I was catching up on blog reading and on one I read occasionally I found this great map. It is the history of the middle east in 90 sec. An unbelievable number of kingdoms have risen and fallen and held power over God's chosen people and the promised land. Right now I am studying Daniel in my Bible Study and we have come to the prophecy portion of the book. That will take a while for me to share so for now know that this map is very interesting in light of what Daniel reveals. One thing I found so interesting this week is the statement that Beth made, "For Daniel it was prophecy, for us it is mostly history." Much of the prophecy in the book of Daniel has come to pass, and it came just as God promised. Oh What a God we serve!



Maps of War site

Surprise!

A month ago, my niece got her hair cut. She had really long dark blond hair and it is straight as a stick. It was a tangle nightmare every morning, and really anytime it needed brushed. We had all been talking about Locks of Love for a while and so my sister took J to go get it done one day and presented it as a fait accompli. J colored a picture to include with her ponytail when they sent it off. Je and I have been talking about this for a few months. Sometimes she thinks she wants her hair cut and then she doesn't. Her daddy likes it long. Of course he said the same thing about my hair for YEARS until last May when I chopped it off and he says he likes it better shorter. BTW his opinion was one of the reason's I kept the same hair for the last oh 13 years.

Before that, I just wasn't ready to change it, and he wasn't around before that so I didn't care if he had an opinion, I didn't know him. Je decided last week that she would like to cut her hair for a little girl who needs it. I needed a trim so after our field trip to the pumpkin patch, with Jo still safely at a friend's house, Je and I went to the salon.Behold, NEW HAIR!!!!!
We printed off the donation form, emailed the pictures to the group and packed up the beautiful red 10 inch ponytail. It is as we speak on its way to Locks of Love. I keep telling myself it will grow back. Not that I begrudge her having short hair, its just she had such gorgeous hair and lots of styling options. I know how to do long hair, short hair is new. I HAD LONG HAIR. MY HAIR IS STILL LONGER THAN HERS! I am still learning how to style my new hair 5 months later, I can put in barretts, I can braid, I can even do that pretty halo thing pictured above, I don't know if I can do short hair. I am going to have to practice and five year olds are not known for their patience when it comes to letting their moms do their hair. AT least mine isn't. ARGHHHH!!!!

Ode to Lovies

Yesterday, Jo got some of her donut on Hippo, and she asked me to wash it. It got me thinking about lovies. Each of my children have their comfort items, Je has a bear and Jo has a hippo. They are the head and arms of the stuffed animal with a blanket body. Each child has her name embroidered on the tail of the blanket. The love the satin feel of the ribbon at the neck and along the edge of the blanket. Je uses bear as a pillow, she wipes her tears on him and I think I saw her use it to wipe her nose. You probably can't even make out bear in the picture. I can but I know where to look and what he looks like. He is the barely visible pale cream thing abouve the red hair. Needless to say, Bear is a little bedraggled. Hippo isn't quite as rough but he isn't as old either. My nephew has a dog in the same style and Dog is much much much worse. He almost never lets my sister wash him. My mother usually steals Dog when Si visits and washes him. I try to give the lovies a bath every week or two and the girls look at it as if their Lovies are getting a bath. They are pretty okay with the concept, so their lovies smell good most of the time and while I have had to resew the ribbon on Bear's neck about five times; he looks pretty good for 5. Lovies are crucial, I give them as baby shower gifts. My mother saw how expensive it was to buy the lovies that all of her grandchildren prefer and started making some. I firmly believe that every little one should have some kind of comfort thing. The other day we had several errands to run in the morning before meeting my mom for a shopping trip to KC and I picked up Bear and Hippo for the trip since if the girls are in the car for an hour in the afternoon a nap is a possibility. Jo knew what Hippo meant, and said that we didn't need to bring him because she didn't want to take a nap. Hippo and Bear are big signals for the girls that they need to settle down and rest. I never had any trouble getting them to sleep away from their beds if I had Bear and Hippo. Give them a binkie and their lovey and they settled in for a nap anywhere. Now that they have given away their binkies (remind me to share the very successful method we used), they rely on their lovies even more. Now it does require me to be vigilant in keeping track of these things but we also have a back up item or two that would do in a pinch. Every little needs a lovey, it makes for easier toddlerhood. We love our lovies!

