Summer electives

This week, in Science for Summer...

Spiders: some things really make you appreciate glass


Hormones & Bacteria: what they can do to you, why you should care, and what you can do about it. (It's accelerated course.)


Heat & Humidity: why you really don't want to do your Physical Fitness badge in the middle of summer. in the South. Let's just play in the sprinklers. Please.

Art: Hey! The basement stays cool! Let's play there!

Getting ready for the Harry Potter premier tonight! See you later.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Heat Advisory

What do you do when it's too hot to be outside? Yeah, this is about it... Thrilling stuff.

Both of the bathroom sinks look lovely underneath, now, though. And still, the heat advisory continues. Today, they've added an "excessive heat warning". So, my goal for today is NOT to have to test the boys' skills at dealing with heat exhaustion or stroke. Better living through lower standards!

But we've been keeping busy, in spite of the heat. We've begun back to schooling and will continue to hit it hard for July, August and September. Probably most of October, as well. That gives us the leeway to kick back and enjoy the holidays without much stress or strain. Or fear of falling so far off the grid that we have to make up a whole new plan.

We finally (finally, FINALLY!) cobbled together enough adults for James to sit his board of review. He's now officially a 2nd Class Scout. And I think he's enjoying the feeling of accomplishment that goes along with it. It's a fight to get squirrels to run in a straight line, you know. But it's worth it. So very worth it. The only hurdle he has to clear to attain 1st Class is the 10-outing requirement. This Troop hasn't offered ten outings in the two and a half years he's been a Scout. :\ We're going to work on that. Later, when the weather stops with the hell-hound impressions.

And now, to tackle the day - water? check! books? check! children? Uh... gotta go round those up.

Kiss those babies~
~Dy

The End of June, and Independence Day

We found a neat little spot to play in the river and enjoy the summer days with friends. It's not as POSH as some might like, and it's certainly no Destin, FL, but the kids had a blast, the picnic area is clean, and it's close enough to go regularly, so I'm going to call that a Win.

The rest of the week we've been trying to fix the back yard fence, which Buddy managed to find a way over (I think that's done), preparing for the Fourth of July Festivities (which went off without too many hitches), and gearing back up for Scout activity.

The Cubs made new neckerchief slides, and the siblings made patriotic necklaces, bracelets, and random dangly things. I love not having to worry about whether the balcony stays clean -- the kids had a wonderful time, and the other Moms are just fantastic! John really earned his stripes, too, helping with the littlest siblings as they painted with watercolors and made their crafts. He spearheaded the whole operation, stayed with them, handled the cutting and cleaning. Wow. I'm impressed, and proud of the work he did last week.

Today, the boys pulled a two-hour shift at the Spirit of America Festival. It was hot. It wasn't as hot as last year, and this year there was the faintest hint of a breeze, which was delicious. But it was still *hot*. The Suburban thermometer registered 108 there in the parking lot. ~ack~ Kids are tough, though, and we had to herd them back homeward long before they were ready. I have to admit, I'm kind of looking forward to the time Zorak and I can go do something else (read: indoors and air conditioned) while the kids go enjoy the sights and sounds and then meet us back home for a cookout in the afternoon! It's not that I wouldn't love to spend the day with the kids - it's that the kids are far more resilient than I am, these days.

Our next projects are a hike for the Boy Scouts, an outing for the Cub Scouts, and - God willing - another push on the house, to tidy up those little details that never quite got finished in the first place, so we can enjoy them before everything starts needing to be touched up again. I do wish we had these nice, long daylight-filled days in the fall or the spring, when it wasn't so hot outside (yes, I realize I'm wishing we could completely alter the laws of physics - short of being able to have a summer home in Nova Scotia, though, this is the closest pipe dream I can muster).

Happy Independence Day!
Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Scout Stuff

The 4th of July celebrations bring us another opportunity for community involvement this year at the Spirit of America Festival at Point Mallard. The park opens the area to community organizations and vendors, and the whole celebration is a delight for all who come. Last year, the heat was oppressive, and yet it was still a wonderful time -- I can hardly wait for this year's events.

In preparation, our Den will be making new neckerchief slides to wear with their uniforms. I've been researching ideas all week, and while I don't feel like I'm any closer to being ready for Friday's meeting, I have learned a lot. One of my favorite pages so far is Scouting With A Neckerchief, a little pamphlet printed in 1927, that tells the 60-some-odd uses for a neckerchief, as well as some of the history behind the easily recognized symbol. Very cool reading, indeed. I can't wait to share this with the boys.

And one gentleman put his carving skills to delightful use making slides for his grandson. Aren't they darling? I might have a hard time turning the boys loose with those ("Wouldn't they look better in Mommy's safe? No, really. Give it here before you lose it!"), but I'll bet that little boy was *thrilled* with his.

And this site - Scout Mom (but I *love-love-LOVE* the url - fakinit. That just makes me smile and nod like a bobblehead.) Well, I didn't find what I was looking for, but I had fun doing it! She's getting bookmarked for future Scout-related sanity breaks.

Meanwhile, I finally got my hands on some Blue Cards. I'd begun to think they were myth. Or legend. Either way, I was starting to think I'd have better odds getting hold of a Luck Dragon than some of these. Tomorrow, the Bigs will pick the merit badges they'd like to work on this summer, then sometime later in the week we can get the green light and start things rolling with those.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

More Water Fun

A pool in the summer in the just the ultimate luxury. We don't have one, but we have friends who do, and they invited us Saturday to enjoy some play time and a cookout. Yes, food is good. We have awesome friends. The kids had a complete blast, playing with their friends, enjoying the out-of-doors, and wearing themselves out.

Z and I were a little worn at the end of the day, too... (kids get heavy when you heft 'em out of the water!)

And then, it seems, the kids ran off with the camera after we got home.

I love digital photography. We don't have to pay for developing pictures of the children's eyeballs, nostrils, and the inside of the wood stove. But they can wallow in the fun of taking pictures, and we can enjoy a glimpse of the world through the children's eyes, and keep a few gems from the discovery. (I now also have a good idea of which areas of the house I need to de-clutter. Not posting those, though.)

Did you have a great weekend? Are you enjoying your little ones (or not so little ones) this summer?

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Saturday Adventures

"Because Mom knows how much fun migrant farm work is," Zorak replied to the children's queries. Yes, we're going berry picking, which sounded significantly more fun in my head than it did when Zorak explained it. Thankfully, he lives with his tongue mainly in his cheek, and it was fun.

