One last fling...otherwise known as Fat Tuesday

Tomorrow is traditionally referred to as Fat Tuesday. This comes from the tradition of gorging on the day before Ash Wednesday when some people give up things for Lent. A traditional dinner is a pancake dinner. J doesn't really like breakfast for dinner but he does love breakfast foods. The guys brought back over 7 dozen eggs from their campout and I had gotten 2 dozen with the Angel Food order, plus the half dozen I still had in the fridge! Guess what we are having this week...Tomorrow morning will be French Toast with Texas Toast(for those in other sates, this is just wide sliced bread). There are eggs already boiled for lunch; they may end up as deviled eggs. Then we'll take a break and have the quiche for dinner on Wednesday.

I baked chocolate chip cookies tonight for J and the kids since he will not eat sweets for Lent and he had brought a gourmet chocolate bar (99% cocoa) back from his travels this month. I chopped that up to put in the cookies, mmmm, mmmm!

The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men...

In planning my day I forgot one commitment the girls had that threw me for a loop. Both of the younger girls play handbells/chimes at church. This weekend is Children's Sabbath weekend which means all of the children's groups are participating in the worship services. Our church has a casual service on Saturday evening. Guess where I had to take them at 4:30? That's right. And when I picked them up from the party at 1 PM I found out they had stayed up until 4AM! I had three tired, whiny, grumpy girls on my hands. I had them sleep a little when they got home but I had to wake them at 4 to go to church. This also meant I got only a fraction of my school work done and didn't get to make my copies.

The morning went well, though. W and I got the Angel Food, an especially good menu this month: chicken, two kinds, steaks, pork chops, good lunch stuff, eggs, etc. Then we went to Goodwill as planned and found some wonderful skirt deals. I got several for me to wear and two to turn into aprons. They were size 4 anyway...who really wears a size 4???? I'll save them from lingering at GW forever waiting for a real person who can fit into them.

I got all of the laundry finished, mopped the kitchen floor, and cleaned the boys' bathroom as well. They are responsible for it, but you know a 12 yo is not going to do a good job so I have to do it every once in a while...it was time!

I also got a jump start on the grocery list for tomorrow. I have been using the grocerygame as blogged on earlier. I like it but I have to flesh it out to make real meals. I have been doing it about a month now and I am starting to have all of the coupons referred to. It's not as effective if you don't have those. Last week I used the Walgreen's list and earned $22 in rebates which they apply to a Walgreens gift card plus an extra 10% if they don't have to cut a check. I imagine the longer I do it, the more I will save.

I want to share a fun blog for moms who are struggling to think of yet another lunch to pack for their children or their husband. http://veganlunchbox.blogspot.com/ is a mom who makes a perfectly adorable vegan lunch for her first grader each day and takes pictures to share. There are some good ideas I can use even though we are not vegan.

Today's Agenda

It's raining outside as I write this and I really want to just curl up with a cup of hot tea and a good book. Alas, real life calls. J and dsB are survival camping with the Scouts (yes in the rain). All three girls are at a sleepover party until after lunch. That means it's just W and Mom! Last night we went to see the new Curious George movie (cute for W, not for much older than a 5yo though) and then had dinner in the food court. I had a delicious gyro and a Greek salad, W had ...What else? Pizza! That's what I love about the food court. We only go to the mall a few times a year and almost NEVER eat there but with only one child, it was fun and affordable. And I didn't have to eat pizza.

Then we came home and I did laundry while he read books on Daddy's side of the bed. Since our bedroom is very far from his and on a different floor, I didn't want to make him sleep all alone up there. He did very well on J's side except for the occasional wandering foot.

I have a couple of loads of laundry going and we will pick up the Angel Food order around 10. Then I want to go by Goodwill and check out their skirts. I do not like what is available in the stores right now and I find some of the nicest things, still with tags on no less, at Goodwill. Last time I was in, I found a Liz Claiborne fleece skirt (think sweatshirt material) with tags on for $6! Can't beat that. I found the cutest idea online this week for turning a skirt into an apron. I have really had the bug to sew recently and I just have so little time I thought I'd try this quick project.

We'll come home for lunch and then we have to go get the girls. It is a 35 mile drive to get them on the other side of town but it shouldn't be as bad today at lunch as it was yesterday afternoon.