The Easiest Supper Ever This Side of Take out

For Je's birthday she requested her favorite dinner, white noodles. That is Chicken Alfredo. It is so easy that I cannot believe to credit I get for this meal. I normally keep the stuff on hand but we were out of sauce so I stopped by the grocery store on the way home from bible study. I got the three crucial ingredients, chicken, sauce, and noodles. I like to buy the grilled chicken breast off the salad bar at my grocery store because it is easy and fairly economical. You pay the salad bar by the pound price (3.99 at Dillon/Krogers) but you don't have any waste. The chicken is trimmed, the waste is cooked out and it is already cut up so it is the easiest thing in the world. I keep some in those vacuum packs in the freezer for alfredo or quesadillas or fajiatas. I got a new vacuum sealer for my birthday so I am excited about that but before I borrowed my moms. Before that I just used a zip lock and labeled it carefully with the date. The surplus grocery in North Topeka used to carry huge packages of frozen alfredo sauce. We think they were Olive Garden surplus but recently they raised the price and stopped having it as often. I found that the Ragu alfredo is pretty good so I bought some jars of that. It was on sale this week. Now I am not a jar sauce kinda girl. I make my own tomato sauce every summer for spaghetti and chili but alfredo sauce is complicated and a jar is pretty good for this thing. I let Je pick out some fun noodles to put with the meal and we were on the road. I got some garlic bread for good measure. At 5:25 I put the water on to boil. I warmed up the sauce, added the chicken and got the bread ready to heat up. I fixed some peas from the freezer for a vegetable. At 5:50 I poured the sauce over the noodles and set them on the table. So in twenty-five minutes and probably less if I watched the water more carefully or didn't try to boil the whole bag, I had a good dinner on the table and my kids had their favorite meal. They always ask for at least seconds and often thirds. If I were really organized, I would grill extra chicken breasts when we grill and then chop them for freezing, and I do sometimes but recently, I've found it too easy to get it already done at the store and have them on hand. That and usually any extra grilled chickens get eaten for leftovers before I get them into the freezer. My husband loves leftovers for lunch at school.

Voila'! The easiest supper ever and I didn't have to call for pizza. Plus, everyone thinks you've worked hard. (Except for my mother who knows how easy this is since it was her idea)

The Lull

Today is the lull in the storm. The first week of October brings birthday extravaganza to my home. Three of the four of us have a birthday in the first four days of this month. It was almost 4 of 4 but Jo was born 6 weeks early. Oct. first is Shan's birthday, my birthday was yesterday the second, and Je's birthday is tomorrow, the fourth. She was due on the third but labor went long. I like to think of myself as 28. That is the year I had my first child, two days after my birthday (which I spent on bed rest for pregnancy-induced high blood pressure), and stopped really having a birthday. Maybe when my girls get old enough to know about other people's birthdays they will remember mine. We had company for the weekend, my mother-in-law came to celebrate the birthday. The inlaws never visited on birthdays before we had children. We went to dinner with the whole family just for fun. On a whim we went to see Cars at the cheap movie theater. Definitely worth seeing, we've gone twice now, but at $1.50 it is pretty cheap to see a movie. Yesterday we had a family birthday supper at a local restaurant. Je chose "the big 'Old MacDonald's" with the playground". Such a treat for us grownups. It has an indoor playland and the echoing gave us all a headache. There was a boy in there for a while, unsupervised, who kept shrieking and screaming. My brother-in-law told him to quiet down and he ignored him. Seth is a quiet laid-back kinda guy. A few minutes later I hauled out my teacher/lifeguard voice and got his attention. He immediately stopped and not to long later left. Tomorrow we are planning a quiet family dinner night at home to celebrate on her actual birthday. Now I need to go make butterfly cookies for treats at pre-school. Like I said, a lull.