The farm also grows muscadines, which of course I referred to as "grapes". And was sorted out right quick on the difference. (I know the difference. I just fail to have a significant level of awareness to remember to differentiate. Six years, you'd think I'd have developed some sensitivity to Southerners and their agricultural affections. I'm trying. I really am. But in my defense, I have yet to find anyone who makes muscadine wine - which might help cement the image in my head - and, let's be honest, they do look an awful lot like grapes.)

James had a blast narrowing down all the minutiae of the ripest, sweetest, best berries for picking. This kid loves things on a level most of us don't even know exists. He will never mistakenly refer to muscadines as mere grapes. He is awesome. He also picked the best berries, and we will all enjoy the benefits of his attention to detail, tomorrow afternoon, in a pie.

Since it's neither healthy nor interesting to be too focused on any one thing, the kids found all kinds of interesting creatures: spiders, ants, and a caterpillar or two. There's one on the fence. Honest. Although I do love John's caption idea: "Is this thing electric?"

Thanks to serendipitous timing, we had a full bucket right about the time we realized we're all dehydrated and it's only getting hotter. The kids were still in high spirits, so we decided it's best to bail before the crew decides to mutiny. We checked out, bought some wonderful local clover honey, and came home to enjoy the a/c and blueberry pancakes.

And that was this morning's adventure. My timer just beeped, and now I must move on to the next adventure of the day -- time to clean. The rest of the crew knows it's better to run errands with Dad than to stay home and clean with Mom, so I've got the house to myself. True, this means I have no help, but it also means I can crank my music without any external mockery to hamper the enjoyment. ;-)

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

This week...

This week, we had the wonderful Aunt B with us. I have pictures, but Blogger won't recognize my phone texts, and none of us remembers where we put the camera upload cord. (It's a recurring theme with us, but this time it's a fairly legitimate loss, as we only recently found the camera battery charger, which had gone MIA back in March. I'm sure we've cleaned the school room at least once since then, so there's no telling where we stuck the random-at-the-time cable.)

We took her to Burritt on the Mountain one morning. Lovely, lovely time of day to go. Pretty little place, too. I was very tempted to climb under Dr. Burritt's dining table and refuse to leave, but settled instead for taking pictures so I could show them to Zorak and whisper, "Do you see those *ceilings*???" Some people might crane their necks up to the ceilings and think they just wouldn't want to clean them. I look up there and think, meh, I don't clean the ceilings I can reach by standing on my toes - at least these are high enough you'd have to squint to see the cobwebs instead of walking right into them. And the windows? And the straw-bale walls, reminiscent of old-school adobe construction. Gah. Gorgeous.

We rented a pontoon boat and spent the day on the river. That was John's birthday, too, so we brought some friends along. There is something absolutely magical about swimming in a river on a hot summer's day. Even moreso when there are no venomous snakes or alligators along for the fun. (And there weren't, so it was one of those Great Memory days.)

We met Zorak for lunch in town, and hit the little-bitty farmer's market in town, and made s'mores on the balcony. It was a really lovely visit, and we're so glad she came. I wish it hadn't been so blasted hot, but then we had rain for two days, and that's always a treat to someone from the desert. (We've been here six years and we still geek out when it rains over a quarter of an inch at a time.) So pretty!

Today, we knew the letdown would come. So we rolled with it. The boys played Monopoly. Em and Jase watched Wonder Pets until we couldn't stand it anymore. I did all the little, boring chores that needed doing, but didn't rate doing while company was here. It was a quiet, restful day, and it was good.

Tomorrow starts our Summer of FUN. Full title and everything. Should be interesting, if nothing else...

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Well, that's better. Kind of.

We needed a change of scenery! Or a tall caramel mocha double something turbo latte. But today isn't an in-town day, so this will have to do. I don't love it, but I don't hate it (I just hate change. Change is hard and awkward. And it highlights the myriad skills I don't have - like web page layout and design. *aherm*)

Back later for some blogging. Right now, I have to make sure the children have not broken into the pantry stores down there in the basement. They're playing a game of Monopoly that makes me want to hire a medium to contact my own mother and apologize (repeatedly) for the summers I spent yelling out, "MOM, it's your turn AGAIN! MOM, where'd you GO, Mom?"

Now, I know.

She was a good woman.

Kiss those babies,
~Dy

Family Fun

What an amazing week this was! Jacob bridged up in Cub Scouts. He's a Bear now. (Coincidentally, I finally completed the rest of my training. I get a nifty patch on my shirt, come payday, too!)

We had our first Bear Den meeting today, and it was amazing! We had a new boy (which, in our Den, means we had "a new boy and all of his siblings"), and everyone melded in beautifully. The other moms indicated that there is enough interest that we may be able to stand up an entire line of daytime dens in our Pack, which would be great for the Pack, and great for the boys who haven't had access to Scouting so far because of the evening meeting requirement. At any rate, we made newspaper seed pots and planted some things in them - we're hoping to have a Harvest Party when they come ripe later toward the Fall. But no matter how the crops turn out, the day was fun. We'll do Day Camp, and then break for the rest of June since everybody will be gone at least one week, most for two, in June. (I'm thankful, as this gives me time to figure out what I'm doing! Yay!)

On the nights the Bigs have Boy Scouts, the Littles and I try to come up with something fun. This week we made volcanoes out of modeling clay. I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but there were three official types of volcanoes, and of course, casualties. I think the squid fared the worst, but the pink clay man took a pretty hard hit, too.

And we're still enjoying the plow disc cooking as often as possible. As long as it's nicer to cook outside, we will. Plus, I think Zorak enjoys the time he gets with whichever child helps cook. It's not often anybody gets to have an uninterrupted conversation around here. Aside from the paparazzi, these two seemed to have a good time. (But they were so sweet while I stalked them with the camera, trying to figure out how to get a decent nighttime shot on the phone.)

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

And then, out of nowhere.

Surgery! Again!

Good heck, but we've been put under too often as of late. (Although in reading up on this procedure, I see that it's sometimes done under local anesthesia, and I've got to say, WOW. Um, I... don't want to be awake for that. No complaints, here.) I had a sore spot over the weekend that wasn't responding to salt water rinses or tea tree oil, so I called my dentist on Tuesday. He suspected it was related to the implants and suggested I go through the periodontist, just in case.