This afternoon I have Science Matters business to take care of. I need to finish the syllabus for the Physical Science class, write a review for their quarterly test, write quizzes for all classes, make copies, and grade lots of papers! That will keep me busy for the rest of the weekend probably. Sounds like that apron won't happen today :( I'll be taking registrations for next year's classes starting Wednesday and I know that things will get really crazy then with the phone ringing all the time and emails flying back and forth.

Thanks for letting me share my To-Do list with you today. I should check in this evening and see if I even got it all done.

Happy Birthday to H

I missed posting yesterday because it was H's 10th birthday. We are planning a party with her girlfriends next week but yesterday we celebrated as a family. I woke her up at 6:45 so Dad and I could take her to breakfast at IHOP before Dad went to work. This child is definitely one who thrives on time spent. For her birthday last year we went to a little tea house for lunch, just the two of us. Then we shopped in a little town square for a while and went home. She was perfectly happy. This morning was a surprise and she grinned the whole time. The waitress even treated her like a grown up so she was pleased as punch. Then we went to Target so that she could try on a skirt. I wanted her to pick her own. The one she picked was pretty; I wanted one too!

We made a cake, had a dinner of her choosing (she doesn't like crockpot enchiladas so we had burgers), opened presents, and watched the Olympics. She went to sleep grinning and happy.

Happy Bday, H! Mom loves you!

Menu for February 19-25

This week's menu is late getting posted but I have been following it, so I get points for that. My routine has developed into doing my grocery shopping on Sunday afternoon while I am driving kids around to church activities so it puts me in good stead for the week's cooking. Here is this week's plan:

Monday
Cheeseburger Soup
Buttermilk Biscuits
Salad

Tuesday
Cheddary Chicken and Broccoli on puff pastry shells
Jello Fruit Salad
Glazed Carrots

Wednesday
Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Raw Vegetables & Dip
Fruit

Thursday
Crockpot Enchiladas
Spanish Rice
Corn

Friday
The guys are camping and the girls are going to a slumber party tonight so it will be just W and me. We may have to do something special :)

God is in the Waiting

I have tried for over a week to find time to read The Trumpeter of Krakow. I read the first two chapters and then haven't found a minute to read since. But in the very first chapter there is a huge nugget of wisdom I keep mulling over. There is a family of three traveling a long distance to see the cousin at his manor (remember 15th century). When they arrive, they find out he is dead and they have nowhere to go. The husband turns to his wife since she is his solace in times such as this and asks what they should do. Her response is, "We will wait. God is in the waiting."

Wow! This is such a powerful statement. It has had me thinking of all the times in my life I was waiting and how difficult I found that. But, the benefit of age is that you begin to build a faith based on life experiences and not solely on belief or scripture (not that those aren't solid foundations also).

My first significant "waiting" was during college when I so wanted to get married and start a family. I know I was young but once I decided what I really wanted to do with my life I didn't want to waste any time getting started. I met my dh at 19 and married at 21, very young I know. But I was ready! The time of wondering just who God had picked for me was difficult but of course now I KNOW God was in the waiting. He provided a Godly man who would love and cherish me. I could have been foolish and married a lesser man but God was in the waiting.

The next "waiting" I endured was the waiting for a child. Again, I was young and terribly impatient. It took us about 9 months to get pregnant with our first child but it felt like an eternity. How silly it seems now but I was sure we would never be able to get pregnant. When I finally did get pregnant, the same month I graduated from college, I was very sick. I see now that if I had been that sick during my last year of school with student teaching and the demands of upper level classes, I would have been miserable. As it was, I had the freedom of not working while so sick with morning sickness that first 6 months. There are those who would say a diversion would have helped and that may be true, but I am glad not to have had the responsibilities of school or work during those days. God was in the waiting, choosing just the perfect timing for our first beautiful baby.

Which of course leads to the next "waiting", that of pregnancy. When will this baby come? What wil he/she look like? What kind of parents will we be? All of these thoughts were present until the day she made her appearance. And I got to repeat that waiting four more times! The last of which was the worst since I was overdue when all of the others had been early. Again, I was impatient (are we seeing a pattern? do I have some character issues to work on?) and so frustrated that I had to wait to get this baby out of me! (he turned out to be a 10 lb. baby so I was ready to get him out!) But sure enough, he was born and he was perfect. God was in the waiting.