Could we Handle It?

I've learned that when we go through rough stuff, we CAN handle whatever we have to. As I read Kari's post about the contest and the comments posted in the voting I realized we commonly say things like, "I don't think I could handle that" or "I can't imagine going through that" or "I don't know how she does it, I never could". When we view the challenges of others it is difficult to see how they cope and to believe that we could cope. If we haven't been confronted with that challenge, be it death of a spouse, longterm illness, children with disabilities, military deployments, death of a child etc...we probably couldn't handle it. I believe that God gives us the ability to handle whatever difficulty He allows us to experience. If we don't have that problem then maybe we COUlDN'T handle it. But rest assured, others are not sure they could handle the issues we routinely deal with. I read Kari's blog

The other finalists are such amazing women who have gone through such difficult situations: things that I cannot imagine enduring. So, I am shocked to be listed amongst them

and had to chuckle because she expresses the same idea that many others express. We each are given a road to travel. I think each of us is on a road that has only the challenges that we can handle at that time. If my kids are happy, healthy, if my husband is here everyday and I am healthy both bodily and mentally then that is the sum total of the challenge that I am equipped to handle today. Now, if something we to change, should something difficult happen, then I believe I could handle it. Lest that sound smug or superior, let me confess that I handle nothing alone. I know it is God who gives me the strength and wisdom to get through the routine issues of parenting pre-schoolers and living on a single income, a teacher's salary. So if God allows tragedy or difficulty, He will give me the strength, grace and wisdom to manage or He will bring me Home. God doesn't cause my difficulties, but He allows me to go through them, be it death of a parent, a friend, illness, job loss, marital issues, or what have you. I am thankful for the uneventfulness of my life, believe me, I thank God each day, I also pray for wisdom and grace to deal with what life brings me. He always answers my prayers. Just not always the way I expect. My sister-in-law said she stopped praying for patience. God just gave her opportunities to practice patience and stretch that muscle. I laughed when she told me that. I ususally want the wisdom to come as some lightbulb kind of thing. When I need that knowledge it will just be there. And sometimes it is. More often I get wisdom through the experiences and challenges I have to deal with. So maybe instead of being afraid of our challenges, we should embrace them. As many of the voters in the contest seemed to say, there is always someone out there who has a harder road than we do. At least it seems harder from the outside. Maybe they can't imagine how we face our day.

I Blame Hillary

I am a sucker for the online quiz. It's Hillary's fault. She does them occasionally and I always do those that are linked from her blog. Then I do others that link from those. I only include this because I don't know what this means. You will have to decide.

Shelly -- [adjective]: Banshee-like 'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com

Aaarrgh!!!! Part 2

Who said it could get hot again? I love fall weather, especially the last couple weeks when it has been warm enough for shorts and tee shirts during the day but cool enough at night to snuggle under the down comforter and let the attic fan suck in the almost chilly air. I did not approve a heat increase! Not that anyone asked me. I really thought summer was over until Shan came home from picking up Papa John's Customer Appreciation $5.99 pizza and said the bank temp read 95 degrees. AT SIX O'CLOCK!!! I need a cool front.

Friendships fleeting

I've learned that sometimes we get defensive about our lives and choices to the point that we either want to convert everyone to our way of thinking and doing or we criticize anyone whose point of view doesn't meet with ours. In Junior High this meant making fun of those kids who were slightly different or even majorly different. This may go on through, later we add ostracism and gossipy criticism. I pray that I can impart a sense of tolerance to my girls. May they accept those around them for who they are, and respect the choices they make. I want them to understand that what is right for them may not be right for others and what is right for others may not be right for them. Different can just be different, not better or worse.

Please don't misuderstand. There are biblical imperatives that are salvation issues. But so much of life isn't that cut and dried, black and white.

In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.
Thomas Jefferson

Another Contest

Have you checked out Bluebird Blogs? She does amazing work. I would love to have a new design for the blog. Right now she is running a contest, it's my day for contests apparently, since I entered Karianna in the Mom Trap contest. Keep her in your prayers, not neccessarily that she'll win, though that would be great, but that she will be upheld through their family's trials right now.