Come to find out, it was an old problem resurfacing - a narrow, twisty root that had been a problem when I'd had a root canal done a few years back. The endodontist had cautioned at the time that it might need an apioectomy at some point. So this was not unexpected, precisely, but since we hadn't had problems with it in the previous two years, we'd all sort of figured it was put to bed. Turns out, not so much.

Yesterday morning I took the Cub Scouts to the Cultural Event at the Oakdale Indian Mounds (it was a fantastic outing!), and that afternoon I went in for surgery. The periodontist took care of the problem, bolstered the area up with yet more bone (I'm starting to feel like Wolverine), as it was adjacent to one of the implants, and sent me home with all the things a girl might need to get some rest. Well, almost all. Zorak did stop somewhere along the way and get me a milkshake. (Two, it turned out - I drank his, also. I was HUNGRY.)

Zorak took the kids to a friend's house that evening and they played and had supper together while I slept. Today, Zorak took the kids back to the Mounds to enjoy a few of the displays and activities we hadn't had time to get to Friday, and then to a birthday party at the ice rink. I slept some more. Now he's exhausted from cat herding all day, and I'm thankful beyond belief. But wow, where'd the week go?

On the up side, the Most Amazing Dr. said that the work he did February had healed up well enough that he was able to uncover the implants and install the abutments! So as soon as this latest development is healed up, I can go in for the crowns. Two months ahead of schedule, even! This endeavor has been long, expensive, and not a little scary, but we're nearing the payoff, and I am so glad for that.

And my sweet, sweet children brought me a little bag of candies specially selected from their stash, for me to enjoy as soon as I'm well again. With that kind of care and thoughtfulness, I feel like I could conquer Mt. Everest!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

The Whole 30

I'd mentioned the Whole 30 in my previous post. We are down to the last couple of days on this. It seems deceptively simple: avoid grains of all kinds, added sugars, alcohol, dairy, legumes and white potatoes (admittedly arbitrary, but they are carb-heavy and nutrient-light) for 30 days and see the difference for yourself. In all actuality, it is simple. The hardest part is, honestly, getting enough calories in without feeling like a total and complete glutton.

Before I get into the results and experience, I should ante up on the caveats and errata from the peanut gallery:

Intentional Alterations, based on philosophy:

* We eat sausage and other preserved meats that have nitrites in them. That's a personal decision. Neither Zorak nor I are convinced either of the claims of harm, nor of the levels of concern. Even when we make our own sausage at home, we use cure with nitrite. I'm not out to evangelize anyone to that particular point of view, nor am I open to being evangelized against them. I'm just being upfront about how our plan differed from that suggested by the Whole 30 plan.

* Raw milk. I kept that as an option for the occasional treat. Again, a personal decision. While I am convinced of the detriments of homogenization, and would forgo dairy completely were that the only alternative available, I've seen no evidence that suggests raw dairy is in any way inflammatory or detrimental to the gut. The Paleo crowd does seem to blow off dairy on the argument that Grok wouldn't have had it, and so neither should we. However, the science and the history both bear out that raw and fermented dairy have been staples of the human diet for as far back as the domestication of livestock, with fantastic results. So. The raw milk stayed, for us. As did the fresh butter, although that was reserved only for the things that really must be sauteed in butter. Arbitrary, perhaps. But tasty and, as I said, it was a non-negotiable for me.

(Note, if we were battling a degenerative disease, or if there were a life-threatening situation which caused us to seek this detox, I will admit that we may have been more strict with regard to the dairy. I probably won't know unless I'm faced with that choice. Your mileage may vary.)

Two Supremely Unjustifiable Errors:

* Alcohol. Gah. This one is entirely on me. I'd signed up for a Wine 101 class that I've been trying to get into since the beginning of February. I finally got in, although I got the slot before we started the Whole 30. The evening was slated for about 3/4 of the way through our 30. The stars aligned, and I had the opportunity for a date night with my honey. I hung my head in shame for a moment, then grabbed my coat and went. We probably consumed half a glass of wine, total. Still, it was all-carby, with zero nutritional value. The evening spent with my husband and the wonderful folks at the class, however, was fantastic. Again, had we been doing this for a high-stakes situation, we'd have passed. But I can't even really justify it or claim it didn't have an impact on the results. I'm fairly sure it did.

* A s'more. We went camping. James picked up toasted coconut marshmallows and a caramel bar for his s'mores. I wanted one. I had it. About the only good thing with regard to this is that I decided days ahead that I would do it, not feel guilty about it, and not decide that I'd fallen off the horse forever because of it. I was able to have that one and enjoy it and move on. No justification, but I did want to be honest.

And, that's it. Other than those exceptions, we've eaten "clean" for a month. This included a week without power, and a Mother's Day campout.

What we noticed:

* Improved rest at night. Less flailing (the elbow of death has not hit me once during the night), deeper sleep, and more rejuvenating sleep.

* Improved digestion and less bloating.

* For the girly folk, the various female issues were much decreased during this cycle.

* No mid-day slump. This has been my *favorite* perk. Absolute, hands-down, favorite. It feels SO good to be functional all day long. Zorak also reported that he's been more alert and had a steady stream of energy at work, without the 2PM slump that always hit him in the past.

* Clearer complexion. This one's probably a close second. I hate having acne in the wrinkles. Nobody warned me about that. Now, I just have the wrinkles. The acne has cleared significantly, and overall skin tone seems improved.

* Tone - overall body tone. We did not add in additional exercises - Zorak, because he hadn't received the all-clear from the surgeon yet, and I, because I'm essentially lazy and didn't want to. However, we've both seen a visible, measurable, tangible, no-kidding improvement in body tone.

* Weight stability. In our cases, it was loss, but from what I've read, I suspect that someone who needed to gain weight would do so on this plan. The body seems to seek out its own balance when we're not busy tweaking our bodies with insulin spikes and crashes.

If you are considering this at all, my advice would be to do it. Just jump in and run with it. It's only 30 days. There is support, and there are resources available. The results you'll see - and I am firmly convinced you will see them - are worth it. There are so many Whole 30 friendly recipes out there. It takes a bit of planning, to have something on hand when you get ready to eat. But not much more than it takes to keep a household fed, anyway. It's not hard, but it is worth it.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Taking it Outside

I love our balcony. If I'd known how much we would use it and love it, I might have foregone finishing the bedrooms or some other project in lieu of building the balcony our first year here. It's like having an entire extra room for the house. There's room to play, room to read, room to sprawl out and relax. It's high enough off the ground that mosquitoes aren't much of a problem (although James has a citronella plant in a pot that he hauls to wherever we'll be eating, just in case). The view is gorgeous, and thanks to the zealous over-engineering of my awesome crew, this thing could hold up a three-ring circus without fear of giving out. Or, you know, a family. (It's a fine line...)

