Frogs and Rollergirls

Zach asked me out of the blue yesterday if I'd like to go see Hunger Games with him.  I was surprised, because I didn't think he'd be interested, but since he hardly ever asks for anything I told him I'd love to.  The two of us saw it this afternoon.  I thought it was well-done!  It stuck very close to the book and it wasn't really all that gory.

Oh!  One of the best parts of the whole experience was that sitting in front of us in the theater was a group of tough, spikey-haired, tattooed women.  One of them had her arm in a cast and was talking about all the pins in her hand, and another one was wearing a uniform-type shirt with "Rat City Rollergirls" on front and her name, "Tempura Tantrum" on back.  I googled them when I got home and, yup, they're really a roller derby team.  Here's Tempura Tantrum:

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Remember how last spring we did a butterfly kit?  Well, this year I thought we'd try a grow-a-frog kit.  I ordered it online and started to get a little excited/geeky about it, so I decided to do some research.  Oh my.  First of all, I found out that the particular frogs that are sent in these kits aren't "normal" frogs, in that they have claws instead of webbed feet.

source

Is that horrifying or what?  And they're not little, either.  They keep growing and growing until they're about 5 inches long and can't possibly live in the container they start out in as tadpoles.  No, you eventually have to buy a 10-gallon tank with a filter.  Also, they can live for, no lie, twenty years.  In fact, that's common.  Oh, and they stink.  And my secret plan to release it into Haller Lake?  That's a no go, because...and here's the kicker...it's actually illegal to own these frogs in several states, Washington included.  They're considered pests to the ecosystem.  Awesome.  Of course, there wasn't any kind of warning anywhere on Amazon about this, and the frog company sends them to all 50 states regardless of the laws.  I quickly went back online and wrote to the seller, asking for them to cancel my order.  Hopefully, they'll comply.

Rambling

We've got a sickie here.  She spent most of the day in bed.

She also spent some time reading, since she's supposed to have this "puzzle" all colored in by the end of the school year.

Drew had a science experiment today about tears.  He was supposed to cut part of an onion in the open air, then a 2nd part underwater, then a 3rd part that had been frozen first.  It was a total bust.  The kid just doesn't have any reaction to onions no matter what.  I even made him put his face really close.  He said he's built up an immunity from all the chips and cheese he's made over the years. 

Zach and I are up to a new, even more advanced concept in sentence diagramming:  the participial, infinitive, and gerund phrase.  This has to be the most fun thing yet.  Take gerunds, for example.  The word actually flows down a stairstep that's up on a pedestal!

Is that awesome or what?  Again, I'm more excited than Zach.

It's been raining here nonstop.

Dream

Oh, I've got something to blog about!  I just woke up from a little cat nap on the couch.  I've been taking them lately. I sit down to read for a few minutes and the next thing I know I'm zonked out.  Anyway, while I was napping I dreamt that I blogged, and in my blog I thought it would be a great idea to illustrate what I was saying with a couple racy, inappropriate pictures that I found online.  (I don't know what I was trying to illustrate.  That wasn't part of the dream.)  Then I walked away and some time passed, and, as it sometimes does when I blog, it suddenly occurred to me that I shouldn't have posted what I did and what the heck was I thinking?  I rushed back to delete, but, of course, by that time everybody and my mother had seen those pictures.

In my dream I double and triple checked, because I kept thinking that it's just not like me to post that type of thing.  I even thought that I must be dreaming.  In my dream.  But then I was like, "No, this is really happening.  I really did that."  I was just figuring something along the lines of,  "I guess it's finally time to move to Mexico and take up a new identity," when I woke up.

I actually checked on here to make sure there's nothing weird.  There's not.  Whew!

Admittedly Humdrum

I didn't post yesterday and I probably won't have much to say today.  The reason is because even though I'm busy, not very much of what I'm doing is blog-worthy.  What I'm mostly doing is trying to finish this school year strong.  That means pushing hard and putting in lots of teaching/supervising hours every day.  And I've been cleaning.  And sometimes cooking.  And sometimes reading.  And none of that is very fun for you to hear about.  Sorry.