I Nominate Karianna

Over at The Mom Trap she is running a contest to reward a mom who deserves it with a spafinder or merry maids gift card. The nominating blogger also gets one. I've been reading The Karianna Spectrum for a few weeks now and if anyone deserves a spa day or maid service it is her. She is in the throes of parenting a special needs son and is trying determinedly and admirably to stay cool while getting the bureacratic run around from local school and proffessionals in the evaluation process. My heart aches for the pain these trials are putting on her and her family. When she writes that Cat just wants to go to a new school and make new friends, I want to cry because she is caught trying to meet his needs and wants and at the same time do what is best for her son's education. My prayers go out to her and her family. I don't know Karianna, they live half a country away from me, but I want to go there and do something. Clean her house for her, take care of Sliggle so she can take Cat to an appointment, spend a day teaching Cat so he is educationally engaged while waiting to get back into school. Stay with both boys so Kari and Husband can go out. I know I can't do those things, it is an impractical pipe dream. I'm in Kansas, not California. I get angry for her when I read about the run-around the schools are giving her when I was a teacher and wouldn't have dreamed of doing that to a parent, and my sister is a special ed teacher and talks of such a different mentality in her district. We have relatives who moved to Lawrence for is very successful autism program. Like I said, after reading about the trials in her home this month, I think if anyone deserves a treat, it's Kari.

To Do or Not to Do

I've been debating this a lot in my mind recently. I can see both sides of the issue and my husband and I have for now chosen a path. This article pushed me to respond here where I get to say what I think. Homeschooling is a very personal choice. Each family, Christian or not, has to come to their own decision about this very important issue. I resent articles like this that threaten horrible consequences to anyone who doesn't do as the writers feel is best. At this point we have decided not to homeschool. Je is in a Christian preschool, but next year will probably attend a public kindergarten. The only reason that might change is that in our district kindergarten is all day and few opt out of that. Je still naps most days. She has been really tired from just the half day of preschool three afternoons a week and missing her nap those days. We will have to see how things go as the school year progresses.

Back to the topic. I truly, heartily, and vocally support the idea that parents are the first and best teachers our children will ever have. I also believe that parents are the best able to make choices and decisions regarding their children. I rail against entities that seek to replace parents as influences for our kids. In that way, I sometimes get frustrated with public schools. This comes from my experience attending public schools and from teaching in them as well as being married to a teacher in public schools.

Every family has to decide what works for them, every year. I know myself well enough to know that I lack some crucial things to homeschool successfully, discipline, organization, and desire to do it. Maybe that last one is the most important. I just don't want to do it. It doesn't appeal to me to be solely responsible for my kids education. I am not patient enough, I worry that I wouldn't be broad enough, I wouldn't be innovative enough. In public schools I subscribe to the beg borrow and steal method of teaching. I have my eyes out scooping up ideas from everywhere for lessons. I have resources established. At home I would have to cultivate those resources, I know myself well enough to admit that procrastination, disorganization, and inertia would probably win out in my teaching, and the girls would suffer for my lack. When I taught at school, I had official oversight, regular checkups with other teachers, and parents asking for info. At home, I could avoid, fast talk and finesse my way through and the girls would suffer.

I respect everyone's right to choose what God has for their family. We feel called to the public school at this point. Christians cannot abandon society without leaving a vacuum of influence to be filled by those we would rather kept quiet. Some Christians have tried that. Our own church tried to abstain from politics in the mid-twentieth century urging us not to vote unless the candidate was a Christian and backed the Christian amendment to the constitution. That stand didn't lead to a better outcome. Now we are urged to take part in the process, not hold ourselves apart. If we take all the Christians out of schools we are left with no one to object to the objectionable. We may not be able to halt the liberal agenda but maybe we can temper it, show those not convinced that there are alternatives. I also feel strongly about my role to prepare my kids for life after school. They will have to at some point live in the world. I don't want them to confront things unprepared, and if I allow them contact with the world while I am there to provide perspective and education about them, then I feel that is MY job. So I guess I will be homeschooling in a way. We all do. I just think for our family the reading and writing is best covered by the teachers at the school not the ones at home. I invite anyone who has an opinion to post it. We all get to find God's will for our lives and must live as we are called.

Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning?

That is the title to an Alan Jackson song that memoralizes the tragedy of September 11. It asks where we were and give several possiblilities.


Where Were You
(Alan Jackson)

Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day
Out in the yard with your wife and children
Working on some stage in LA
Did you stand there in shock at the site of
That black smoke rising against that blue sky
Did you shout out in anger
In fear for your neighbor
Or did you just sit down and cry

Did you weep for the children
Who lost their dear loved ones
And pray for the ones who don't know
Did you rejoice for the people who walked from the rubble
And sob for the ones left below

Did you burst out in pride
For the red white and blue
The heroes who died just doing what they do
Did you look up to heaven for some kind of answer
And look at yourself to what really matters

I'm just a singer of simple songs
I'm not a real political man
I watch CNN but I'm not sure I can tell you
The difference in Iraq and Iran
But I know Jesus and I talk to God
And I remember this from when I was young
Faith hope and love are some good things he gave us
And the greatest is love

Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day
Teaching a class full of innocent children
Driving down some cold interstate
Did you feel guilty cause you're a survivor
In a crowded room did you feel alone
Did you call up your mother and tell her you love her
Did you dust off that bible at home
Did you open your eyes and hope it never happened
Close your eyes and not go to sleep
Did you notice the sunset the first time in ages
Speak with some stranger on the street
Did you lay down at night and think of tomorrow
Go out and buy you a gun
Did you turn off that violent old movie you're watching
And turn on "I Love Lucy" reruns
Did you go to a church and hold hands with some stranger
Stand in line and give your own blood
Did you just stay home and cling tight to your family
Thank God you had somebody to love

I'm just a singer of simple songs
I'm not a real political man
I watch CNN but I'm not sure I can tell you
The difference in Iraq and Iran
But I know Jesus and I talk to God
And I remember this from when I was young
Faith hope and love are some good things he gave us
And the greatest is love

I'm just a singer of simple songs
I'm not a real political man
I watch CNN but I'm not sure I can tell you
The difference in Iraq and Iran
But I know Jesus and I talk to God
And I remember this from when I was young
Faith hope and love are some good things he gave us
And the greatest is love

The greatest is love
The greatest is love

Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day



Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day
Teaching a class full of innocent children


That is where I was. I was 8 1/2 months pregnant with Je, our first, I was still teaching then. I had to use the bathroom between every class and I think it was after second hour that I waddled to the teacher's restroom in the office, and they had the TV on. The news was reporting that planes had struck the two towers. I stopped and watched for a couple minutes, until the bell rang, and I rushed back to class. I was stunned but I had to deal with 7th graders. I didn't know how to talk to them about it, I didn't know enough myself. I went on with the lesson for the next couple classes. During my plan/lunch I had the TV on in my room tuned to the news just trying to absorb everything. I became a news junkie that month. My sixth hour came in and by then, they knew some of what happened. They wanted to talk about it and so we ditched the lesson plan to talk about it. As I look back that is the most significant thing I did during that week. I let my students ask questions and work through their feelings a little. Nouns and verbs come in second after that.

I remember having the news on all the time then. I saved the Newspapers from that week. They delivered special extra editions to school each day that week. They are in the cedar chest for Je when she is old enough to understand what happened in the weeks before she was born.

Where were you when the world stopped turning?