As soon as the evenings or mornings lose their bitter winter bite, we start meandering out there for meals. For some reason, it's as much fun as a picnic, without the traditional picnic drawbacks. Plenty of fun.

On a side-note, we're on day 24 of the Whole 30, a 30-day food challenge. It's been fun. It's been fantastic, actually. I can write more about it, if anyone is interested (although there are far better, more diligent bloggers out there who have documented every single day of it - we had a week without power, and a Mother's Day campout thrown in there during our project, both of which shot the blogging to pieces.) And I can attest that we've experienced definite improvement in many areas because of it. But anyway, this is an example of how we've been eating, and it's. been. delightful.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Easter.

Huh. I'd posted a couple days ago about the recovery process here in Northern Alabama. But it's... gone. Ah, I guess Blogger was doing something while I was posting, perhaps? Ah, okay. I'll have to write that one up again, later. Right now, I'm geared up to get these Easter pictures up.

Easter was lovely. We have such a fun mix of ages. James "hunted" eggs by walking with the littles and making casual remarks like, "Oh, that tree would be a lovely place to hide an egg!" and "I wonder if the Easter Bunny likes horseshoes?" Emily and Jase would squeal with delight as they discovered their treasure after acting upon these "subtle hints". We had so much fun watching him at work.

Emily helped Jase, too. And Jase just had a wonderful time. I think he still checks the yard when he goes outside to play.

Jacob is at that wonderful age where he's able to find, able to help, and still young enough to be really excited by his own discoveries. Every year, I think this is it - I couldn't possibly enjoy these kids more. And every year, they surprise me with their joy and their depth. This is a really cool gig.

Sharon generously took about a bazillion shots of all of us together. I need a super editor that can paste the heads from other shots onto the one that's the best of most of us. Until then, this was a relatively decent family photo. The last one of the year, most likely. Next time, Jase won't need to be restrained and James will probably be taller than I. Wow, where does it all go? I could have sworn I was right here for all of it!

We hope your Easter was just as blessed as ours. There is, truly, so much to celebrate.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

storm update in previous post's comments

Color us contented!

We are notoriously non-crafty people, Zorak and I. As such, we tend to forget (or blow off) the craftier aspects of holidays. Paper chains, doily hearts, and even, I'm sorry to say, Easter eggs. Every year we insist to one another that we'll do better. Every year, we experience some kind of neurological twitch that blows the whole thing, and the kids end up bringing us unearthed boxes of egg dye in September, asking if we can use them now. Well, not this year!

This year, we dyed those eggs. There were rainbows, and layers, and wax. (And plenty of supplies, from prior years' boxes...) The kids really got into it, and just did a fantastic job. As a matter of fact, we're so flush with the joy of pulling it off that I'm thinking next year we'll go Big Time and try Pysanky. (That gives me a year to remember to buy/build/borrow the pens... someone remind me of that in a couple of months?)

I think a few factors really came into play. One, the balcony. There's room, there's light, and there's absolutely no worry about messes. It's like having an actual studio right off the school room, but one I don't have to *clean*. Another is the round yard sale table Zorak picked up last year. It's a fantastic table for doing crafty things - sturdy enough to handle Jase clambering about on it, large enough to fit everybody comfortably working around it, and at $10, I don't feel compelled to worry if it gets stained. Actually, between the Christmas cookies, the gingerbread houses, the kite-making, and now the eggs, it's starting to look quite colorful and festive.

The kids and their attitudes make the whole process infinitely more enjoyable than we are prone to expect it to be. I love them for that. And finally, I think we're just wrapping our minds around how much these things can mean to the little guys when we can relax and let it be about what it ought to be about: spending time together, doing something delightful, learning something new, and enjoying the whole thing. So, that's what we're doing. Pretty crafty!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Busy and Beautiful

It's just been gorgeous, here. Even with the rain. And in spite of the storms. And the tornadoes. But if you grade on a curve, it's been gorgeous. And we've been delightfully busy! No curve needed.

We have five new fruit trees to put in -- 2 figs, 1 nectarine, and 2 plums. The boys dug the holes, but Zorak and I both keep forgetting to pick up peat moss when we're out. There are figs on the trees already, though, so we need to get on that. Perhaps this weekend?

In the meantime, we've been tending the other things. The pears are looking good. The apple trees haven't died yet (we'll grade on a curve, with those poor things). The blueberry plants all have blueberries! Very exciting. EmBaby has added three other flowering something-or-others to her growing collection of perennial flowering plants. And she's getting quite good at identifying them, which is great, because I can barely remember the things I've put in, and it's a sure bet we're going to need her input in the years to come. If I can just convince her to develop a deep affection for shade-loving plants, the front yard would look spectacular!

The strawberry plants aren't faring so well. Something keeps eating the leaves off the plants. Whatever it is, it's leaving the berries alone, but that's not helping. Now we just have sad, wilty plants with wee green berries and no leaves. Whatever it is also has no interest in the plant inside the trap we set near the plants. Clever critter. I need a more clever planting scheme, it seems.

The kids are wrapping up their schoolwork, and doing so well in all regards. We're toying with the idea of doing an Herbology-meets-Potions Summer Intensive Course, studying essential oils, indigenous plants and their culinary and medicinal uses and, of course, the always handy What Not To Eat Under Any Circumstances list. At the end of the study, I'd like the kids to have a basic grasp on making balms and salves, tinctures and poultices. They'll hopefully have a few things to keep in their backpacks on hikes and campouts, as well as a seriously beefed-up herb bed.

Zorak's shoulder is healing just beautifully. He's out of the sling, and moved on to doing weight-bearing exercises. He showed off last night by replacing the dead light fixture in the kitchen. Good stuff. And now I can see on that side of the kitchen at night! Yay!

There's more, but it's late. However, I just read this article, from The Happiness Project, and it inspired me to remember to do what I love, instead of putting it off. Voltaire wrote, "...a beautiful secret is to live at home." I love that imagery, and I love this life, in this home. But there are other things I love, as well, that fall by the wayside -- not intentionally, but due to some fault of my own to mind my time well and keep myself focused at will. I get wrapped around the details of getting things done, and have forgotten to stop and remember the moments at the end of the day. I miss that. And so, here I am.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Fun on the water

First of all, it's fun being three. Mainly, you can fish without having to worry about what to do with the fish you catch. He didn't even want a hook - just threw the weight into the water and reeled it back in. For an hour. Good stuff, that.