One weird thing that happened today is that I got out Drew's pre-algebra book and the page of problems he did yesterday, so that I could correct his work and we could talk about any mistakes he made, and even though I looked for about 10 solid minutes, I couldn't for the life of me figure out which assignment he actually completed.  It wasn't the one I gave him.  In fact, it wasn't any lesson anywhere that I could find.  It's like he entered a parallel universe and did a bunch of pre-algebra that doesn't exist.

Baylee's sick today with some sort of stomach bug.  She got halfway through reading with Mrs. Walker and had to give it up and go rest in bed.

Zach told me yesterday, "I'm really kind of enjoying The Hiding Place.  I didn't think I would."  That's high praise coming from him. 

Maybe a Sugar Rush Will Help

We had an unfocused morning, and I think it's Mike's fault.  He bought me the wrong flavor coffee, French Vanilla instead of Cafe Francais, and it got everything off on the wrong foot.  Baylee and Zach sat at the dining room table with their schoolwork and bickered over who was making the most noise, while Drew stood in the living room calling himself an Easter-tainer and juggling plastic Easter eggs.  I did various things to deal with the problem:

I threatened.

I moved kids around.

I videoed.

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Finally I promised everyone doughnuts from the bakery if they would just shut up and work nicely until lunchtime.  That did the trick.  (Hey! I should write a book, Confessions of a Homeschool Mom.  This would be in chapter 11, "Motivating the Monsters Blessings.")

Speaking of homeschooling, I took these pictures last night when Zach took his Physical Science test.  He got a 100% despite the distraction.

Today

I can sneeze now without back pain.  Woo hoo!  You should've seen what I'd have to do in order to sneeze or cough during the worst of it.  If I felt either one coming on, I'd kneel on the floor in a ball, sort of like a tornado drill.

Mike found his old music stand from when he was a kid, and he gave it to Drew.  Drew is loving it.  He subjected me to a  5-minute demonstration on how to set it up and take it down.

Yesterday Baylee put up our Easter decorations.

 
Zach made up a new word:  sphinctorial.  It means "originating in the butt."  He used it in the sentence, "He spouts off so many facts when he talks that's it's hard to tell which of them are sphinctorial and which are real."  (He was talking about his brother.)

There's a trend now on Facebook...okay, well, 3 of my friends so far, plus those who agreed with them in the likes and comments...to say that people, especially teens, shouldn't read or see Hunger Games, because of the violence.  I haven't seen the movie yet, but I loved that book.  I even talked about here a year ago or so.  I loved it so much that after I read it I got my mom and sister to read it, and they loved it.  I openly admit that I think it's well-written and entertaining.  Besides that, though, I think it has a good message.  I personally think it speaks out against our reality TV culture, but there's probably an anti big brother government message in there, too.  Here's my feeling:  Sometimes things that we can learn from are ugly.

Saturday Musings

I'm pleased, because I had a great idea!  Some of the pictures I took while Jodi was here turned out really well (in my opinion), and so I'm going to make a collage...2 8x10s and 2 5x7s...on one of the blank areas of our bedroom.  This bedroom, even though it's actually the coolest room in the house, has been the redheaded stepchild in terms of decorating.  Lately, though, I've been doing little things, and now the pictures will be the final touch.  Well, unless we paint at some point.  Then that will be the final touch.  Oh, how I wish we weren't too lazy to make this bedroom sage green.  Anyway, here are the ones I've chosen:

 
I think that's one of the neatest things about living in WA:  Great photo ops.

