Yes two post in one day

So this really sucks. I got the calendar for the school year and on the back it has the logos for all the schools in the district including the new school the girls will go to, and it sucks. The Foxes. Really, that is a good mascot? I mean it is better than the carps but not by much, what was wrong with the Hippos (Jo's favorite) or the bulldogs(Je's choice) I realize the Hippos were a long shot since it was a write in but still the bull dogs was on the list...Foxes, really why?


I just did a swagbucks search on it and there is already a school in Massachussetts with that same school name and mascot. Now were copycats...or is it copyfoxes?

Still here just inert--so no real news

So I didn't forget about the blog, I just haven't felt like posting anything lately. Like in two months. Stuff goes on...I probably could have blogged about stuff like the mascot choices for the new elementary school. AT the parent's meeting in May the principal passed out ballots with several options and mentioned that Carp was her favorite. UGH! Since the school name is Farley I don't see that working. I thought carp would become crap and the mom sitting next to me said her kids already called Farley Fartly. So when the superintendent was collecting the ballots she asked if I voted for Carps and I told her no because I was afraid we'd be the Fartly Craps pretty soon. She laughed. So has everyone else who's heard that story. The superintendent hates the carps so I doubt that will happen but I haven't heard the verdict yet.

I could also have blogged about Je's new glasses. She complained of not being able to see the smaller words on signs so we made an appointment for after school was out in May. I really didn't think she needed glasses but we were going to check it out. As we went through the exam Je was supposed to read the letters from the chart. Jo could see the letters in a mirror backwards and I had to hold my hand over her mouth to keep her from answering. She couldn't understand why her sister thought the Q was an N. It was then I realized maybe the girl needs glasses. Turns out she has an astigmatism and has always seen fuzzily. It is only now that she can read that she noticed.

Speaking of reading, I am so proud of how well she has done this year. She started the year reading at a middle of kindergarten level and now she is zoomed to a middle of second grade level. She didn't really care if she could read earlier. At her fall conference she was not as far as we wanted her to be, but the teacher wasn't concerned yet. She indicated that Je was recently showing signs of catching on. Je had told me in Oct. that she didn't have to worry about learning to read until about 5th grade. I told her that if she couldn't read at the end of first grade I wouldn't send her to second grade. She seemed to think about that and take it to heart. She began reading chapter books and really found it to be fun. I have a reader. Now she reads signs as we drive around. It's fabulous!

We've also added some daily review of math and reading to our schedule. I decided that I wanted to keep Je's math on track so we found time sheets and other resources to do at home. When I told her we were going to do it she said, "You mean I get to do home school?!" She was pretty excited about it. We aren't going to do full on homeschooling or anything and the girls don't really want to, but for the summer they are enjoying daily practice sessions. Jo had to get in on the act to get ready for Kindergarten.

VBS went well. The decorations looked amazing, thanks to some great help from a couple of big work days we scheduled to build decorations. I just spent the time getting the materials together to make decorations and organizing the plans and turned the volunteers loose this year. It worked so much better I think I'll do that every year.


So we are just keeping on and keeping busy. We keep house, go to the pool, had swimming lessons, Je played softball with Shan as an assistant coach. I even learned how to operate the scoreboard and keep the official score book. She had fun and says she wants to play next year. The girls on her team all learned a lot from the first game to the last. They even made a run in the tournament at the end of the season. Life keeps us busy and that is a good thing. I'll check in sometime hopefully it won't take 2 months next time.

Just my life

Over the last several months I have been doing a lot of things rather than blog. Not all of them important or meaningful. If you've seen me in the last few weeks or really ever this is not news so feel free to skip this one. Really that is probably all of you

I painted about half of my home: halls/stairways, family room, kitchen, breakfast area, and dining room

I organized my storage room, cleaned out several cabinets, closets etc and took a huge load to Goodwill

I helped with a couple of rental house cleanups

I went on a couple field trips and supervised a couple class parties

I directed the Christmas program at church and put together the scenery and costumes (sounds harder than it was)

I rearranged some furniture

I did regular housekeeping

I cleaned the garage

I re-read the Outlander Series (all 6 books and 6500 pages)

I watched Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and Sports Night on DVD

I refinished my kitchen table top and put it back in the kitchen, moving the old dining room table out and now it is waiting for my sister to claim it

I deep cleaned my refridgerator and organized the pantry

I cooked

I finished Beth Moore's Stepping Up (on the Psalms of Ascent)

(BTW--I just began Esther, and I really like it so far)

Kept my usual committments at work, home, school, and church

Started wrestling season (Doesn't that say it all)

Worked on Je's math, spelling and reading

Worked on the committee to determine new elementary school boundries next year and learned we get to/have to go there (depends on the day how we feel--mostly it sounds great)

Had Christmas

Had the plague (I coughed my way from Thanksgiving to Christmas, got a head cold which moved to my chest and kept the cough alive, got what must have been strep, especially since a two weeks later, Shan went to the Dr with the same symptoms and it was strep)

Nursed kids and husband through assorted illnesses

That is pretty much it. I said it wasn't necessarily meaningful, It was just my life.

I'm not dead

This is for Hillary whose comment showed concern that I haven't posted for a few months. Things are good here, we're just trucking along with life. As usual, our days are filled with school, church, housework and other commitments. We were notified just before Christmas that we will be attending the brand new elementary school next year. I served on the committee to determine the boundaries and that was very interesting. We drive by the new school each day and take note of the progress they are making. Jo told me last week that it looks like they are doing a very good job building it, and she is glad since she will get to go to such an attractive school. (I am not paraphrasing folks) She also learned to tie her shoes last week. She decided it was time so she asked her sister to teach her. Such a proud parenting moment. Of course it was quickly dispelled by the bickering that followed the peaceful interlude of sisterly cooperation. Je has recently discovered the fun that learning can be. She willingly practices her spelling words and math facts. We had our annual Christmas program at church and she memorized her lines all by herself. I made a comment that we needed to work on them and she started saying them to me. Reading is so cool. The play went well even if she had to dash off in the middle to be sick. She had a little bug, but she made it to the restroom so the carpet was spared. Since I was directing the play, my mom ran to deal with Je and any mess, so I was spared as well. Thanks MOM!

I've been thinking about posts for a while, mentally composing them in my head but lacked initiative to sit and type one out. I meant to return after the first of the year so here I am. Now that sounds like I planned a specific break, which I didn't but after a couple weeks it was nice to have a break so I just didn't worry about the blog.

I laughed yesterday when I received Hillary's comment via email. I guess someone at least noticed my absence. M sister didn't even mention it over Christmas. Thanks for the chuckle Hillary!

I Can't Decide If it is Beautiful or Ugly

The kids spent the week at my inlaws last week. It was sooooooooo quiet around here. We (mostly I) eagerly set off Friday to go out there for the weekend. I looked up near the Elsworth/Lincoln County lines. I saw this:









As we drove they seemed to multiply. I counted 22 at one point.








Then we topped a hill and as we came around the corner...There were hundreds and hundreds of them. I can't decide if it is a beautiful site or a really really ugly one. Seriously. It is awe inspiring. We both gasped when we saw them all. I don't know if they are part of the answer to the energy question or just a pipe dream designed to make us feel like we are doing better. I like the idea of using the energy that God provides, solar, wind, water...but I don't know if they can be a miracle cure to the energy problem. I have a sneaking suspicion that the answer is going to be more about conservation and using less energy than finding a new souce to replace current sources. Which means work and change for all of us. Can we do it? We'll see.

Odds and Ends

Well finally the end is in site. This weekend is the state wrestling tournament in Wichita. Again this year the in-laws are meeting me there so I get a nice break and a mini vacation in a hotel. The down side? It is in Wichita. They are bringing my niece and nephew with them for the weekend so even more babysitters since the kids are 12 and 9.

Je has had an ear infection this week. We went to the doctor for an ear infection in January, and thought it cleared up. Thursday morning she woke up in pain. I don't mess with ears so as soon as the doctor's office opened at 8 I called to get her in. Fortunately we could see the doctor at 11 so that wasn't so long to wait. Je was already out of school for parent teacher conferences so that was easy. The doctor gave her a stronger antibiotic and hopefully that will help.

Our first pastoral candidate came earlier this month. I thoroughly enjoyed getting better acquainted with them. We had them to lunch and their kids are about the same ages as ours so they really hit it off.

We have had more than our fair share of snow this winter. We've just gotten slammed. I love it. Snow is my friend. If I could convince my whole family, I would move to somewhere that gets snow in feet rather than inches.

I haven't been real productive lately. The winter blahs, I guess. Or it could be that wrestling season is SOOOOOOOOOO LOOOOONG! But it is almost over!


Of course, Shan is taking a class right now so he will still be very busy. And it's time to gear up for VBS!

Holiday Hangover

Christmas at our house lasts weeks, it seems. And this year was even longer since my brother in law's accident delayed their visit. They finally made it up from AK on New Year's Day so Christmas for us didn't end until Saturday when they went home. I finally got the tree down Sunday, when Shan could help. After Christmas, I bought a new artificial one at Sam's so the old one went to Goodwill. I would personally rather have a real tree every year. My husband doesn't like real trees, and since Christmas falls during wrestling season, the chances of getting a real tree are slim and slimmer. A few years ago, we went to get a tree and it was a bit later than usual, but not crazy late. For some reason, the only trees left at the lots were the $50 variety. That didn't fit into the budget so we were going to just use the little one I had in college. A friend from church had a full size one she didn't use and offered it to us. She didn't want it back so we've used it for several years. Last year, I talked Shan into a real one, but it wasn't easy. This year, I knew we would be gone over break so I didn't even try to get a real tree. My mom decided this year to get a pre-lit tree rather than a real one. Not sure why. I met her at Sam's last month and helped man-handle the heavy box into our van, then out again at her house. We put it up and it was gorgeous. It has 1500 lights. FIFTEEN HUNDRED. I was a little jealous when I looked at our sad tree. It is an older style, not pre-lit and not as tall or full. My sister, Mom, and I went to Sam's after Christmas to look at their trees. They didn't have any left in the aisle. They had a few back in the clearance section, but not the one she wanted. We were on our way out the door when my mom spotted one on a cart near customer service. We looked around for someone who claimed the cart. No one. We moved the cart towards the checkout and called our husbands to see who was going to get the tree. My sister's husband didn't want to haul the tree back to Texas so I used my birthday money, saved since October, to buy a tree. It will look fabulous next year. It is put away with all the other Christmas decorations and we are making our way to normal again. Maybe I can get caught up on laundry and cleaning this week.

This Cracks Me Up!

Every time I see this promo for the US Open in cracks me up. Enjoy.