A friend of Zorak's invited us to go sailing on Saturday. We went, and had a truly lovely time. Oh, my gosh, it was spectacular! I found myself wishing we'd bought a place on the water. (We'd considered it, but when we learned of EmBaby's pending arrival, we decided we weren't up for having wee non-swimmers on a lake-front home. We're just not that organized.) Still... life in a flotation device can't be that bad, could it?

James enjoyed the rigging. And the tacking. And all the little details that make sailing what it is. I think our friend has awoken the seed of interest, there.

The rest of the crew enjoyed it, as well, but I think the allergies kept them from firing on all cylinders. James has dealt with allergies since he was five. This is the first year ALL THE REST OF US have them, too. It's like we're walking around in a haze. Blech. Doesn't stop us from enjoying the days, but it sure cuts down on our ability to focus.

At the end of the day, nobody was burnt (YAY!), everyone had fun (YAY!), and four of the kids were asleep before we hit the highway (um... not so yay). We hope to do this again soon. It was a lot of fun.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

A Busy Beginning

The big boys camped this weekend, so the littles and I worked around the house, then headed out for a little yard-sale action. I haven't had the umpf to try this with all five, yet, so a dry run with the smallest three seemed the most do-able. (I figured if it works with the least cooperative, then we're golden.) They were awesome and fantastic. I'm sure the stop at Dollar General for junk food before we hit the list of sales didn't hurt one bit.

Didn't find any bookshelves or patio furniture, which is what I'd hoped to find. But we did score some awesome lamps (for the bedroom re-do that I had to mention to Zorak when he got home and wondered aloud where on earth those lamps were supposed to go... it's, um, a project... for later... when your arm is healed and you build me the Farmhouse Bed for my birthday or Christmas... or something), a Springform pan (I now feel like a real grown-up), Dockers (for the child who can't just go grab something from the basement because, well, that's the joy of being the eldest - we don't keep spares for your random and uncontrollable growth spurts), a necklace (because who can pass up a string of pearls a'la Maggie Simpson for the girl, right?), a terra-cotta pot (to plant things in, because we do not have a single pot for planting things in, and this comes up a surprising number of times throughout the year, believe it or not - so, now we do!), and some other things I can't quite remember.

Then the pollen hit. And it laid the three smallest quite low, in a sneezy, snotty pit of springtime despair. Ew. We called it a day and went home to snuggle with the tissues and clary sage oil. *sniffle* Meatballs, salad, and a movie. Jacob was excited to be able to pick the movie for a change.

The bigs got home at some unholy hour. I have no idea. I was sound asleep, in spite of trying to stay awake through three episodes of Eureka and two chapters of some book. (The book was my downfall. It's like having someone read me a bedtime story, but without needing someone else to do the reading. Out like a light in two chapters!)

What with the pollen and the general trip exhaustion, we did not make it to church today. We did not make it much of anywhere past the compost bin, actually.

And then, this afternoon, we had company. A sweet couple and their precious little baby boy. They're new here. He just started working with Zorak. She and the wee one have been staying with family while he house hunts, and they think they've found something. (*yay* it's on this side of the river!) They're expecting Baby2 in August. That poor woman has got to be exhausted beyond reason, but she's quite lucid and sweet and chipper. I wanted very much to offer up any of the beds for her to take a nap, but instead just held the baby so she could eat with both hands. (Didn't want to scare her off on the first visit.) Still, I should probably tip her off that this is a safe place to hide if she needs a nap in the future. We'll watch the babies, just close the door and pull the curtains...

And there we are, another week is up and running!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

A Good Turn

Jacob's Scout Den has been very busy since we've made some changes to the whole set-up. It was a little touch-and-go there, for a while, but it's been wonderful. We have a small Den, with only three boys in it, but they've been busy little beavers - uh, wolves - the past few months.


The boys have gone to the Indian Mound museum. They've learned the protocols for Flag etiquette and hosted an outdoor flag ceremony. They've made kites. They've staged plays. They've covered the well-known knot-tying lessons, complete with ways to finish off loose rope ends! And most recently, they picked up the roadside for a service project.

Those kids *hustled*! (And yes, that's more than three boys, there. That's two whole families' worth of kids. It's how we roll.) They cleared all of the trash from both sides of this stretch of road, and never a complaint. Well, except for Jase, but we asked him to put a whole lot of wear on those wee legs of his that day. He got a well-earned piggy back ride, in the end.

The kids made trash pokers - flat-headed nails duct taped onto the ends of dowel rods. They wore gloves and everybody had a bag. We only turned back because all the bags were full to bursting and we were afraid we'd have a blowout if we pushed on any farther.

I was so impressed with the boys and their attitudes on this endeavor. And the best part is that they've asked if we can do it more often. That's Scouting in action! Love it! And I appreciate the willingness of the other Mom to step up with me and keep it going. She is just awesome beyond words.

With the weather finally breaking free from winter's grasp, it looks like we'll be doing a lot of great stuff this Spring, too.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Homies

No roadtrip would be complete without touching base with those Invisible Friends who just can't remain invisible for long. This last trip was no exception. Going through Texas put us in line to see Meredith and her amazing clan of wee ones again. (Some of whom are not so wee anymore, and just about blew my mind with how big and tall and ginormous they've gotten! I know *mine* aren't growing like that... they can't be. *gasp*) But it's all good because she's had another one since the last time we all got together, so Zorak and I alternately hyperventilated over the growing young men and then oohh'd and ahhh'd over the gorgeous, impish little one.

Look at those feet! And those cheeks! Oh, and he is just as sweet as her older ones are. (I have a good one of Meredith and me, too, but that baby is so much cuter than I am. *gush*) And Meredith is really that lovely in person. Inside and out.

We also got to meet with another dear friend who has since moved into the same area. (*squeee!*) She bravely, er... graciously (well, both) hosted the big get-together at her place. And then -- AND THEN (as if I weren't already just wallowing in the total awesomeness of it all) -- another friend trekked down to spend the day, as well.
That's Jami, the hostess of the year, in the red, and Deb - the O'mazing! gypsy traveler (who drives four hours and still looks that good?) in the fantastic swirly grey.