Stream-of-Consciousness Bullets

• We've got Kian spending the night, which means lots of video games and junk food for the boys.
• Zach has a ton of homework this weekend.  He's got several pages of English to do, including reading 3 chapters of Hiding Place, a phy. sci. test to study for and take, and Spanish.  I'm determined for him to be done with everything (except physical science.  That's a lost cause and will have to be finished over the summer.) by the end of the school year.
• Speaking of The Hiding Place, I'm so glad Zach's reading it.  It's one of my very favorite books.  Actually, Zach's listening to it via audible.com.  It's read by a delightful, old English woman who can do a Dutch accent when necessary.
• Today the cat drank out of a science experiment.

• I had a successful trip to the library last night.  I hate when the trip isn't successful, though, don't you?  That is, when you come home with several books and all of them vaguely or completely suck.  This time I came home with two winners:  A book by my favorite author, Orson Scott Card, called The Lost Gate, and a cozy mystery by Diane Mott Davidson called Crunch Time.
•  Tell me if this happens to you:  You're at the library (or the video store or anywhere where you're scanning shelves) and suddenly you have to pee.  Why???  There's something about it that does it to me EVERY TIME.

On Acupuncture

The very first time I went to the acupuncturist I wore jeans.  He told me that after that I needed to wear pants with an elastic band. so now I wear my bright pink plaid flannel pajama bottoms.  They're fine at home, but in public I always feel a little bit like the circus let me out for a day on the town.

Yesterday when I arrived for my appointment the receptionist asked me how I liked an herbal cream I bought there for muscle pain.  I said it was okay (Translated:  I wish I would've bought Icy Hot instead and saved myself some money.), and she went on to explain that she hurt her hand earlier in the day and had just rubbed some of the cream on it.  She was hoping it would help.  I said, "Why don't you just take an Aleve?"  She looked around to make sure the acupuncturist didn't hear that, giggled, and hushed me.  I guess they don't believe in Aleve there.

Then there's the whole "Your chi is blocked" thing.  I don't even know.

My final judgement on the place is that it's more than a little hocus-pocusy, but it did help the sciatic nerve pain in a way that was practically miraculous.  So...shrug?

Today

Today is a blessedly normal day.  We did school, I cleaned the house, Drew and Baylee are going to Junior high youth group and Pioneer Girls (I'm not quite up to going back to PG yet.  Probably next week.), and I've got an acupuncture appointment in a little while.  It's probably my last one or maybe my penultimate one.  I can't say I'm going to miss the pins.

Each of the kids impressed me during school today in different ways.  Drew had to write a "how to" paper, and he chose to do it on taking a drink of water.  When he told me his topic I was prepared to be annoyed and to make him redo it, but the truth is that when I read it I laughed.  He did a pretty good job.  Here's a little sample:

Step three:  Make sure that when you swallow the water doesn't go down the breathing tube.  If it does go down the breathing tube, tilt your head forward and cough.

Zach rocked a Bible test today.  One of the things he had to do for the test was memorize a long passage in Proverbs from the King James version.  He complained (a lot), but he got it done.

Baylee took a quiz on the 1950's for history today.  I was so happy with how ready she was for it that I videoed us going over her study guide.*

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*Prof. MacDonald, you'll be pleased to note that at least one of us knows some Bible-related geography.  Remember those maps from Pathway I tried to fill in recently?  Maybe you should send the tests to Baylee from here on out.

Bad Morning...Great Afternoon

This morning I woke up in pain, as usual, and then I burnt my toast.  That was the final straw.  I came in here and wrote this post:

 I know I said I hoped to never talk about this here again, but that was because I wanted so badly for it to just go away.  Sometimes it feels like I'm going to have this problem...sciatica...forever.  Like it's my new life.  But then when I think back to specific moments, like the time I was screaming on the floor by the side of our bed (aka the worst fifteen minutes of my life and the reason why Mike is now eligible for sainthood), or the times I had to rest after taking a shower, or all the times I went to the acupuncturist and couldn't actually lay flat on the table, then I know I'm making a lot of progress.  I can lay any way I want now.  The nerve pain down my leg is pretty much gone, except for a weird buzzy feeling or that patch of my calf that thinks it's freezing cold sometimes.  I can walk.  I can sleep.  I can homeschool my kids, even though, admittedly, I'm very low on patience.  All I feel now is a powerful ache in my hip.