Smarties

At Bible Study this week they gave us Smarties because we are all getting smarter. Now I am sitting here eating them and thinking about my baby getting smarter. Yes, this week my first baby went off to preschool for the first time. Last week we went to a practice day to get ready, but I stayed with her most of the time. Tuesday I dropped her off and left her there, rushing home to throw the other one in bed to get a nap before we went back to pick up Je. Je loved it. Each day she bounces into class with hardly a goodbye. When I get back to pick her up she rushes up to give me a hug and bounce to the car. She related about her day a little bit but most of it is still a mystery. She has learned about recess and snack and likes them well enough to rave about them and the curly haired girl, the birthday girls, and the little girl who cries when her mama drops her off. Next week we begin carpool so I hope our carpool buddy doesn't do that. Shan comes home each afternoon and asks her about school and gets a pat answer of "fine" or "good". Paybacks!!!! I get those kind of answers from him sometimes. I told him that you have to pick your moments, and when she is watching Bugs Life is probably not a good moment. Paybacks.

Things of Great Joy

The computer is back up and running. With a new CD/DVD/CD-R drive, new hard drive, and a new memory it is almost as good as new. And with the warning recieved before the crash I was able to back up everything so within an hour of the repairman's departure, you wouldn't know that things were different...files saved, settings restored, bookmarks and webpage preferences remembered....I love technology when it works.

Yesterday was the first day of Bible Study. This semester I am studying a new Beth Moore video study on the book of Daniel. I WAS BLOWN AWAY. It is going to be fabulous, and I thought that about the other ones too. I was so stimulated by the intro material, I am looking forward to the homework. For example, she showed us in scripture how Daniel, something that took place 2 1/2 millenia ago is relevant to us today. The tower of Babel was built in Shinar. Abram was called out of Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the Promised Land. Both of these were covered in the Patriarch's study I did last fall. The plain of Shinar was were the nations decided to build a tower to the sky so that their name would never be lost from the earth, and they would not be scattered. That was in direct contridiction to what God wanted and wants. His name is to be glorified and He wants us to be fruitful and fill the earth. Chaldea is another name for Babylon. Shinar is in Babylon. This is not a coincidence. The Babylonians captured the Israelites and brought them back to the place where they had started. This represents the spiritual battle we all face in that the enemy wants to bring us back to our beginnings, our sinful selves, and invalidate any spiritual growth and progress we have made with the LORD. Daniel and his friends were some of many who were confronted with this challenge and the four of them fought against the enemy. May God use the ancient story to teach me a fresh word today. It has begun already.

Potty Training at Three

I have learned that no matter how successfully your toddler masters potty training accidents still happen for YEARS. I have written of this jouney to dry pants in earlier entries pitfalls and success and relapse. Let's hope we are nearing the end of potty humor. Jo sometimes gets too busy to go to the bathroom. Usually this happens when watching a movie. My new policy if that happens, is to then deny TV access for the rest of the day. If sister gets to watch a video then she does it by herself and Jo has to stay downstairs. This happened yesterday, and Jo took it pretty well. She seems to get the link between behavior and consequences. This evening, she was outside playing with Je and when they came inside she her shorts looked funny. I asked her if she was dry. Her answer was slow in coming, Je answered yes for her. Daddy thought she was damp but she came to me for a second opinion. I thought it was normal sweaty girl from the heat and HUMIDITY that we are enduring prior to a big round of storms expected tonight and tomorrow. She confided that she was dry, "I jus went in the grass!" she said with the offended air that only a new three year old can have. Ah wounded dignity! At least she was dry. Her father tried to blame this on me, but I told him we both taught her this when we stop on the side of the road. I do use a portable potty seat at least

I am in my right mind. I'll prove it!!!!

I am proudly left handed. I know that makes me quirky. I love it except the world is designed for right handed people. I am really sad that neither of my children seems to be lefties. When I was 15 my dad gave me a button for my jean jacket (that was very cool then) and it said
"If the right side of the brain controls the left side of the
body, then only left handed people are in their right minds"

I still have this button in my treasure box on my dresser.

I miss my dad.

You Are 35% Left Brained, 65% Right Brained

The left side of your brain controls verbal ability, attention to detail, and reasoning. Left brained people are good at communication and persuading others. If you're left brained, you are likely good at math and logic. Your left brain prefers dogs, reading, and quiet. The right side of your brain is all about creativity and flexibility. Daring and intuitive, right brained people see the world in their unique way. If you're right brained, you likely have a talent for creative writing and art. Your right brain prefers day dreaming, philosophy, and sports.

Are You Right or Left Brained?

Okay! I give up!!!!

I have been trying for nearly a week to get my computer to play nice. It won't. It is on its way into a wall or something. I think it has a virus that none of the expensive virus protection can find. So now I am stuck with this thing that doesn't work right. Right now the screen display resembles something that might have been on the computer of my elementary classroom when I was in 4th grade playing Oregon Trail!!!!! The graphics and stuff are way way weird. A friend had her baby (Congrats Lisa) and I looked at the pictures she sent via a weblink and it looks like a grainy bad newspaper photo or a digital camera print with 1 megapixel. I am sure the little guy is adorable but I won't be able to tell until I see him at church. Shan better do computer repair soon or I will pull my hair out.

To top it all off I have been having a week. I cry at the drop of a hat, I am completely unmotivated to do anything productive, my house is a wreck and my in-laws come this afternoon. Laundry is done but the clothes are in piles in the laundry room needing folded, iron, hung up, put away, etc. I am just blue. I guess my summer has caught up with me and like I said the other day BEFORE I just want it to end. Summer that is. Not life or anything. I can't wait to return to bible study, and routine. I hate limbo land and that is what August is for us teacher wives. School has started for the kids but not preschool or other school year activities that wait till after Labor Day.

I just want to get through these blahs and get on to the good stuff.

Although, I just got a link to show up and work in my blog so maybe things are looking up!!!

Summer is Over. Finally!!!!!!!

Now for a teacher that may seem like a strange sentiment especially barely halfway through August when the calendar indicates about 5 weeks till the autumnal equinox and it summer-like weather is likely to last at least till Labor Day, the unofficial official end of summer, but School has started. I think it is ridiculous that school starts in the middle of August but no one listens to me. The students returned to the classroom today so that is for me, the official end of summer. I am not even in the classroom currently, and that is what it means to me. Today wasn't noticably different for me and the girls but Daddy is a teacher so it is different for him. Fortunately, the heat wave has broken and I can stand to go outside and breath at the same time. I even opened up the house and turned on the attic fan. Love the attic fan. The house gets really cold, and Shan wears his flannel jammie pants. I love it. Snuggling under the covers and being cool.

I am relieved to have summer ending. This has been not so much my favorite year. Bible School and Church camp have been bright spots in the otherwise painful stretches. With deaths in the family and other difficulties with that and other things, I am ready for a fresh start. No I love winter so to me that is the fresh time. Fall is also acceptable, summer, my least favorite season weather wise.

BlaaaaaaaH!!!!

I know everyone has heard that the nation is suffering through an extreme heat wave. That means it is HOT!!!!!!! Most people talk about the winter blahs, its cold, its yucky, and when is it going to be over. I on the other hand love winter. I love snow and mush, cold weather, fires in the fireplace, hot cocoa, winter coats (although unless it is really cold, like 3degrees, my coat usually just rides around in the car with me), sweaters, turtlenecks and jeans, et al. So this heat wave is especially blah hy for me. I wish I could report some good from the heat, you know sweating five pounds off or something. I am so unmotivated to do anything productive, I haven't blogged in a week, I have cleaned my house, the public rooms only and I did browbeat my children into cleaning their rooms so they could watch TV. I have done only enough laundry to keep us in clean clothes, rather a neccessity when you sweat so much that you have to change clothes and shower two or three times a day. I don't cook because my husbands only request when it comes to dinner is, "Nothing that involves heat," meaning no grilling, baking, frying, or microwaving. My air conditioner has been hard pressed to keep up with the heat. The air conditioner is over 20 years old. I just want it to hold out for a few more years, Pleeeeeeeaaaase. I realized yesterday that Jo 3rd birthday is two weeks away and I have done very little to plan for it. I have presents that I have bought all year long so that isn't the problem, its a gathering kind of issue. Party or no party what to serve at dinner.

I think I haven't been this hot since I was pregnant. It is just tooooooo HOT. Have I mentioned that it was hot?