Couple Quick Pics

Yesterday Drew had Nicholas over to play for several hours. Many weapons were involved.

And here's one of Baylee listening to her coach during a basketball game while a ref looks on.

Stanley Revisited

Remember the Flat Stanley project? We sent the pictures, a letter from Baylee explaining our day in Seattle, and Stanley himself back to the classroom in Missouri. They had an open house this past Thursday for the parents of the students showing all the different Stanleys' adventures. Here are a couple pictures:

Every student sent a Stanley out to a different part of America.

I guess the Stanley that came to us here in Washington traveled the farthest.

What a cool experience for all of us! I'm glad we got to be a part of it.

30.7!

I did it! It rained pretty much the entire time, so I got soaked to the skin and filthy (still need those fenders), but I did it!

Next week: Supposed to do 3 rides of 20, 30, and 30 miles.

Quiet

It's a very quiet Saturday morning. Zach is upstairs still asleep, and Mike took the other two kids to their basketball game. I hope they win this one. This is the first game I've missed, but the thought of getting up on a Saturday morning at 6am to shower and everything, so we could all be at church by their extremely early 7:45 game, was too daunting.

I decided not to do the Chilly Hilly tomorrow. I know I'm not ready. Mike's going to participate, though, along with his usual biking buddy, Dan. They're registered and paid, too, so they said they're riding even if it rains. One thing that makes me feel better about my total flake out is Mike said he'd take me over to Bainbridge Island in a few months when the weather is nicer, and when I'm more prepared, and we'll do the Chilly Hilly route together just the two of us. That'll be fun. The other thing that makes it okay is we decided to do a 40-mile ride in April called the Daffodil Classic. I'll be ready for that one.

I took that picture called "Quarter Rest" of Drew lying on the couch and playing his guitar the other day, but I also took this video. He has such a comfortable relationship with his guitar.

Speaking of biking, I'm going out right now to do 30 miles. I hope. That's the plan anyway.

Not to Mention We're Not Catholic

Conversation between me and a certain little girl in the house...

"Mom, what's an abbey?"
"A building where nuns live."
"All the nuns?"
"No, every nun in the world doesn't live in one abbey. There are lots of nuns living in different abbeys."
"I want to live in an abbey."
"Okay. You have to become a nun."
"Alright."
"Nuns never get married."
"Never mind."

Quarter Rest

Conversation in the Kitchen

Mike: Did you hear that? Something happened to the microwave and now its fan won't turn off. It must've been the...er....

Zach: Magnetron.

Me: Did you just say magnetron? Hahahaha!

Mike: Captain, we're picking up neutrino particles from the Epsilon galaxy!

Come to find out, though, microwaves do have a part called a magnetron. It's "an electron tube for amplifying or generating microwaves, with the flow of electrons controlled by an external magnetic field." (Oxford American Dictionary)

How did Zach know that???

To all the men in the world who don't appreciate a good thing:

And by good thing I mean the Sound of Music, of course. There are several important points you obviously don't aren't capable of understanding.

• That movie is a timeless classic. Sheesh. It's got wonderful actors, beautiful scenery, and unforgettable (in a good way) songs.
• It's a love story.
  
• Maria has a sweet, yet slighty sassy disposition. She's winning.
  
• The captain. Need I say more?
• The captain's whistle.
• Cute and cuddly children.
• Nuns!
• A mid-movie puppet presentation involving goats.
• A canoe tipping scene.
• Curtains as dramatic props.
• Who doesn't love acoustic guitars played at every opportunity?
• Did I mention the goats?
• Nuns!
  

Really, the only thing that could make the movie better is if they would've somehow incorporated the character of Yentl, played by Barbra Streisand. For instance, she could've been Captain Von Trapp's other love interest instead of Baroness Schrader. Oh well. You can't have everything.

Sue

It's the Thought That Counts

Last night Baylee fell from about halfway up her bunk bed ladder and scraped her back a little. She came to me crying, so I pulled her on my lap, checked her back, held her for a minute, then asked if she wanted me to sing a song to make her feel better. She nodded. I was able to get out, "Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, bright cop..." before she cut me off with, "Okay, that's enough."

That made me laugh so hard I snorted. What can I say? I'm no Julie Andrews.

Oh, And...

That Daybook entry would've been a good place to mention something. I could've used an "I Am Going..." to tell you that I am going...

to Michigan in the fall, because...

my sister is having another baby! Her third! They're not sure when the exact due date is yet, but they think maybe sometime in October. I'm totally excited for Lindsey and Travis, and of course I'm excited to see my whole family again. This time I'm taking Baylee with me. She'll be a fun little companion, plus she loves babies.

Also, I don't think I ever mentioned this, but Mike and I are going to the Bahamas this spring for about a week and a half. We'll be staying at a place called the Atlantis Resort.

There. I think I got all my "I am going..." news out there!

Simple Woman's Daybook

For Today...February 23, 2010

Outside my window...it's sunny! It's been in the mid to high 50s lately, so flowers and trees are blooming. I think spring is officially here.

I am thinking...that my 10 mile bike ride early this morning was harder than the 20 miles I did a couple days ago. It was so cold that my hands were frozen even with gloves on and my eyes watered. I won't lie, it was miserable and I couldn't wait to get back home. I think I'm still tired from the weekend rides.

I am thankful for...good health.

I am remembering...it's time to decorate the house for Easter. The kids always have fun with that.

I am currently reading...I've got three books going: Bicycling for Dummies, Every Woman's Guide to Cycling, and Fiery Cross. I'm not reading the two biking ones cover to cover, though. I only read what interests me in those.

I am hoping...to find time to get to Zach's science experiment today. I need to pick up some saltine crackers and iodine in order to do it.

From the school room...Baylee has somehow finagled me into letting a very long letter to a friend be her spelling and cursive handwriting practice for the last couple days. LOL

From the kitchen...Zach asked for meatloaf, so that's what we're having tonight.

Around the house...it's quiet as the kids finish up what they're doing in school before we take a lunch break. Zach's at the kitchen table working on pre-algebra, Drew is at his desk upstairs doing science, and Baylee, who is done with her morning schoolwork already, is playing with dolls in her room.

From my picture journal...These were taken several years ago, when Drew was three or four. He was mowing the grass with his daddy.

To see the daybooks of others, please join Peggy at her website here.

20.5!

I went my longest distance to date today after church! Yay! I feel such a sense of accomplishment! Mike helped me map out a route that included a new trail for me, the Burke-Gilman. It's gorgeous, winding along beside Lake Washington with a view of the mountains. I took a picture to show you the kind of thing I was seeing:

It was wonderful, because there were so many people out walking, running, and biking. Mike's not big on having to watch out for tons of others while he's on his bike, probably because he's faster than me, but I enjoy the camaraderie of people out together.

I loved every mile on that trail, then it was time to turn off it and head back home. There was only one problem: The Burke-Gilman is at the bottom of a bowl. There's no way out but up. I had to walk my bike up this:

And that picture was taken only halfway up that hill. I still had a long, calf burning way to go. I tried riding up it...for about ten feet. It was just too much for me. I made it eventually, and then went on to ride another several miles.

Here's me when I got home. Everybody laughed at how ragged I looked. That weird bulge is a phone in my front pocket.

Next week: Two 10 milers and a 33!

Winging It

Baylee on why she had to crawl in bed next to me last night, even though I've made it clear she's much too old for this nonsense anymore:

"Well, my children [dolls that she sleeps with] were having nightmares, so I thought they needed more room."

Tonight's gonna be busy. Baylee is spending it at the Pioneer Girls sleepover and Drew is having his friend Rory over here. I think I'll take the three boys swimming, then I'm sure they'll spend the rest of the evening playing Mario Cart, etc. Boy stuff.

Speaking of the church sleepover, Baylee was showing an uncharacteristic hesitation to attend, and come to find out she and a group of her friends thought our church might have a haunted portrait. There's a huge, old, black and white picture of the first pastor hanging in a little foyer, and the girls believed his eyes followed them around. Heh. We talked to her about it and assured her the picture is just a picture, and there's no such thing as ghosts, but she's eight. She just stopped believing in Santa a few months ago.

Tomorrow I'm supposed to do a ten mile ride, then the next day I'm supposed to ride for twenty miles. In other news, a few minutes ago I stood up from this desk, turned and tripped over Gibbs, grabbed my chair to save me, banged my knee on the chair as I pulled it over with me, and landed on the floor in a heap of dog and furniture. There's a chance someone like me was never meant to be on a bike.

My knee hurts.

TGI(almost)F

Baylee: I don't wanna do school today.
Me: Me, neither.
Baylee: Well, then? Why are we doing it?
Me: Because you need to be ejamakated.

Sometimes my kids make me very grouchy. I'm talking extremely grouchy. Like eat two Dove bars and a half a bag of Swedish Fish, and wash it down with Coke grouchy. But then Zach gives me an awkward teenage side hug and Baylee walks around looking cute in braids and Drew shows that he can easily accompany his sister with guitar chords...and...

I start feeling better.

It helps, too, that they're all in bed now.

Duet

I love this. The song is simple, but the fact that they're playing it together makes me smile. Of course, the best part happened after I turned the camera off. That was when Drew said, "When you get a little better, Baylee, we can play 'Stairway to Heaven' together!"

Amusing Things About the New Forum I Joined

• When I told Mike it's called Team Estrogen, he laughed and said they might as well just call it Team PMS.
• During the registration process I had to answer a question meant to discourage spammers. It was something like, "What is the bike component that attaches the handlebars to the top tube? (Hint: It's not the fork and it starts with an S.)" I hadn't the faintest idea. I actually had to google "bike diagram" and study a picture to figure it out. The answer is "stem".
• I had to make up a user name for myself, because real names are discouraged. I thought of several, but they were all taken, so I ended up with....this is embarrassing...actually never mind. I can't. Okay, fine. I'm bikechick. I'm cringing between my shoulder blades right now.
  

Simple Woman's Daybook

For Today ~ February 16, 2010

Outside my window...it's rainy with patches of sunshine.

I am thinking...about how Mike is in Oregon again today. At least he'll be home late tonight.

I am thankful...we live here in Washington where Mike has a wonderful job.

From the learning rooms...The local school system takes this entire week off and calls it "mid-winter break," but I decided we're not going to do that this year, so we're plugging along as usual.

Zach is doing his last lesson on higher level arithmetic before he starts the pre-algebra portion of his math book. I'm excited to be teaching something new.

Drew is starting several new things this week: The Story of the World Volume 2: The Middle Ages, a new chapter in science on magnets, and a new writing curriculum called Writing Strands book 4.

Baylee is learning to play the recorder! She has a recorder and a book of lessons, and we do one lesson every day. She's loving it.

From the kitchen...I'm not sure, but I'm thinking spaghetti for supper tonight. Mike won't be here, so I want to do something easy.

I am wearing...jeans, a t-shirt, and a pink fleece pullover.

I am going...nowhere today!

I am reading...The Fiery Cross.

I am hoping...Mike can come home for a bit during our lunch break tomorrow, so I can go ride my bike. I need to get in a midweek 10 mile ride, and it would be nice if I didn't have to do it on the wind trainer.

I am hearing...Baylee asking me to make her a cheese tortilla. [Okay, I did it and I'm back.]

Around the house...it's a little rumpled, but mostly clean. I need to change sheets, mop floors, and dust this week, besides the usual stuff.

One of my favorite things...is spicy red beans and rice.

A few plans for the rest of the week...We have a pretty laid back week. Drew's guitar teacher canceled his lesson yesterday, there's no kid exchange tomorrow, and there happens to be no kids' basketball game on Saturday. So it's just Pioneer Girls and Awana on Wednesday, and a Pioneer Girls overnight for Baylee from Friday night to Saturday morning. The boys and I will probably go to the pool on Friday night like always. We have to get our swimming time in while we can, because soon the pool will be closed for 3 weeks of maintenance.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

To read the daybooks of others, please join Peggy on her site here.

Oh Good

Speaking of falling, which I did today*, this snippet from an article here about clipless pedals** made me feel much better about the incident:

OK, we'll finally answer the BIG question. Once you get used to clipless pedals, the chances of coming to a stop before exiting your pedal (and thus falling over) are greatly reduced. BUT...chances are, in that first day or two, you'll forget that you need to twist your heel out (instead of pulling back) to unclip. By the time you recognize your mistake, it's too late, as you've lost all forward speed. And, with no place to go but down...you get the picture. You will, in very slow motion, and nearly always with people around to see it happen, fall over. You're not likely to get hurt, but it's terribly embarrassing. And most likely there's nothing that makes you so special that you'll avoid the fate shared by just about everyone else. Just try and remember this...

It's almost impossible to come up with a truly original way to embarrass yourself on a bike. The rest of us have already, as they say, been there, done that. Just ask your fellow cyclists for their stories about their first clipless pedal fall.

So in a way it's like an initiation! I'm a bonafide member of the club now.

Sue

* both speak of it and fall
** It's a long story, but even though it says "clipless" it means the kind of pedal you clip a special biking shoe into.

Finally Warm Again

I'm sitting here, dressed in flannel pants, thick rag socks, and a sweatshirt, with our space heater as close as possible, eating a bowl of oatmeal and drinking a cup of coffee. Plus I just got out of a scalding shower. Why? Because I rode my bike in the cold rain today. Woo hoo! I'm proud of me for doing that!

• About a half mile into the ride my chain slipped off because I messed up in shifting up a hill. Mike came in his truck and taught me how to fix it myself, and he gave me a lesson in not, as he put it, "exceeding the capacity of the derailleur." I think I actually understood about half of what he said, too.
• I fell at a little intersection where the Interurban trail crosses a street. I banged my ankle and it'll probably bruise, but mostly I just felt like an idiot. Of course it was because I couldn't get my foot free of the pedal on time. Oh well. Only one car full of people saw me.
• I love my little computer on the handlebars! It tells how far I've gone, how long I've been out, and how fast I'm going. It's really fun to know all that stuff! It's freeing, too. Now I can go wherever I want and still keep track of miles, without having to figure it out on a "map my ride" type site when I get back home.
• I learned something important. If you don't have fenders and it's raining, you come home crusted with mud. I had dirt covering the back of my shirt, the back of my pants, and even my hair. My bike was a total mess. I had to hose it off before I could hang it in the garage, then come in and strip down to almost nothing myself so I didn't track dirt everywhere. (I could do this because Mike, the kids, and the dog were all at the dog beach.) I guess I need fenders.

I know I'm going on and on about cycling stuff lately, but that will taper off, I'm sure. I'm just excited right now. You'll have to bear with me. Also, I discovered a cool forum, called Team Estrogen, for women who are into biking. I can probably get some of my enthusiasm out over there, so it doesn't always have to come out here.

I'm not sure if I'm going to do the Chilly Hilly next weekend. If I'm honest, I'm just not going to be ready. Mike will probably go (unless there's a downpour) and a few guys from church are going, but...me? I don't know. I'm not that worried about the length, but I'm very concerned about the hills. We'll see.

Sue

What To Do With a Two-Hour Window

We had about two hours of sunshine this afternoon, and it called to me. It begged me to go out and ride my new bike in it. Soooo...I told the kids we were going on a "field trip" to the park! Baylee, Drew, and I (Zach had to work) hopped on our bikes and rode a total of 5 miles to, around, and from the skate park.

Well, to be honest, it wasn't quite that simple. First I spent awhile going up and down our road to get used to the shoes and clips. Having your feet attached to the pedals and then trying to stop and get off the bike is kind of like walking and having some jokester grab your ankle. You feel like you're going to topple over and you flail around trying to get your balance. I did actually come close to falling once, too, right in our driveway. Heh. Finally I figured out that if I slow down and make sure my left foot is all the way down, I can unclip my right foot from the top and easily put it on the ground. I tried it several ways and that's the one that works best for me. Clipping back in is easy. You just start pedaling with the balls of your feet and they somehow clip in by themselves. It's magic. (Mike will love that. He's very mechanical.)

The other thing I had to get used to was the height of the bike. When I'm sitting on the seat my toes can't touch the ground. It's disconcerting. When I stop, not only do I have to deal with all that pedal stuff, but I have to get my feet on the unreachable ground. It's not too hard, though, once I figured it out.

Anyway, I practiced enough to feel mostly in control, and then we left. It was great to have a bike that fits! For the first time ever I can fully extend my legs. It's so much better. I love all the gears, too. There's a little hill by our house which, when I first started riding, I had to walk up. Then I was able to get up it without walking, but it was tough. Now with my new bike I shifted way down and it was a piece of cake! I felt like I easily flew up that hill. And I'm out of shape!

Here's a few pics of our afternoon.

Isn't it pretty?



Water break from Mom's bottle.



The Pink Princess



Drew did some cool tricks at the skate park.



The kids had the playground to themselves since it was during school hours, not to mention chilly and wet.



Yay!

I Got It!

I taught the kids.

I made vegetable beef soup in the crockpot, it simmered all day, and by suppertime it was delicious.

I cleaned the house.

And...

I got my new bike!!!!! And new biking shoes with clips!

I'm VERY excited.

Red Velvet Cake and Brussels Sprouts

First of all, who knew that "brussel sprouts" was actually spelled "brussels sprouts"? Weird and unsettling. It's like when Keanu Reeves discovered the existence of the Matrix, only with vegetables. My walking dictionary, Mike, knew, though.

Second, Baylee and Grace made a red velvet cake from a mix today. They were so cute. They've become good little buddies over the couple years of doing these weekly kid exchanges. The girls chatter and play with dolls the entire time they're together, except for today. Today I let them bake.

Third, I should've said something about not playing with his food. Instead I got the camera. Drew was able to make four brussels sprouts balance, which may be a Guinness record.

(Please try not to notice his disgusting fingernails. Ugh. Gross nails are a pet peeve of mine.)

Three Days Later

Yesterday at dinner the five us were talking about a guy in our church, Dan. We really like him. Among other things, Dan owns a bike shop and he used to play in a rock band. Mike made the observation that Dan is a real Renaissance man, and I agreed, but then added, "You know what, though. A few of us were talking about tattoos at the basketball game, and Dan told a story I totally didn't understand. It was something about a guy who kept getting tattoos, only he was always drunk when he did it, so his decisions were bad. Dan said first the guy got a picture of his girlfriend put on his arm, and then another time he got his own name put on his arm. The problem was he had his name put right under the picture of the girl." A couple seconds went by. "Ohhhhh! That is funny!" I laughed and my family laughed at with me.

Hey, better three days too late, than never.

Budding Playwright

Today, for fun, Baylee wrote a little play. It's got amazingly complex characters, rapier wit, and suspense!

Ginger: Can I have some peanuts, Grettle?

Grettle: No, we don't have any.

Ginger: Oh. Why don't you buy some?

Grettle: Because I'm allergic.

Ginger: You never told me that!

Grettle: I haven't told you a lot of stuff about me.

Riveting, huh? It could go so many different directions from here! Grettle could admit she's been dead for years, and that Ginger is also dead but just won't accept it. Or maybe they can be at summer camp, on the very verge discovering they're actually twins separated at birth by parents who just couldn't get along. No, wait! They're knights seaching for the holy grail, and Ginger is about to ask Grettle what the air speed velocity of an unladen swallow is! To which Grettle will reply (Come on, you know this!), "What do you mean? African or European?"

The whole thing reminds me of the time I was in about 8th grade and was wandering around Grand Haven, MI with my friend. We were bored stiff, and decided at the last minute to pay a dollar each to see Benji, The Hunted at a tiny one-screen theater. We watched a solid 45 minutes of that horrible film, during which time the only words spoken on screen were, "Benji! Beeeeeenjiiiiii! Where are you?!" because, you see, the dog was lost in the woods. That was the sum total of the conflict. When I couldn't stand it anymore and suggested to my friend that we walk out, he hissed, "We can't leave yet! It could go either way!"

Actually, I misled you. Baylee's play does go on and it becomes a love story.

Ginger: We're best friends, though. I tell you everything. I even told you who I'm going to marry!

Grettle: No, you didn't!

Ginger: Yes, I did!

Grettle: Well, I must not have listened.

Hmm. Still so much potential. I see Grettle leaving the abbey and going to live with a captain and his seven motherless children. She dresses them in curtains, teaches them to sing, and they all escape across the mountains with their guitars.

Unfortunately, we may never find out how this ends. We'll have to learn to live with disappointment, because Baylee has lost her muse and is off playing Guitar Hero.

Crunch Time

Okay, so the time to start training for the Seattle To Portland bike ride is officially upon us. It starts next week, according to the STP training schedule, with a 10-mile midweek ride, a 10-mile Saturday ride, and a 20-mile Sunday ride. I can do that. But then comes the week after that. There's two 10-mile rides and then...gulp...a 33-mile ride. It's not just any old 33-mile ride around the neighborhood, either. It's a planned event around Bainbridge Island called The Chilly Hilly, and it's being put on by The Cascade Bicycle Club. I'm going to get a number to put on my shirt and everything...I guess so people can identify my remains. Here's what the website says:

With chilly February weather and 2,675 feet of hilly climbing, the name says it all.

Oh my. Why am I doing this? This is nuts. I'm not ready. I haven't been training. I've been eating whatever I want. I'm like the grasshopper in the fable about the industrious ants. Or is that in the Bible? Either way, now it's winter and I have no food stored up!

No use crying about it. I'm doing this if it kills me, because I said I would and I want to and I just am and that's final. I want to be athletic, dang it. On the bright side, I'll finally get my new bike next week!

Sue

PS: Here's an elevation profile, showing exactly why it's called The Chilly Hilly.

He Makes Me Laugh

When the Analogy Doesn't Quite Work

Drew and I took a trip to Target last night to get him some new tennis shoes and me a couple more Sookie Stackhouse novels. On the way he told me how to recognize a bad neighborhood. He said, "You know you're in a bad neighborhood when you see dirty Taco Bells, too much Scotch Broom, and people who look as unstable as a rock...on a wedge."

Well, There Is That

Baylee: It doesn't matter that we lost. The important thing is that we had fun.

Drew: Yeah, but what you don't understand is it's more fun to win.

Playing the Guitar With His Face

Drew on being a good guitarist: The more character you put into your facial expressions when you play, the better your music is going to sound.

The Best Of

Remember this? I posted it years ago back on homeschoolblogger. Drew was about eight and he wanted to show me "some of his best dance moves." I have no idea where I got that horrible music.

This is the oddest, most hilarious true story I think I've ever heard. When you have ten minutes to spare, watch this. And stick with it. He's a little spazzy at first, but then it gets good.

The Circle of Discomfort

When I was nine years old my mom decided it was time I learned the facts of life. Well, she didn't so much decide as she was forced into it by my questioning. The last straw came one afternoon at Mr. Fables when I determined that being told it was "just a miracle" wasn't going to cut it for me anymore. I loudly asked, "I know having a baby is a miracle, but how does God KNOW someone wants a miracle?" A couple days later a book called Where I Come From appeared on my bed. My mom told me to read it, and she said if I had any questions to find her.

Well. Let me just say, I was totally blindsided. It was News to me with a capital N. Both my brother and my sister learned about sex, at least somewhat, at school. I didn't. Afterward I went to the laundry room where my mom was folding clothes. "Mom," I said, "I understood everything in that book. My only question is this: I know you and Dad would NEVER do that, so where did I come from?"

Drew's reading a book right now titled What's the Big Deal? It's part of a series by Stan and Brenna Jones called God's Design for Sex. I'd be lying if I said he's enjoying it. He hates every second of it. I make him read a chapter a day during school and every day he complains. It used to be worse, but then I told him he had two choices: Either he could be quiet and read it alone, or we would read it together. He chose to zip it. Despite the fact that Drew is a very unwilling participant in what I consider our 6th grade health curriculum, it really is a good series. It's gentle, it's Christian, and it's age appropriate.

Book 1: The Story of Me (ages 3-5) talks about the differences between boys and girls. It also discusses how a baby grows inside his mother, and it teaches about appropriate vs inappropriate touch. The pictures are family oriented, and are done in warm watercolors.

Book 2: Before I Was Born (ages 5-8) This is the one that talks about sex, but, again, it's gentle and it completely wraps the whole thing around God's plan for married people. The pictures are the same warm, sort of blurry watercolors, which I, for one, appreciate.

Book 3: What's the Big Deal? Why God Cares About Sex (ages 8-11) Here you get the questions that come up for kids just entering puberty: What is puberty? What is AIDS? What does gay mean? What is a period? What is sexual abuse?

Book 4: Facing the Facts: The Truth About Sex and You (ages 11-14) We haven't actually gotten to this book yet. I suppose it's about time I have Zach read it. From what I understand, it has to do with issues teens face, such as sex outside of marriage, peer pressure, etc.

Let's face it. Having to talk about sex with our kids is uncomfortable all the way around, but since it must be done, this is a good, wholesome way to do it.

Roll Over, Gibbs!

If eagerness was a trick he'd be Lassie.