It's silly to cry because I haven't cleaned my house in ages, right?


(Sorry about all these woe-is-me old lady posts.  I'm trying to move forward and be upbeat and find things to talk about here.  This is just a crappy, teary morning.)

Then I deleted it, because even I couldn't stand my whiny self.  But here's the weird thing:  Within an hour or so of writing that post I realized I felt almost good.  Then a little more time went by and darned if I didn't feel better than I have in weeks.  [cue sheepish embarrassment at my earlier drama]  I think this morning I had the usual stiffness and soreness that comes after a long, uncomfortable night, but once that wore off the fact that I'm actually much improved became obvious.  I had a great day!  We did school and that went well...

...and then I cleaned the house.  I was careful not to overdo it, but the house is really clean now and my mental health is much better for it.

Could this be almost over?  I think.  Maybe.  I hope.

Catch Up

This is mostly a picture post, since I have quite a few unshown pics that have been building up over the last few weeks.

1.  We celebrated Mike's 40th birthday awhile back.  Jodi and Baylee made him a nice dinner and a cake, and that's about all that happened, because of my stupid back.  Luckily, Mike's a very easygoing guy.

2.  The dog and Baylee looked cute at some point.

3.  I haven't talked about Zach here lately, but he's doing well.  He took the ferry by himself to and from his grandpa's house on the peninsula this weekend, and they went to some sort of car show together.

4.  And just for fun this is a video I ran across recently.  It's from 3 years ago when Drew was 10.  He shows you a great way to impress your friends!

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Getting Ready for VBS

Drew's going on the week-long trip to the Leavenworth church again this summer to help with their VBS.  This year his two jobs are to work with the 7-9 year olds and to play in the praise band.  He's excited about the band especially, because he really enjoys Mark, the man in charge of them.  (Mark is Kian's dad, and over the past year Drew has spent a lot of time with their family.  They're great people.)  Anyway, this afternoon Drew sat on his bedroom floor and practiced one of the VBS songs called Cool, Cool Summer.  It's such a happy sounding song.  I really like it.  I also like the fact that in the not too distant past Drew could only read music by using guitar tabs, but today he was sitting there with 6 pages of actual sheet music spread out in front of him.  That makes my heart glad.

Here's a little piece of the song:

 

And this has nothing to do with VBS, but I found it on the camera when I downloaded stuff today, and I thought it was kinda funny.  It's a 12-second blooper from yesterday.

Lunch Break Fun

Today during our lunch break from school Baylee asked Drew if he'd be willing to play Do Re Mi for her if she downloaded the music for him.  He agreed. 

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Since I Last Wrote

Since I last wrote I had another issue with the worst part of sciatica, which is the nerve pain down the leg. It made for a discouraging, almost sleepless couple days, but it's gone again, hopefully for good. I'm still sore and I walk like a 104 year old, but I really think things are under control again. I've learned several things through this month:

• I learned I have a wonderful family.  Mike and the kids have picked up the slack in such a willing way.  It made me realize how lucky I am, and it also made me aware that my kids are more capable of helping around the house than I normally take advantage of.  
• I learned I have amazing friends and a great church family.  People have been praying and calling with offers of help left and right, and one friend even brought a meal over the other day.  To be honest, it's been humbling and secretly difficult for me to be on the receiving end of that much ministry. The Bible says it's better to give than to receive, but what it doesn't tell us is that it's also much easier.  (At least I don't think it says that anywhere.)  I don't like being needy at all.  I learned that my normal MO is to hide need, and it was pretty uncomfortable to not be able to smile and pretend to be fine.
• I learned I'm willing to have pins in my bum cheek under the right circumstances.

Hopefully this will be the last time I talk about this whole thing ever again.

Just a quick note to say that I'm on the mend. I saw the acupuncturist a 2nd time yesterday morning, went back home, and within an hour realized that I had full range of motion back. That's quite something considering in the last couple days it had gotten to the point where I could only walk hunched over, kneel, and curl up on my left side...and that's it. And even then I couldn't stay in one position for long or I would lock up and get that horrible charlie horse thing in my leg. Anyway, the acupuncture fixed it. Granted, I'm still sore all over, but the pinched nerve part of it is over. I'm amazed.

This and Then That

I've learned something over the last few days:  Everyone is a doctor when it comes to back pain.  Today alone I've had 3 different people call or text to give me advice on what I should do.  Oh, and don't get me started on the great ice pack/heating pad debate.  The chiropractor told me absolutely no heat.  The medical doctor told me to alternate ice and heat. The acupuncturist to me absolutely no ice. 

Yes, I did say acupuncturist.  It was Mike's idea, and I'm desperate enough to try about anything.  I went this afternoon.  When he was getting ready to put some needles in my leg I sheepishly apologized for the stubble, as it's been hard for me to shave my legs lately.  It involves some gymnastics.  Anyway, he replied, "Oh, don't worry about it!  Eighty percent of the women I treat don't shave."  What does that mean???  Do you think he meant they don't shave because they're in pain, like in my case, or did he mean they don't shave because they're earth muffin types?

Here are some pictures from the trip to Mount Rainier yesterday.  I wasn't there.

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Relief

Today's post will be short and sweet.  I had a horrible night last night...awake all night with muscle spasms and nerve pain (Seriously, I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.  I'd rather go through childbirth.  Poor helpless-feeling Mike is all I can say.)...and so this morning Mike took me to the doctor.  I'm on pain medicine and a muscle relaxer, so keeping the post brief means a better chance of it making sense.  lol

Yesterday the kids and I and Jodi went up the Space Needle.  It was really fun and beautiful.  Here are my favorite pictures:

After we got home from the doctor's office this morning Mike took Jodi, Drew, and Baylee to Mount Rainier, and Zach stayed home with me while I slept most of the day.  Zach offered.  What a nice guy.  I made Jodi promise to take lots of pictures, so hopefully I'll have those to show you tomorrow.

Yesterday Again

It's been easier to write these posts the day after they happen, so this one is about yesterday, too.  It was a laid back day.  I went to the chiropractor again and he sort of chewed me out for canceling a session.  I can't decide if I think he's a quack or not.  On the one hand, a big part of me is like, "Oh, please, you witch doctor."  On the other hand, I actually feel better after an adjustment.  Who knows.

Jodi and Baylee made an awesome supper for us all last night:  bread and a dipping oil, stuffed mushrooms, pork loin, potato casserole, salad, sauteed spinach and mushrooms, and strawberry/rhubarb cobbler.  It was incredible.  The really cool thing, though, was how patient Jodi was with Baylee.  She was a great teacher.

Then after supper Jodi let Baylee do her hair.  *snicker*

We're off to the Space Needle!  I'll take pictures.  

Yesterday

Yesterday we took Jodi to Pike Place Market, the Gum Wall, and to the restaurant featured in the show, The Deadliest Catch.  We even sat at the same table that those fishermen always sat at with Mike Rowe.  It was a lot of fun.  Here are some pics.

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When we got home Baylee skyped with her friend Molly, because Molly is really sick with chicken pox.  Baylee wanted to keep her company for a bit, so they talked and then watched a TV show together.  (Is that hilarious or what?)

Just before bed we played a game that Jodi bought for us called Catch Phrase.  So much fun!

Today is about relaxing at home again and cleaning the place up a bit.  Oh, and Jodi and Baylee are gonna whip up some sort of amazing supper.  I can't wait!

Quick Update

We're having a great time!  We're going out to see some of the sights in a little while, so I'll get some pictures then.  In the meantime, I've got this one of the new quilt rack that Mike made for me...

This one of Jodi trying to manage in a house full of tall people...

And this video of Drew giving me "advice" on my back.  When he first started talking I thought he was serious and I was thinking, yeah, I do feel like that.  Then he went on with it.  Stinker...

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(I made him say it a second time, and that time I videoed it.)  Based on some research, I'm pretty positive that I've got a pinched sciatic nerve.  It fits every description.

Visitor

I don't know if I mentioned it here, but my friend from college, Jodi, is coming over to visit for the next week.  She'll arrive tonight.  I'm really excited to see her, because it's been quite awhile since the last time, but I sure wish my back didn't hurt.  I feel like I'm fighting a pain-induced bad mood all the time.  I know Jodi wants to have a ton of fun with me, like we always do.  I want that, too.  It'll be fine, right?  (The fact that I need this reassurance just proves I really suck at hospitality.  Remember my spiritual gifts assessment???   Remember the score of 2 out of a possible 15?  Boo Radley, people.  Boo. Freaking. Radley.)

Speaking of that sort of thing, you know how when someone is coming to visit you look around your house with new eyes, and you suddenly see things that you happily lived with up until that moment?  Today is about dealing with piles.  What is it about my bedroom that makes it the miscellaneous stuff depository?  We've got paperwork piles, a clothes-going-to-Goodwill pile, book piles, etc.  On the bright side, I came across a hanging quilt rack in the corner of our closet and decided today is the day to hang it.  Mike made it for me years and years ago, but we never ended up actually putting it up, because it weighs a ton.  He made it to withstand the apocalypse, I think.  Mount Rainier could erupt and this house could be in the direct path of a lava flow, and that rack would still be fine.  Anyway, he went to Lowe's and got the right hardware to do the job, so when it's up I'll get a picture.

Over and out.

    

Lessons II

I've been working with Zach on the concept of discretion and tact.  That is, we've been talking a lot lately about what to say and when, and what to only think to yourself.  Did you ever see that Seinfeld episode where George says that he was born without a filter?  Yeah.  Although Zach is good, I think, with people outside the family, within our own home he feels perfectly free to say whatever comes to mind.

We were finishing up a somewhat tense day of school, and I had just gotten after Drew about whining, even to the point of quoting Scripture at him, so I was already on edge.  Then Zach started in with me, complaining about his work.  Finally I said, "Zach!  Some things are okay to spout out your blowhole, and some things you should keep inside!!  Which one do you think that was?!"  We sat there glaring at each other for a couple beats, then we both started laughing and couldn't stop.  Now he's nicely finishing his lesson on coordinating and correlative conjunctions, and keeping his thoughts to himself.

Like I said before, sometimes homeschooling is about more than just what's in the lesson plan.

Little Buddy

My little buddy and I have had two really nice days.  It's just been us for the most part, since Mike has had to work and the boys are in Leavenworth.  I can't tell you how much easier homeschooling only one is! (To be fair, she sits at the computer and is taught by others.  I only help with questions and keep track of her grades and work.  In other words, I had time to catch up on Survivor.)  Here are a few pics of our day:

Boo worked hard and had a great attitude.

So during our lunch break I took her to get her very first Cadbury egg ever.  She liked it.

Later in the afternoon my new massage thingie came in the mail.  My preciousssss...

Baylee took it over.

Some time this evening the boys will be back.  Zach butt dialed me last night at about 9:15.  I called him back and we talked for a minute.  He told me that he, Drew, and Kian were outside building a sledding ramp off the back deck.  I asked about schoolwork and he suddenly had to go.  LOL  Hmm.  Oh well, it'll get done eventually.  Meanwhile, the boys are being "socialized."

Edited to Add:  I spoke too soon!  I just got a text from Zach saying "I finished all my school."  That's my responsible firstborn.