Our most recent trial of long waiting occurred from September of 2001 until September of 2004. My dh was laid off when his dot com business closed the doors and we suffered three long years of his unemployment. That was truly the hardest of all waiting, wondering if we would have an income by Christmas, by summer, by next fall... This cycle repeated for 36 months and it broke my heart to see what it did to my dh. He has now been employed for 18 months and we are in recovery but that was a lifechanging time for both of us. During that time I put the children in school, taught at the public school, pulled the kids back out of school, and started my own business. I never would have dreamed of doing this if J had not been unemployed. I am NOT the entreprenurial type. But...God was in the waiting. He had a plan for me...for us. his timing is perfect and it rarely coincides with my timing.

So the next time I am feeling insecure about an indecisive issue in my life, I hope I can remember the wisdom of this fictional wife...God IS in the waiting! God is IN the waiting! God is in the WAITING!

One more picture...

The girls really liked this picture and were disappointed I hadn't used it. Obviously, Spot is curious about the meat pie and other goodies up on the stove. He often sits at my feet while I cook just in case I drop some tasty morsel.

Feast Entertainment

No medieval feast would have been complete without entertainment. I wish you could have been here to laugh with us. We sang Ring-around-the-Rosie with W since this was written about the Black Plague which decimated a huge percentage of the population and led to the demise of the Middle Ages feudal system. Then we had four different performances of the story of Joan of Arc. Here are some pictures:






The funniest part was dsB's puppet show version of the story. It was highly detailed and he played all 5 parts, leading to some hilarious moments. Meet the cast: (Note the crown on King Charles and the funny hat on the Bishop, Joan had a helmet but it didn't last long.)

Medieval Feast part 2

Here are most of the final results. The full menu included pretzels for an appetizer, cabbage stew and maet pie, hearth bread, and mead. For dessert we had custard pies and strawberry pies. The kids remarked how bland everything was, which led to an interesting discussion about cooking practices and how our tastes adapt. This would have been a feast meal and the daily fair was mostly porridge and beans. They tought about having beans and oatmeal every day and were thankful they were born in modern times. This was a real life history lesson.

Hear Ye! Hear Ye!

Welcome to our Medievel Feast, good noble lords and ladies all!

Our first feast was a huge success. It took all day to prepare and we had the modern conveniences of mixers, microwaves, and ovens...I shudder to think how it would really be to prepare this feast in the 1400's.

We started just after lunch with preparation of the baked goods. They ate lots of pastries and pies so we had a selection of those. Here are some bakers in action:
The boys are making pretzels, and the girls are making two different kinds of pies. The final results were fabulous. The only picture B would let me take of her making her meat pie was of the back of her head. She has become painfully camera shy all of the sudden. The others are all jumping in front of the camera and all pictures of her have her hands crossed in front of her face! Go figure...

Then I asked dsB to get my picture and he had an interesting style. The first had my head cut off and this is the second: Perhaps he is talented with artistic composition, or perhaps he is photographically dyslexic! Anyway, this concludes the preparation phase. I'll make a separate post for the final results since I've tried uploading pics three time and it just isn't cooperating!

Temporarily Detoured

J is trying to change some of our passwords for security reasons. Apparently someone has tried to hijack our Ebay account and he is concerned about them getting to our email backwards through that. So, I am down at home and am using the library computer today. This makes the third day in a row I have visited the library :) Yesterday Bethany volunteered to help with the preschool puppet show. So we all came. And Wednesday is our regular library day so we were here for school books then.

Today we are working on a Medieval Feast. We are preparing cabbage stew with dumplings, meat pie, hearth bread, soft pretzels, homemade butter, custard tarts, mead (honey lemonade, NOT fermented), and cherry handpies. Each child picked one recipe. They also are each learning one Medievel era game to teach us all to play. The most recent project they completed was a writing assignment about Joan of Arc so they will be presenting those as well. When I left to come to the library, there were sock puppets and armor in production. You can be sure to get some pictures and a full report this weekend.

I started the morning with an aerobics video with H, a quick shower, and scrambled eggs for breakfast. Of course, that meant I had to go out and buy eggs for this evening since I scrambled all I had in the fridge. I did finish a load of laundry and ironed 3 shirts. I'm trying to keep on top of that after last week's ironing marathon.