So there we were, the four of us, kibitzing in the kitchen, trying vaguely not to lose anybody in the greenbelt (the children just intermingled, split up, and took off, as kids are wont to do - thankfully, all four families live by the Buddy System, so nobody got lost alone), noshing on some spectacularly delicious food. Just... just... It was just... I don't have words. I just. don't. have. words. It was awesome. The kids are awesome - ALL OF THEM - I could not do them justice in less than 1,000 pages each. Great kids. And these women are awesome. The whole stop was just full of warmth and wit and humor and wisdom. And Zorak totally owned the occasion -- he remembered to get pictures of all the children before they dispersed too randomly!

There were 18 children between the four families, from 13 years old, down to one. Oh, it was beautiful! And not nearly as loud as one might think. But twice as much fun as you could ever hope.

Deb allowed us to follow her home Monday night. We hoped she'd let us stay forever, but those pesky job requirements and mortgage payments called us back. We left bits of our hearts in Texas, though. And a t-shirt, and a pair of boxers...

I guess we'll have to go back!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

A sweet moment.

These two are so often off and running in their own directions lately. It's nice to see them enjoying a quiet moment together.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Sent via DROID on Verizon Wireless

Newfangled Technologies, and Springtime

It's the end of March! Sheesh. Well, here we are. Or, here we were...


Z's Granny celebrated her 97th birthday this month. She went out dancing for the actual event, but her daughters put together a family get-together in Texas so that everyone could come. This is the first time since we've left New Mexico that we have been able to make it out for something like this. In the past, there's always been something - too broke, no vacation time, vehicle transmission died, children got sick... Needless to say, we held our collective breaths until we actually arrived at our destination! It was a great time. The kids had cousins galore to run and play with, and they did. All the children got loved on by their Grannies and other people's Grannies, and total strangers who they were assured were relations of some sort or other. It was pretty awesome.

Upon our return, we found that Spring had arrived! And so, we got to work on projects. First up, the dishwasher. We got word some months ago that our dishwasher had been recalled due to spontaneous combustion. Never a great thing. So we hammered out the details and got a new one, using the rebate offered by Maytag, supplemented by our willingness to pay a little extra not to have to either put out kitchen fires or have to do dishes by hand. (Maytag did offer to replace the faulty component at no cost, but considering ours leaked heavily enough to soak a beach towel each load, we chipped in for the full replacement machine.) It's in, now, and seems happy. Hard little worker, that one. I have pictures, but they're on my phone and I can't get them off.

Zorak's shoulder is healing beautifully. It aggravates him no end, because he wants it to be all healed rightnow. Of course. I can't say I blame him. Thankfully, it's a self-limiting thing - if he tries to push it, it pushes back and makes him stop. I think, in general, he's doing splendidly, and handling both the healing process and the frustration very well and with a great attitude, which we all appreciate.

The washing machine is our next project to tackle. I was going to wait for Z's arm to be back in the game, but the washer leaks and now the dryer makes a horrible racket (sounds like someone kicking dogs in there, it's awful!) With the amount of laundry we need to do, and how small the washer is to begin with, the non-stop squealing, spraying, wailing (that last bit is me) really needs to stop. We can avoid the squawking dryer by hanging clothes when it's not raining. But we've got to do something about the leak before we're all driven mad by a return of the mold! James agreed to help me with that.

Actually, the boys have all been fantastic about helping out around here. John built a rose garden bed for EmBaby. (Pics are held hostage on the phone.) Jacob helped Jase put in strawberries around the tea garden. (Yep. This danged phone is killing me!) EmBaby decorated every flat surface in honor of Jase' birthday.

Yes! Our Easter Baby is three, now. THREE! He was so un-ruffled over it, too. We've had two who refused to turn three, and two who kind of hoped they could maybe be four, or three-and-four, or just skip straight to five. Jase just nodded and said, "Yeah. I'm three now." It's all good.
Oh, have mercy! It's all going too quickly!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Doctors and Scoutnig and Rain, Oh My!

"Frazzled" by OutdoorPDK, via CC license @ Flickr

Zorak had his surgery Friday. It went well. The man has the constitution of a Southwestern Homesteader, that's for sure. The broken bone needed no work, as it was already mending quite nicely. Doc dealt with the torn bits and sent him on his way. I am so glad (and *thankful*) that he's not been a pain in the butt kind of recoverer. This is one of those injuries that requires cooperation and focus, or it could be ugly. Zorak's been fantastic. If he keeps this up, he'll be back out there in just a few months, working in the garden and helping the boys with projects as if nothing ever happened.

The Blue & Gold was nice. Really nice. The boys said they had a blast. Parents have said they enjoyed it. We were in and out in an hour and fifteen minutes. There was time for skits and fun stuff, awards, announcements, special recognitions. The Friends of Scouting rep gave an awesome talk, and I hope we gave well. The best part, for me, was when the people who helped me wade through the waters to make the event happen laughed and said, "We should do this again, next year." Truly. I've worked in volunteer organizations before and I've never heard someone say they *wanted* to take on a job or position again. That made my heart smile, on many levels.

We're now facing all of the projects we had lined up for March. Most of them, we'll need to modify and/or push back. Some, we simply can't. They're springtime projects - pruning the big old fruit trees, putting in the garden (I might sell the stove so I can buy a tiller, because I don't have it in me to turn that thing over by hand again!) I told the boys Zorak's been promoted to Supervisor for the Springtime, so he'll be lining us up and we'll need to do the work. I'm not sure they believed me. (He's never been not-doing-work on projects.) But we'll get it done, and it will be good. Anybody have a cherry picker we could rent for the pruning?

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Quickie!

Yes, I'm posting between breaths, lately. Right now I have a freshly cleaned and turned mattress with clean sheets awaiting me (compliments of the one who fell asleep and peed on the other sheets... *aherm*) and I can barely keep my eyes open.

First thing: Our Pastor's wife is a saint. I know, that sounds cliche, doesn't it? But no, she really truly is amazing. Any woman who doesn't even *blink* before offering to triple the number of children in her home all day long when you need emergency child care? Made of some fantastic combination of angel dust and titanium.

Second thing: *argh* Zorak's final, official, really-real diagnosis is a torn ligament in the rotator cuff *and* a broken bone. He's more than a little freaked out by the sheer math involved in the odds. (I'm still weirded out that he was wielding a chain saw just this past weekend...) End result? Surgery, and a minimum 3 months of physical therapy. End goal? 100% recovery. Could be worse. Could be much worse. We'll have our minds wrapped around it shortly. I hope.

