my hand. Ahhhh, I'm in love. Now RV wants one. As do both boys. The boys can share mine. RV deserves his own, though - so he can listen to podcasts driving down life's highways. Slowly but surely, we're crawling into the 21st century.

Basketball finished up on Saturday with an awards ceremony after their last game of the season. The boys wanted to sign up for baseball this spring, but registration is closed (registration started in December! we've never done baseball before, so I was clueless).

This week will be chocked-full, with 2 orthodontist appointments, piano, sewing, children's choir, regular dental checkups & cleanings for both boys, Jeremy Camp/Toby Mac concert (it will be the boys first big Christian concert experience - I must remember to bring the earplugs), Father/Son Co-op on Saturday, a couples date with 3 other couples on Saturday night (to the Melting Pot - yum, can't wait!) ...... and any other things that come up at the last minute in the next 6 days.

Yikes, tomorrow is supposed to start bright & early so I can get some school under our belts before all the dr. appts. start up ..... and it's already almost 1:00 am!! Sigh!

Just wanted to let you know what was happening, and get that "clean plate" out of here.

Oh - and as I was out and about tonight, getting Easter shirts for the boys before the pickings get too slim, I noticed diesel (now that RV has a diesel pickup truck after all these years) is $3.89/gallon! Oh, the things that make you go "grrrrrr!" ....... especially when he's only getting about 10 MPG!!!!!!!!!!! What gives?! With Ford's new engine this year, he gets 12 mpg on a good day, 10 mpg if he's towing. 'Course we didn't know THAT when we bought it - as they don't advertise MPG's on diesel's.

But at least Pop Up will look good for Easter. God didn't give me a girl, so He gave me him instead. He loves for things to match and has had impeccible taste all his life. He's always our "go to" guy for fashion advice. Whenever we need to decide between "this and that" we ask him and he's ALWAYS right. That little guy is a total fashion mongrel - he LOVES to dress up for special occasions and would wear a shirt and tie every week to church if he had his druthers. So, he insisted on a shirt/tie in every spring color that Kohl's carried. I don't think I can tolerate his pink, yellow and almost neon-green shirts in the middle of summer (because I need the colors to match up with the seasons - just another of my many Monk-like qualities). He was drooling over all the gorgeous ties in the men's department (oh, and they WERE gorgeous!) longing for the day when he'll be big & tall enough to wear them. He will have some serious tie collection one day, that boy will.

Travel Trailer on the other hand will wear anything I put in front of him. And when he's older, I'm sure he could care less if he even owns ONE tie. Those 2 boys couldn't be any more opposite if their lives depended on it. Cracks me up. They really did come from the same gene pool ;-)

Clean plate club

As RV was headed to bed tonite, he saw me checking some comments on my blog and laughed as he went by. He said "Why don't you show them what you've cooked since the Mex-Italian Weekend to Remember?"

TA DA!!! Nuttin, honey!

I always have been a feast-or-famine kind of girl. Good thing he's such a good sport about things.

Weekend with Lysa

Several people have asked about the weekend. It was really great!

Click here for Lysa's recap: www.lysaterkeurst.blogspot.com .

Her testimony was simply A-MAAAA-ZZZING!!!!!! If you ever have a chance to hear it, you absolutely must!

Other than that, what I got from it was: the importance of saying "yes" to God and the things He asks of you, and the importance of having a daily quiet time with Him. Both of which, I often struggle with and need to work on. So, I guess He knew what he was doing when he sent me there.

They said in 2 weeks, the sessions will be available on the McLean Bible Church website: www.mcleanbible.com. Perhaps you can hear her testimony when they upload it.

How'd they know I've been clammoring for an ipod? I can't believe I don't already own one. I'm all about the gadgets! An added benefit to camping, you know, is all the cool gadgets ;-)

I am SO going ~ because I SO need it

I am SO going to hear Lysa TerKeurst tonight at a nearby church! And ALL day tomorrow! I have high expectations of it being better than a day spa!

Because I SO need it.

I have been SO lonely for SO long and I'm SO selfish (I guess!? because I'm doing this for ME! the kids can wait for once!).

SO there!

I'm having one of those "life stinks" decades. Wow, that's a long time, isn't it! I'm even horrified at myself. I'm shy, so I take forever to make new friends. In fact, the only friends I have are from 25 years ago. They're the only ones that REALLY know me, that is. -- everything about me. They're like college roommates - even though I never went to college. We hung out with each other in our church's singles ministry, morning, noon & night. We went on retreats together. Played together. Laughed together. Cried together. Went out and did stuff together. Learned about life together. To quote Martha Hadley(?), I guess we were "sharing life together". Blech, I hate that line! I mean, I truly despise it. How much "sharing life" can you really do with strangers on the radio, Martha? Gimme a break. But I digress ... Of course, my little handful of friends are spread out over the entire country now. And even though I'm just a mouse click away and I sit here and wait patiently, they don't write. How's that for a good imitation of a Jewish Mother? ;-) (yes, I do write to them)

Probably doesn't help that we've been at our church for 17 years and I don't have one friend there. No, not even one. We smile, nod and say hi in the hallways, but as far as knowing each other, nope. I've even had people tell me they specifically attend church there so they don't have to get to know people. Just pop in, listen to the sermon and pop out. How sad is that? The few acquaintances I have made, all end up leaving for one reason or another. But I won't get into all the buckets of tears I've cried over that one. Yes, I have tried initiating various things, but everyone is "so busy".

Fast forward from those fun days of yesteryear (college age) to today. Today I am my kids' mom. I am not so-and-so's sister (I have no siblings, talk about lonely!), I am not somebody's aunt (obviously), I have no co-workers to go out after work with, nobody to wear matching shirts with at Women of Faith. Life is lonely. I'm not one that needs a lot of people. But zero is becoming more and more unacceptable. I have my incredibly awesome DH (thank GOD!) but the poor man can only take so much of me. And let's not forget - he IS a man, so you know his words are all used up by noon, anyway.

And while that mom gig is a great thing and I wouldn't trade it for the world, I often feel like I got lost somewhere along the way. I go to annual conventions to learn how to better educate them thar kids. I go to monthly moms meetings - again, for them. I buy books so that when they go to bed, I can use my spare time to read about them and their changing needs. Trying to keep one step ahead of them. The birds and the bees talk is coming up WAY too fast ~ can I get an AMEN??! Guess this will be the year of the Santa talk, too -- how much can one mom take!??! I chauffer them to piano lessons, the library, swimming lessons, basketball practice & games, sewing lessons and the list goes on. I feel like Jan Brady. And it's always all about "Marsha, Marsha, Marsha!"

I often think that at my eulogy, those who show up will be scratching their heads and saying "hmmm, I wonder what she was like??" Have I mentioned I take a long time to get to know? Time that few people are willing to invest.

But tonight, it's all about me! Me, me, me .... (and in case you hadn't heard - me)! And the few ladies who took pity on me and said "GUHH, ok, ok, I'll go." (just joshin!) Thanks, Joan & Karen!!!

Here's to "doing life together" and the beginning of 2 beautiful new friendships. I am SO gonna cry tonight. Might as well just warn you now. Even if this women's conference ends up NOT talking about women's friendships and concentrates more about something like, oh, I don't know, improving my relationship with God. That obviously needs some new life breathed into it, too ... well, DUH! So, either way ... I'm good.

I started out excited to be posting about finally going to a REAL women's conference after all these years ... didn't mean to go off on all those other tangents. So, thanks for saving me $100 on some therapist's couch somewhere. Blogging rules, therapy drools (a spinoff on my kids' current favorite phrase - see, it always somehow comes back to being about them) ;-P

Where IS that DH ........ doesn't he know I need to burn some rubber and peel out of here?

It Makes Cents to Read

I have a very reluctant reader, who I am desperately trying to get turned on to books. He LOVES being read to, and will listen to books on tape for 18 hours straight and then beg you not to turn the car off, on a road trip to Florida, but as far as reading to himself, he'd rather do ANYTHING else. Until now. I hope. Last night I told him he could start earning 1 cent for each page he reads. I thought he might figure it wasn't worth his time for that measley payoff. I thought wrong. He's all about earning money. He's saving for his first pick-up truck and 5th wheel camper, you know ;-) At daybreak, he burst into my bedroom with a book in hand, eager to earn his first copper coin. He made several deposits to his "coin jar" throughout the day, so thrilled to hear the plunk of pennies on the bottom. Now the quest for books that will capture his attention as he develops an appetite for reading on his own. I'm so hoping these 2 jars sitting atop the bookshelf where we keep all our library books will soon be filled to overflowing - or at least have a dusting of pennies resting inside them.
My other son drew this on the whiteboard. WOW! I'm more accustomed to seeing his drawing of a schoolhouse with a slash through it (like no parking). I almost thought I was in the wrong house today. 'Cept for the mounds of dishes & laundry and clutter everywhere else. That all looked way too familiar. Let's hope the happy heart clouds stay awhile.
Although, tomorrow is our day out of the house -- piano lessons, lunch date, sewing lessons ... a little hard to keep the momentum going when we're not home ... but maybe we'll get an early start to the day and manage to toss a few more coins in the kettle. Gotta strike while the iron's hot!

We didn't get as many history, spelling & science "lessons" done as I'd planned, but it was one of the BEST days we've had in a long, long time. It was so nice to have an extra measure of enthusiasm and cooperation. Not to mention there was absolutely no bickering with each other all day. Whenever there was a spare moment, they ran for the nearest book. All for the low, low price of 1/100th of a dollar. PRICELESS!!

DejaVu All Over Again

I PROMISE I'm not going to torture you every night with a blow-by-blow of what's for dinner, but this just made me laugh (out loud) - 'cuz it looks almost exactly like last night's menu. Don't you just love how I tilted the camera slightly at an angle to offer a little variety? Contrary to popular belief, I don't want to bore you to death, my dear readers! While I was doing some teacher planning in the schoolroom for the coming week, RV made this delicious Baked Ziti:

Don't we know how to make anything that's not RED?! Good thing there are no tomato allergies here! I think this might be some sort of 17 year record (22 years if you count the time we've known each other) ..... cooking at home, 3 nights in a row. Or as RV refers to it, this has been our "Mex-Italian Weekend to Remember".

Just to prove it's not a re-hashed photo from yesterday's enchiladas, here's a close-up - it was actually much more yummy than this looks -- lightbulb moment here - wouldn't it have looked much more photogenic and appetizing with some cheese sprinkled on top? Duh. I'll learn. I mean, it's only been presented to me with cheese on top hundreds of times at restaurants. I'm a little slow. And there was a salad on a side plate, just in case anyone is searching for something green. Because just 'cuz I don't like cooking doesn't mean I don't enjoy washing dishes. I'm just crazy like that.

Now ....... when's that next ski trip? Since I only seem to know how to report on the same things over-and-over again!

Lightning Strikes Twice

I hope I don't break my arm, patting myself on the back, but .....




3-Cheese Chicken Enchiladas







I knew blogging would be good for me. After yesterday, I was so guilt-ridden with my 5-year enchilada hiatus, I decided to bless RV with Steph's 3-Cheese Chicken Enchiladas!

RV thinks I'm crazy. He said "You know, this probably isn't all that newsworthy ... most people would probably take a picture of a special occasion like when they go out to eat ... not when they eat at home!"





Home-Made Guacamole






If any of you are interested in some EASY, family-friendly recipes, I highly recommend www.stephskitchen.com. Everything we've tried from her site has been a DEFINITE keeper!

Exhibit B

Ta da! Presenting tonight's dessert ........ drumroll, please ........

As Rachel Ray would say, "Yum-O!"

I saw it on someone else's blog a week or two ago - sorry I can't remember where, so I could give credit where credit is due.

Solomon, the labradoodle

Solomon is VERY glad to be back home with his people. He spent the night at a local kennel while we went skiing yesterday. He LOVES playing with the other puppies there (she gives them lots of playtime together in a field) but still, there's no place like home.

He's such a sweet, sweet dog! He's a small/medium doodle (we are so happy with the breed!!) just over a year old and about 30 lbs. He's a mix of labrador retriever & poodle. Non-shedding, EXCELLENT with the kids, very intelligent (hence, Pop Up decided we should name him Solomon, after the wisest man who ever lived) is a real sweetheart, and wants nothing more than to just be with us. Such a love bug.

See how I'm hiding in here while aforementioned chocolate cake is being created in the other room there? Hey, RV loves to bake - so I might as well let him. Besides, I much prefer the online search of recipes, as my contribution to tonight's dessert.

Exhibit A

Pop Up loves to help in the kitchen. Here he is wearing the apron he made in his sewing class. Standing next to the, in his opinion, more photogenic empty pot.

Just to prove all you nay-sayers wrong who think I never cook, I present "Exhibit A":

Ok, so maybe it is JUST (homemade) spaghetti sauce. And maybe Pop Up DID refuse to be photographed with it. I believe his exact quote was something like "eeewww, that looks awful!" as he ran away from the stove & camera. But in my defense, he doesn't eat ANY sauce, anywhere, on any noodles. So, at least I'm at least in as good a company as, say, Olive Garden or the like. Actually, this dish you're looking at is just about the only thing in my repetoire. Unless you count tacos. You do? Oh, bless you! That's not entirely true - I can also make chicken enchiladas (just haven't done so in about 5 years - what's wrong with me!? RV asks for them all the time! Bad wife, bad!). And I can make "Lori's famous potroast in a crockpot". Basic problem with me is I get easily frustrated when I'm lacking a vital ingredient and it's also so time consuming to shop, chop and cook. Lazy, I guess.

Oh well, at least we're eating at home tonite. (haha, my dad just emailed me and said "what?!?! you didn't feel like going out to eat!?!" ..... I told him earlier I had a headache and opted to stay home. Yep, someone must be sick around here.)

There's even talk of trying a new chocolate cake recipe for dessert .... stay tuned.

Wow, dinner AND dessert AT home on the SAME night?!? There must have been a lunar eclipse or somethin' this week!

ROFLOL - Travel Trailer just got home and Pop Up ran to the stove and said "Come look! It used to be beautiful, but now it looks like some evil witch's cooking, all bubbly and such!". Stinker. No wonder I never cook! Tough audience!

Another great day on the slopes

The boys had a super time today back on the slopes .... but this trip was 10 times better, 'cuz Dad donned his skis this time!

Last month on our ski trip, we bought discount passes to return, so that's what we did today. The weather was superb! Although when we left home, the ski resort's website said it was 13 there. It eventually warmed up to 29-30 with bright sunshine and no winds. Perfect!

Above is RV, at the top of the mountain. He hasn't been skiing in years and had a great time sharing in the fun today with the boys. If only my terrible instructor hadn't ruined me forever all those many years ago, I might actually be enjoying myself up there on top of the mountain with him!! Actually, I saw a GREAT instructor today, teaching a few women my age, as I sat on the sidelines. I almost went over and asked the instructor's name and told her if I ever decide to try it again, I'll look her up. LOL!

This is the whole gang at the top of a mountain.

Sans the bench-warmer (that's me)!

We had a great day! And another tooth incident. :-( On one of the last runs of the day, one of the boys in the other family fell down and the tip of the ski hit him in the tooth. It loosened it up, so they had to run back home for an emergency dentist appointment. The boy thinks it's one of his baby teeth, so we are hoping and praying that's so!! Please pray for him and any pain he's experiencing.

On our way to return our rental equipment at the end of the day, we ran into the boy from basketball who had his teeth broken on Saturday. Just 5 days later, he was on the slopes. PTL! Although after today's tooth ordeal, I was wondering if kids should be wearing mouth guards for any and all sports. Swimming, anyone?