Dinner

Well, after J traveling for the better part of three weeks and this week being full of Scouts, dates, and church choir, I cooked a "real meal" tonight. Even though I cook something every night, those fast nights can be pretty simple. Last night we had Frito Pie and raw veggies with dip. Not exactly gourmet...or healthy even. And Monday night, we had sausage wraps. I try to have some kind of sandwich or other hand held food for Mondays since J often rushes in at the last minute to take dsB to Scouts and I want him to be able to take it with him if he needs to. We had had hot dogs from Angel Food recently so we had those on a Monday night. He walked in and smelled the sausages and asked if Monday had become Hot Dog Night...and we don't even eat hot dogs very often! Next week I think we'll have to have something that doesn't even smell like hot dogs.

Tonight I was ready to get back to the grind. So we had Artichoke Chicken, Sauteed Garlic Asparagus, and Twice Baked Potatoes. I add a thawed and drained package of chopped spinach to my twice baked potatoes since that sneaks in a few more vitamins. The chicken recipe is so simple I don't even want to admit it, but it was delicious. You can find it here: http://chicken.allrecipes.com/az/69538.asp I used Light Mayo but it might work with yogurt also.

Valentine's Report

I am finally able to get back to the computer. Sometimes life just gets away from me. We had such a lovely Valentine's Day, I had to share. I heard the story of St. Valentine again on the way to teaching that morning on KLOVE and I think it is so sad that very few people know where this holiday even came from. There are several variations on the legend but here is one version: http://www.pictureframes.co.uk/pages/saint_valentine.htm

I started the morning very early since I teach on Tuesdays and I had some things I wanted to take care of before I left. I had made brownies the night before and needed to prepare them for J's lunch. I got a wonderful idea from Mrs. Cat to dip the tops in melted chocolate. So I melted and dipped. Lucky for me, I had extra chocolate and strawberries so guess what we had for lunch as well!

The one I put in J's lunch was the size of my hand, I kid you not! I only had two sizes of heart cookie cutters, giant and smallish.

Then we headed out early so I could stop and get him a new sleeping bag. I sometimes have difficulty buying gifts for him because if he wants something, he just buys it. He had mentioned the sleeping bag while looking through Sunday's flyers and that gave me the great idea. So, dsB helped me pick the right one and off we went to teach the day's science lessons. The kids had way too much sugar in all of their classes and with their friends. At least they brushed their teeth well that night.

Then the real fun began. We had a date outside the home for the first time I can remember on Valentine's Day. The plan was a movie, then dinner and live music at a fun restaurant downtown. We showed up at the theater to find out our movie wasn't being shown since the projector was having technical problems. We were given complimentary passes to the theater for another night. This means we get another date out of the deal! I'm thrilled.

Since it was still early, we had to fight the traffic (think downtown Austin at 5:15 PM) and made it to the restaurant about 6, early enough to get a good table. The first act was a 9 yo little girl who we later found out was homeschooled. She was very talented. We spent the evening listening to folk music by local artists and members of the Austin Songwriter's Group. I had a blast but started to fade about 9 PM. The music ended about 10 and we came home to a quiet house which the children had picked up before bed. They even took care of the dishes. We were greeted by the smell of burned popcorn so we know they had fun :)

It was a long day but I went to bed that night knowing that I love my life. I love my husband, my husband loves me, and we love our children. I love what I do every day, teaching my own children and helping other students learn to love science. God is good!

A Piece of History

There are times when I love living in a major metropolitan area. Today was one of them. We are in the late Middle Ages in our history study and this week we read about Johann Gutenberg. It just so happens that there is an original Gutenberg Bible on the UT campus, not 10 minutes from where I teach on Mondays. It is one of 5 in the US and only 48 in the world. I wish I could have taken pictures for you but the guard on duty "reminded" me gently that pics were not allowed. It was pretty fabulous to see that remarkable book and all it represented. The illuminations were beautiful and there were notes in the margins which the priests made to help with order of worship in the church.

I heard a professor one time talking about teaching history and he said that children have very little appreciation for history because they don't have the life experience to be able to process it all. Only in our late 20's do we have the perspective to understand the flow of history and how His Story affects us still today. I felt that today. The kids were less than impressed but I loved it! Hopefully they will at least see that the stories they read are REAL.

Happy Campers

Today was Scout Sunday at our church. My guys looked so dashing in their uniforms, I snapped this picture before heading out the door at 7:30 AM. That explains dsB's hair!

On Celebrating Valentine's Day early

This is not so much about me celebrating with my dear husband, as that has yet to come. This is about how we have spent all weekend celebrating with children. Friday afternoon, our homeschool group got together to exchange Valentines and goodies. 35 children and about 12 moms gathered in a smallish home on the cold rainy afternoon and had a terrific time. This is one tradition my children love. Even when they were preschool age, our homeschool group, in all of its forms, has gathered for this activity. Several years we did it at the local roller rink. That was a blast. Last year we tried out a new park.



The creativity that goes into these treasured gifts is remarkable. There was not a storebought card in the bunch. Boys used camo and dragonflies to create theirs, some used jewels, some glitter, and of course LOTS of pink. Half of the fun is looking at them all when the party is over. One of the moms made a heavenly chocolate gooey cake dessert that was so beautiful I had to take a picture :) It tasted even better than they look!

Then last night, I helped the Youth of our church babysit the children of our church, so the Couples of our church could have some date time. The church held a Renewal of Vows ceremony so some did that, others had a special event to attend, others just had a quiet dinner. We watched over 50 children. I had volunteered to coordinate this event because I thought it was an easy one-shot way to help my own Youth-age children earn a little extra money for their accounts. Let me just now say, I am so glad it is over. As we were cleaning up, some of the parents said they wish we would do this several days a year! If only...

J is talking about a special date for us on Tuesday night, so our turn is coming. Now that the children are old enough to take care of themselves for an evening, we are able to get away much more than we did when they were little. I tried to remember those years last night and I hope that a few couples were blessed by the service of our youth.

When little ones are listening

If you'll remember, this week dsB is working on factoring in his Algebra. We were working through some today and they all included variables (like 24x to the 6th) so we were saying all the possiblities (1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 6, 12, 24). Out of the blue, W pipes up and says, "No! Mom, you've got it all wrong. It's 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10." We all laughed so hard at his earnest correction of my counting.

The Year of Magical Thinking

You never know what you might get when you visit me here. Today you get a book review, or at least my take on this book. I finished reading it last night because it has to go back to the library since it is on hold. This is a very popular book. I'm not sure why?.? I had seen Joan Didion on the talk show circuit. Not the Maury Povich kind, but the Nightline and Larry King variety :) So I was curious.

This is a story about a woman and her grief. In December of 2003, Joan's daughter, in her mid-30's became very ill with the flu which evolved into a full body infection. She was hospitalized and very critically ill. While she was still in the hospital, Joan's husband died of a massive heart attack at the dinner table on December 30. Then some time in the next year, the daughter died also. This part was strangely not emphasized in the book, and I couldn't even find when exactly she had died. The book focuses on how Joan dealt with her emotions. The "magical thinking" refers to her irrational thought that somehow if she analyzed the events enough, learned enough, or avoided moving on, she could reverse the events of her husband's death. It is very poignant and touching. I found it repetitive since she repeats many phrases and jumps around from past to present and not even chronologically within those two settings.

For me, this was a difficult book to read. You see, my own mother died of a sudden massive heart attack only 2 months before Joan's husband's, in October of 2003. I still miss her daily and even feel that "magical thinking" of which Joan speaks. My mother's picture is in my dining room and about a month ago while cleaning in there, I was hit with a wall of grief and cried out to God, " Why can't I have my mother back?" "I just want her back!" I often feel overwhelmed at the thought of living the rest of my life without her in it.

Joan writes of a phenomena she experienced as a part of this grief. It is the lost feeling as she went about her daily life AFTER the funeral and its events were over. She wandered through her days of emptiness not knowing what to do with herself without her constant companion. They had worked together for 40 years, as writers. I saw this in my father, and even felt it for the first year. I would want to call my mom and tell her something about the kids or ask a question as I would have before, and I had to remind myself that I could not call her. My father has since remarried and is happy with his lovely new wife, but the grief still hits, I'm sure. I don't think it will ever go away. I know for me, it often hits as if it was last week that she left me.

So, while I am glad I read it, I wouldn't say I enjoyed this book. And if you have grief issues in your own life, be prepared to deal with that if you choose to read it. It is not a leisurely read. Next I plan to read The Trumpeter of Krakow. Hopefully it will be more uplifting.