Third... oh, lunch at Logan's Roadhouse. I cannot believe we've lived here nearly six years and hadn't eaten there, yet. Oh, but we will go back. Yes, we will. We might even take the children. AND they have a gluten-free menu, too, which I thought was pretty awesome business sense.

And now, good night!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

I have ten minutes

I've got ten minutes while the Creamy Citrus Ginger dressing mellows, then I'll have to go round up the children and turn a hose on 'em so they can eat. Ah, it's gorgeous out. AND, I have a child who asks to mix up something called Creamy Citrus Ginger Dressing. Seriously? When I was 12, I failed a Home Ec assignment because my lab partner and I were convinced that if we doubled the brown sugar and the chocolate chips, we'd create the BEST COOKIE BARS EVAH. For obvious reasons, Mrs. Baker (kid you not, real name) disagreed. We could not choke down the cookie bars to save our grades. But here, I have been blessed with a child who makes this, and not even for a grade! Ah. Sometimes, when life is not fair, it's totally not fair in-a-good-way. Mrs. Baker would be proud. Or shocked. But I'm going with proud.

Zorak, turns out, broke. his. arm. on our ski trip. Yeah, I know. I have no clue what can be done a month later, but he goes in tomorrow to see a specialist about how to deal with it. He asked me last night to go with, so I've spent the morning leaving messages with everyone I know who either lives between us and the doctor, or isn't afraid to watch five kids at a Chick-Fil-A playground for an hour. On a day's notice. Wee! (You can imagine how terrifyingly short that list is. *sigh*) I very briefly considered giving Jase a heavy dose of Nyquil and just taking them all with us, but that was only for fun. Nobody really does that. Anymore. Ah, yes. So, I'm hoping somebody will call me back and say, "Sure! I love those fries!"

We spent the weekend thinking about getting some work done on the land. Got the driveway graded, so that was huge. Plus, we got to visit with friends when that was done, so that was cool. You can't hear the Volvo cry out in pain when Zorak leaves each morning, now. It's very comforting. Now, to get gravel on it before it rains. That will be the challenge.

And, I do believe that was ten minutes! Time for lunch! Yum!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

On Not Resting

Wow, Monday came in with a *bang* and then *fwoosh* the whole week flew by, and now *pow* it's Friday! Dang. Good stuff, but still. The calendar pen is near to bursting into flames.

Monday we had Scouts. I had to go wrangle some of the Boy Scouts to come set up and take down for Blue & Gold. My official pitch was that their reward would be service hours and all the homemade desserts they could stand. But we have a phenomenal bunch of boys, and they'd have agreed to come, even without the food. I think. Food is a pretty decent motivator for kids, though. We also got a team to volunteer to teach the Webelos how to do a color guard. Yay!

Tuesday was Scouts for the little guys. I had to give a quick presentation to them on the plan for the Blue & Gold, then go over the plan with the other Den leaders. We also kinda-sorta went through the supply closet. It's in a basement, and it's an old building. It was gross, really. However, thanks to the joy of plastics, most of the stuff is salvageable and/or sealed and totally still good. Score!

Wednesday we had the 6-month mass invasion of the kids' dentist office. They're so good to us, and the kids did fine. I forgot, again, to bring food (it takes a long time to get through five kids), and was on the verge of eating a hygienist by the time we left. We met Zorak for lunch at a buffet, thus saving hygienists across the Valley a gruesome fate. The rest of the day was taken up with music lessons and groceries and all the other normal niceties that Wednesdays bring.

Thursday, we got another 2" of snow! Zorak went in to have his arm looked at. He'd injured it when we went skiing, but... well, anyway, he went in. The doc suspects he damaged his rotator cuff and sent him for an MRI today. We'll know sometime next week if we're looking at surgery. We're really pulling for a big fat, "Hey, you just pulled it!" Meanwhile, the Wolf Den was snowed out of the outdoor flag ceremony for the morning, so we did what you do when you get snow in the South - we went out and played in it before it melted away.

And today... we got caught up on all the things we weren't doing the rest of the week. We had our postponed Den meeting, did ALL the schoolwork, tidied the house and prepared for the weekend, then collapsed for a movie night and shuffled everyone off to bed at a decent hour.

I honestly have no idea what we have going on this weekend. Zorak just told me we're getting the driveway graded tomorrow, and considering how badly it needs it, that's right up there with getting a dozen roses, so I'm pretty stoked about the potential for a great weekend! Maybe I'll return the favor by doing something equally romantic, like pruning the fruit trees. ;-)

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

On Resting

I'm resting well. Healing well. Feeling very close to 100%-ish. The kids and Zorak are picking up ALL the slack, and honestly, they're rocking it, big time. I just slipped out to see what smelled so good, and Zorak said, "We've actually kept this general area fairly clean the last couple days. Honest." (Truth be told, it looks fine - better than I thought it would. AND, they have soup simmering. Scotch Broth recipe from an old cookbook, made with venison in lieu of beef. Soaked barley and lentils. Smells heavenly! They better save me some. Total win category, on all fronts.)

Meanwhile, aside from enjoying the "special rocks" the little ones bring me throughout the day (yesterday, they came bearing large chunks of concrete - friends joked that the house may be missing foundation pieces - until I can verify, though, I'm just going to say they're washed out bits of the driveway. Please be the driveway...), and soaking up the ongoing bomber snuggles Jase provides (he knows he's going to get caught by *someone*, so he goes very very quickly) -- well, I've been reading. And watching.

Reading:
Lawrence of Arabia (Alistair MacLean)
Sisters Grimm, Book 1 (Michael Buckley)
The Imaginary Invalid (Moliere - a quarter of the way through, and I can't remember how to do accents properly in this editor, sorry)
The Crimes of England (GK Chesterton)
The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)

(Yep, somebody downloaded the Kindle for PC app onto the netbook. I'll probably run out of memory if I'm not careful, but that's a quick and pleasant way to blow an afternoon! It is also amazing how much reading you can get done when you're not doing anything else. AND, I'm officially putting the kids on alert that Mommy Wants a Kindle for Her Birthday.)

Watching:
Psych (Season 4 - Netflix)
Eureka (Season 1 - Hulu)
The Bounty (with a very-young-if-you-count-on-a-curve Anthony Hopkins)
Jodhaa Akbar (Netflix)

But I miss the kids and our regular routines. They've been getting ready for bed early enough that I can slip out and read to them. I appreciate that - that time is as much for myself as it is for them. (We're reading 100 Cupboards right now. That's been a fun ride, so far.)