Sometimes It's Like This

I can't decide if this day is awful or not. It started out too early, because we had workmen coming over to look at the roof in the morning. The thing is, we always start school by 9:30am. It's my little way of keeping us organized. If we can start on time, chances are the day will move along fairly smoothly and we'll end at a decent hour. But when people are coming over, especially strangers like repairmen, I always try to be extra organized. I do that because when people come into our home they figure out in a hurry we homeschool. The three school-aged kids hanging around are a big tip off. I just want that to look like a good thing instead of a mistake.

So we had the men over and come to find out it wasn't too bad. They were only here for about a half hour before they said they'd have to come back another day to spray moss killer on the roof. (I guess moss is what's causing the leak in my closet. Everyone has moss issues here. As my friend Candace says, living in this part of the world is like living in a giant Petri dish.) When they left I figured, okay, that's that. Now we can move on as usual.

I was wrong. Zach decided to pull out his very worst attitude during his math lesson. It ended with him losing the privilege of having friends over for the rest of today, and both of us fuming. It took up a lot of time, too. Here's the thing about Zach and me: He's the child whose behavior I take personally. I'm not even sure why, unless it's that he's the most like me. When the other kids are naughty it bugs me, but it doesn't ruin my day. I can separate myself from it and deal with it fairly easily. When Zach acts out it feels like failure. I hate the burden that puts on him, I get that it's not fair, but there it is. After awhile Zach and I talked through it and it was okay, but the whole thing left a residue of irritation.

Needing to work off the anger, I prayed a quick "Lord, give me strength," and then I cleaned. In between teaching, while the kids were quietly doing their lessons, I did dishes, laundry, and vacuumed. Once all the usual stuff was done I scrubbed the kitchen sink with Comet, cleaned out the gerbil cage, and then made banana bread. (Yes, I washed my hands between gerbils and bananas. I know you're wondering.) And now...now I'm feeling pretty good. It's clean and calm in here, it smells like baking, and I gave Zach a big hug. I guess this day wasn't so bad, after all.

I wouldn't want to relive it, though.

Being Me Looks A Lot Like Having Alzheimer's

~ Recently when Baylee said to me, "Mom, what's Horton Hears a Who about?" I responded with, "Huh? What's fourteen miles of glue about?"

~ A couple days ago I wandered all the way upstairs to get some clothes out of my dresser, only to find myself standing in the middle of Zach's room. Mike and I moved out of there six months ago.

~ Last week the whole family was driving somewhere and I saw a Petco. Here's the conversation we had:

Me: Hey, there's a Petco.

Mike: Yes. That's the Petco I go to.

Me: Really?

Drew: Mom, that's the Petco you go to, too.

You Can't Get Anything by Her

This morning Baylee came into the bathroom while I was taking a shower. (No, she doesn't respect my privacy. Yes, I'm working with her on this.) "Mom, what are you doing?" Apparently a closed shower curtain and running water are not sufficient clues.

"I'm eating supper."

"What? What are you really doing?"

"I'm on an amusement park ride. It's called The Zipper."

"Mom, don't make me look inside there."

Conversation in the Kitchen Tonight

Mike: You sure did a nice job on the dishes, Baylee.

Baylee: Thanks! I couldn't have done it without Gibby. He licked the bowls!

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So who wants to come over to eat? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Sweet Home Alabama

Last weekend Drew decided he wanted to learn how to play "Sweet Home Alabama," so he had me look up the guitar tabs online and print them out. Then he started teaching himself the song. Last night he went to his lesson and his wonderful, understanding teacher dropped what they had been doing and made "Sweet Home" Drew's new assignment. He understands 11 year olds.

Here's what Drew has so far:

And here it is being done by Lynyrd Skynyrd.

A Ridgeback Mix?

Mike's been saying for awhile that he thinks Gibbs might be a Rhodesian Ridgeback mix, instead of the lab retriever/German shepherd we thought. He's shown me several pictures people have posted of their Ridgebacks online, like these:

That second one, especially, looks exactly like Gibbs. What's more, Gibbs has a ridge of fur on his back that stands up when he's growling. Wouldn't it be cool if he did have Rhodesian Ridgeback in him? Ridgebacks were developed in South Africa and were used to hunt lions! And, really, this explains a lot. Any dog dumb enough to go after a lion is dumb enough to gobble up a hard, plastic game token and spend the next five minutes crunching it into a million pieces and swallowing it like it's a special treat.