How to Iron a Man's Shirt

Tuesday night at my moms' meeting we got into a discussion about ironing our husband's shirts. Some did, others didn't, and some didn't even know how. With today's casual dress style, even at work, I am not surprised that there are many men who don't even wear dress shirts. And so many people send them out to the cleaners, they don't feel the need to know this skill. But this is one thing I think we should all at least have the ability to do if we need it. At $1.50 or more per shirt, you could save up to $42 per month by doing it yourself. And J doesn't like the way they do it anyway, since they always seem to iron in tiny creases and

wrinkles where there aren't supposed to be any.

So this entry is a pictorial lesson on how to iron a shirt, filed in homekeeping.


Step 1- Gather the materials
- you need a basic ironing board with a good cushion and cover. I like 100% cotton with a Teflon cover underneath to reflect more heat.
- an iron! I like my 20 yr old Black and Decker since it gets very hot. The newer ones don't seem to get as hot. Some people like the really old ones which are heavy. I like the lightweight one.
- distilled water. I never use anything but distilled water in my iron. This prevents build-up of lime and scale inside your iron. If you already have this problem, try filling it with white vinegar, letting it heat for 5 minutes, then turn it off and rinse when cool (with distilled water, of course) You may have to repeat it a few times if it is really bad.
- spray starch. I like to use starch or sizing. Some use just plain water in a spray bottle. J likes the starched weight of the shirts. They resist wrinkles better when starched. Some people used to sprinkle their clothes and let them sit rolled up to make the fabric iron more easily. I find the starch and the steam from the iron make this unnecessary.


Step 2- Set up
Begin with the ironing board set up with the larger end to your left if you are right handed. Working at the broad end allows more space for those wide surfaces like the back. Preheat your filled iron for about 5 minutes on the steam setting. If it is not hot enough, the water will leak out and can stain your nice clean shirt.






Step 3- Collar
The basic rules of ironing are to do those things first which will not rewrinkle as easily or which require manipulation which would wrinkle the other parts. Double layers are more wrinkle resistant so that includes the collar. Lay the shirt open and flat with the inside facing you. Open the collar buttons and lay the collar flat. Iron from the corner into the middle on both sides. You might need to stretch and pull to keep it flat. Once the flat part is ironed, fold at the natural fold and iron it again. This makes it lay flat and not roll when they wear the shirt.





Step 4- Sleeves

This is the hardest part to do well. The sleeves are a double layer but they tend to get out of alignment and if you're not careful, you can iron wrinkles into the back while you are making the front beautiful. Lay the sleeve out using the natural crease at the shoulder and extending that down to the cuff. Iron the shoulder layers now, keeping them all flat. Move down the top of the folded sleeve, keeping the crease neat. Go all the way to the cuff but don't iron it yet. You may need to reposition to get the bottom line of the sleeve without wrinkling. Pull and stretch to keep alignment where needed. Now do the cuff, pressing hard since this is at least 4 layers. Now repeat on the back side of the sleeve, being careful to keep the same crease at the top, not ironing in new one.




Step 5- Front side one

I begin with the front left side (the one without buttons). Lay it flat all the way to the shoulder. You did the shoulder with the sleeve so it should be nice and crisp. Move down the fabric, keeping the pocket flat if there is one. Press hard on the placket (that place where the button holes are) since it is more layers.

Step 6- Back


This is the most rewarding part for me :) I see that large expanse of fabric becoming smooth and beautiful. Start with the left side of the center pleat. Iron right up to but not on the pleat from top to bottom, rearranging where needed. Reposition so the pleat is in the center and tug at the bottom hem to make it even on both sides. Iron the pleat while tugging but stop before the pleat ends. Then loosen the fabric and do the bottom center. Reposition again to get the left side of the pleat.


Step 7- Front side 2

Now you're almost done! Place the shirt on the board with the shoulder flat and do the large space. Using the point of the iron, go in between each button, pressing hard enough to get it all. Don't forget the space between the top and second button. This will be messy looking if not ironed.




Step 8- Hang and smile

Now take that nice fresh shirt and hang it on the hanger. Button the top button and the collar buttons. The shirt will hang better when buttoned in this fashion. This week I am tucking sweet love notes into J's pockets for him to find later. You can try this too.



Keep repeating all the steps until your ironing pile is gone! Here's what I accomplished today:

Being of Service

Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can. - John Wesley


This is one of my favorite quotes. Being a lifelong Methodist, I have studied John Wesley and his mother Susanna with great interest. They were very devout, disciplined people with a heart for Christ's people.

The topic at my homeschool mom's nite out meeting last night was family service projects. We shared how we are trying to be "the hands and feet of Christ" in our families. Many came with great ideas to share, others came to glean new ideas. This can be a struggle for families with small children since there aren't many practical things little people can do. And moms with small children are often overwhelmed at the thought of adding yet another commitment at this season of their life.

I'd like to reassure you that it doesn't have to mean giving up all your worldly possessions and moving to Peru. You can be of service in your everyday life if you only look for the opportunities. I would remind you of the saying "Charity begins at home". Are you kind and loving with your husband? Do you look for ways to help him in his life's work? Are you giving the best of you to your children? Do they see a smiling Mommy face in the morning? Or better yet, at bedtime when they ask for yet another drink? I admit I am very short tempered when bedtime is 30 minutes past and I have things I "need" to do.

Beyond your own home, there are needs to be met all around you. When my children were small, we drove a route for Meals on Wheels. This was something we all enjoyed. I think we may do that again soon. The people who receive those daily visits can be so lonely. You may be their only contact with the outside world for days.

Look for opportunities to serve young mothers. One of the best things anyone did for me was when my good friend Michele visited after I had my 3rd baby. She was very HIGH NEED and I was at my wit's end with both a 3yo and 4yo to keep up with while constantly holding and nursing this baby. One day my friend showed up with lunch and her children. The kids played while we visited, she cleaned everything up, even sweeping my kitchen floor, and then they left so I could put my tired kids down for a nap. That was so wonderful. I loved that time and she really ministered to me. I have tried to repeat this whenever the opportunity presents itself.

Do you knit? Homeless ministries could always use scarves and hats to pass out in the winter.

Our most recent ministry of service is putting together "Bags of Grace" . These gallon size Ziploc bags have in them enough nonperishable food for one day, wipes, toiletries, and a card of salvation with numbers on it for assistance. We go about once a month or so to help with assembly and then take a few home. A lady in our church started this but if you're interested, check it out at www.bagsofgrace.org . It would be a great project for a homeschool support group. I keep the bags in my car for those times when I am at a stop light with a person holding a cardboard sign. I pass this out of the window and they are always very graciously received.

I know we are busy and our homes and families require most of our time and attention. But think of the example you would be setting for your children. Let them see you helping others and I bet it will translate into a desire on their parts to help others. I find children are naturally compassionate. Only in our adult years do we become selfish and stingy with our time. I encourage you to let the children lead you in finding a worthwhile way to be of service to someone. And be sure to let me know if you find something truly rewarding.

Pay Day and School Day

Today was our first Pay Day with the new chore system. I went to the bank and got a roll each of quarters and dimes plus plenty of $1 bills. The kids worked hard this week and it felt good for them to be rewarded. I did have two of them earn demerits but I think as they learn I mean business that will not be a real problem. We divided the money out for church, bank, and spending so it is a math lesson for the little ones also. I am pleased with the system so far and especially like that very little depends on me. I just have to inspect work and pay up on time. I can handle that!

Today for school, we focused heavily on math and history. The older two are doing Algebra this year and while it started out pretty easy, it is getting to be a challenge. I needed to sit down with dsB and help him work through some factoring. Can you factor 83, 492? And then there were exponents to factor. We spent a good long time working together and I need to do that more often. In the beginning, he could read the lesson and do it without much interpretation on my part but that is not the case any longer.

Then H's new math book came. We use Singapore Math which divides the books by semester. She was ready to begin the new one and I hadn't ordered it so I did that last week and it came last night. I got the teacher's book, which I didn't have the first time through with the older kids. At that time, there was only an answer book. Now this one has lots of activities, games, and support problems. The first lesson in the book is decimals. Fortunately the lesson activity is using base 10 blocks which Nana had just given us! We pulled those out and the lesson went very smoothly. We practiced converting fractions "2/10" to decimals "0.2" and back to fractions. Tomorrow she'll do the lesson in her workbook so we can find out how well it stuck. I really like having more guidance as they get older.

In history we are wrapping up our first unit of Tapestry of Grace. We covered the Middle Ages and have really enjoyed it. This last week we will read about John Wycliffe, Johannes Gutenberg, and John Hus. The older ones are reading Trumpeter of Krakow, a book I'd like to read with them if I can find the time. I hate missing out on what they are learning but I just don't have the time to read as much as they are assigned. We'll be planning our Medieval feast next week. I plan to keep it simple this first time out. They are all writing plays about Joan of Arc from last week so they will perform those. I just have to find some medieval food we think we'll like. There seems to be lots of meats with dried fruits and pastry. Doesn't appeal to our crowd.

J is still out of town, this time in Canada and Chicago. He returns Friday night and we will all be glad to see him. These weeks without him are lonely. He called tonight and it is 14 deg F there. It was 72 deg F here today! I am glad we live in Texas.

Blessing our Husbands

I have declared February to be "Bless my Husband Month". By this I mean I am trying to make an intentional effort to do something each day of the month to make his life easier and let him know how much I love and admire him. Even after 15 years, I sometimes look at him and feel the same little flutter I did in the beginning. With the demands of children and running the household, it is all too easy to let him fend for himself. His love languages are the complete opposite from mine so I have to think of ways to minister to him in a way that makes him feel loved. He prefers acts of service and gifts.

Some of the things I have done so far have been:
Send him a personalized e-card from the M and M's site. I went to try to buy him some custom printed candies but they were too expensive so I sent the free card instead and thanked him for being "such a sweet husband".

Bought him his favorite mixed nuts and wrote on the label and tops "I'm nuts about you!"

Made sure the kitchen was perfectly cleaned and laid out all the supplies he needed to make popcorn for the children during the Super Bowl last night.

Printed out "I Love You" in 28 languages, one for each day of the month. I plan to frame this and give it to him this weekend.

He is out of town several times this month so I send him lots of email love notes. I think there is such power in the written word, I'd rather do that than over the phone.

Some more things are planned but I don't want to give up any secrets yet!

The most important thing I am doing this month is praying for him each and every day above and beyond the usual prayers. I am using Power of a Praying Wife to help guide me.

Some of the things that I try to do every day that I know mean a lot to him are making his lunch for work each day and keeping his dress shirts ironed. The latter is truly a labor of love for me since I HATE to iron dress shirts. I decided many years ago that this was a gift from me to him and I pray for him while I iron those shirts. Fortunately, he has a closet full so even if I get behind, he still has shirts to wear.

Since next week is Valentine's Week, I'd like to challenge all of you wives to make a week out of it and try to bless your husband each day. When all is said and done, I want to know that my husband has been my first priority in our family, right after my time with God. The best gift we can give our children is a loving home and that comes from a loving marriage. I want my husband to feel like the most important man in the world. He really is...in my world.

Working the system

What a week. We really didn't do anything remarkable but it flew right by. After last week's focus on the fair and spelling bee, we were behind on laundry (again!) and had not done our "regular" school work so we needed to get back on track. J was out of town for the end of the week but we plugged away at it and got almost all caught up. Since it was a new month, I decided to try a new chore/allowance system. I had been giving allowance only for year and, while the kids have chores, their allowance wasn't tied to the chores. Plus, there were days when they were playing computer or watching TV and their room was a mess. So we revamped the whole thing and I hope this will help. They have a bulletin board with pushpins color coded by child. The chores are listed down the side and coded by who does them. As they complete the chores for the day(or week as in laundry), they move a pin from the storage field to the chore. In order to have free time, there is a minumum line above which all pins must be in place. There are also demerits and extra points earned at mom's discretion. At the end of the week, we will tally the pins. They earn 10 cents for each pin on the board in their color after demerits are subtracted. The chores will rotate monthly and I won't have to remember it all anymore. I had to create two rotation wheels since the little kids can't do all of the same chores. Thus, there is an "A-B-C" wheel for those 10 and over and an "X-Y" wheel for the little two. Some chores are a team like "AX" or "BY". Clear as mud, I know. Maybe the picture will help. I admit I haven't been diligent about following through on chore systems in the past but the kids are so into it that I think they will keep it up themselves. As long as I take care of pay day and have the money on hand when the time comes, I think it will work. I'll have to go to the back and get rolls of dime and quarters and lots of ones. That will be my part of the deal.