Today was the first nice day we've had in a week, and after they finished their chores and had breakfast, they were out all day - running, climbing, splashing, playing, chasing, swinging. Zorak said at one point he thought about putting them to work picking up the recycling area, but he looked out at them all, running through the meadows together, taking turns on the swing, laughing, playing, and he just turned around and went back to his own projects. Just one of the many reasons I love that man - he gets it. They're learning how to work hard and play hard. That's an awesome combination.

And now, I'm going to go see if that soup is ready!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Winter wonderland!

We keep getting snow! And rain! It's beautiful and wonderful. We need another few loads of gravel and some concrete, though. The driveway looks as though the house has been abandoned longer than we've actually lived here. The Volvo lodges pretty legitimate complaints every time Zorak tries to leave. Hopefully, we'll be able to get the drive graded and lay down some rock in the next week or so, seeing as Zorak kind of has to go to work on a regular basis. I'm sure the UPS guy would appreciate it, as well.

In the meantime, I've had the next round of surgeries on my jaw this week. Today was a recovery day. I am thankful to have an astoundingly talented periodontist who I trust with my life. I am also thankful, 24 hours later, for the technology that is modern pharmaceuticals. Truly. Beyond words. God bless the inventors of Percocet and Zofran, and those who make the generics available now. *\o/*

It's funny, though how often I wish for some quiet time, yet by about ten this morning, I found myself just listening to the kids down the hall, and it was impossible not to scoop Jase up in a big old snuggle every time he made a break for it and came rambling down the hall to me (which was about every 30 minutes or so). It made my jaw ache a bit, but I couldn't resist reading with the boys at bedtime. That really was the highlight of the day.

They're enjoying the long weekend, and getting ready for the Pinewood Derby. I think today they set up the track in the basement and rigged the lever so Jase can operate it. He had a blast, but from what the boys said, he forgets to clear the track. I think they're being gracious. I doubt he's forgetting anything - he's more likely aiming more for a Pinewood Demolition Derby. Regardless, he's stoked and the basement is Speed Shop Ready! Let 'em roll!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

We Need A (New) Plan

This last week, I was feeling a titch overwhelmed with the idea of having to be on time - anywhere - more than twice a week. We haven't really even mastered that, yet, if truth be told. In a decadent moment (and after a week of alternately pining over the Levenger site, then digging through the DIY Planner pages like a crazed ferret), I slipped quietly into some box office store during our foray into "town". I don't know which one it was. It doesn't matter, though, because I didn't find The Thing, there. (Either the totally awesome movie, or the actual thing I needed.)

Oh, they had some beautiful things. And for only the cost of, say, a NutriMill, I could have been set for the year. However, "something to keep me from forgetting my own name" doesn't rank as high as a NutriMill, even on the most decadent of days. Plus, if I were to spend that much, I'd rather just skimp on meals for a couple weeks longer and go with the Levenger products.

So. I figured I'd make my own. And that's what I've been doing All. Week. Long. Wee! It's not leather. It's not even terribly pretty. BUT, it makes me smile. It's infinitely flexible. And I didn't have to steal from the grocery budget to make it happen.

I went with the ring binder set up for a few reasons:

1 - flexibility (I have no idea what I need this thing to do, but I'm pretty sure I will need/want/just decide randomly to change the layout, inclusions, pages, dodads, and miscellany many times over - I can, with three little clicks. Yay.)
2 - cost (a box of some 20 or so of these rings cost me $2 - I got three for my binder, and the boys have turned the rest into grappling hooks for Lego people - it's a win-win, as they've been too busy to even notice that we have spray adhesive) -
3 - I don't remember the third, but the flexibility of the ring system counts as two points, so we'll call it good.

Initially, the project was deliciously ambitious. Fabric cover, full spine, lovely detail. Reality, while equally delicious, is not nearly so ambitious. This has no spine (which, actually, is not nearly the issue I thought it would be. But I'll update that after this thing lives with us for a month). The front and back covers are cardboard (thank you, Amazon box!) I made a picture collage in Picasa, printed it out, and stuck it to the front with spray adhesive (best. thing. ever. I wish it worked on upholstery this well!), then used the same process to make end papers of sorts on the insides of the covers. (You can see, it is green.) The blue pocket was an afterthought, but I like to think the overall theme of jarringly discordant colors creates its own harmony. We'll see. There's another, larger pouch in the back. That one has a flap that closes, to keep receipts and such in.

The tabs! Aren't those great? There is a PDF for them at the DIY Planner site. It was ridiculously fun, and again with the colors! COLORS! I have tabs for "Calendar", "Church", "Scouting", "School", "Finances", and "Contacts". I also went a little overboard, so I have two blank ones in the back, just in case.

I haven't quite mastered the printing of the calendar pages, yet. As you can see, next Month's page has no Thursdays. They turned up on April's pages, which have two Thursdays and no Tuesdays. February has no Wednesdays. I'm pretty sure that was operator error, but I've shuffled and shuffled and have yet to solve the mystery.

The DIY Planner has templates and pages set in PDF on a 2-Up format that requires no tweaking. But I also used pages from Donna Young's (the month-on-a-page calendar pages, the reading log, and the curriculum planner). For those, I used ClickBook to format everything to print in booklet form. Quick and easy.

(EDITED to add: this is a Classic size planner - if you turn an 8.5x11 piece of paper on it's side and fold it in half, that's the size. I picked it so it will fit in a bag, can be carried easily, isn't bulky, and I didn't have to buy special paper. Just set the printer to landscape layout and go.)
Hindsight perspectives:
* I'd have waited on the hole punching until I could get into town and have it done somewhere in one fell swoop. My three-hole punch is great for the individual pages, but I couldn't get the covers into it. So I borrowed a hand-held punch - jumped the gun, put the holes in the wrong places, and then had to go mangle all the other pages to make them line up.
* I'd still like to add a business card sleeve page, and a clear zippered pouch.
* It also needs a pen loop somewhere, but I'm giving it a few days of use to see where it would fit best.
* A waterproof cover would also be nice - although without any other protection, any serious water contact may hose the whole thing.

At any rate, it's fun. And, if this works well, and I can find a system that does what I need it to do, then one day I may treat myself to a truly luxurious planner. OR, maybe just a laminator and I can update the photos once in a while. The kids liked the photos on the cover. I do, too.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy