I like Latin!

This morning, over breakfast, James asked me if Prima Latina meant "First Latin". We launched into a great discussion of Latin words and derivatives. He mulled it over a bit and finally declared, "I like Latin. Latin makes sense."

Jumping Lessons! We like to put a little oomph into our lessons, so today we did Latin, Math and Grammar while jumping on the bed. We reviewed vocabulary: I called out the English word and if the boys knew the Latin word, they could yell it out as they bounced off the bed. We did grammar: they had to act out the parts of speech, verbs, prepositions, and adjectives (those were just for pure silliness, but tons of fun!) We did math: word problems for each boy, but I had to pretend to be "the mean lady who won't let anybody smile and doesn't like it when kids answer the questions correctly". It took us half an hour to do math review because the minute I frowned and said, in my gruffest voice, "Don't you smile! Ahhh- I saw that!" they'd erupt in laughter that could only be quelled by winding down on its own.

I love days like today.

We had ice cream for snack and read stories in the grass outside. They got to ride their bikes "all the way around the complex!" (Which, when you are three and five, is a most exciting adventure, indeed!) I adjusted the seat on James' bike (because he's grown since September and he was starting to look like one of those Shriner Clowns on a mini bike). He is convinced I made the bicycle unstable.

Jacob has broken out in a rash. I have attributed his recent fever and irritability to his teething, but now I'm a bit worried. I'm calling a doctor tomorrow. Please keep the little guy in your prayers. He did have a slice of orange today, compliments of his generous big brothers, so I am hoping and praying the rash is just an allergic reaction to the citrus.

Zorak is ready to do a little "emotional unpacking," which is very good news, indeed. It means that he's beginning to embrace the idea of actually "living" here while we're here. It's a place he has had to come to on his own, and while I haven't pushed, I am very excited that he's "there" now. It's been a different transition for me, as I felt that I had to "be there" out of necessity to make things "normal" for the boys, but now I'm excited that we're all on the same page.

Did I tell you we bought Zorak's birthday present? The boys are so excited, and have done a wonderful job of not letting the secret slip! They're so funny. They insist that we use hushed tones when discussing it, and James has all the paraphernalia stashed under his bed. They are too funny. I had hoped to do a big bbq for his birthday this weekend, but as of tonight he has given me neither a list of names to contact for invitations, nor a scheduled time of his choosing (and just let everyone else know about it). So it looks like we may just have a small gathering of whomever is home. I know, it's his birthday, but I love entertaining. I love having gatherings and feeding people (that's the Southern part of me there). We always did big bbq's and gatherings, and I can't help but feel that picking up that tradition would help make this place feel more like home. *sigh* It's ok. Like I said, it is, after all, his birthday, not mine. We'll still make it a happy one!

And, just because I don't think I've done a quiz since I've been here (and it's just not a useless blog w/o a quiz, doncha know!) Here is one where I actually don't feel gypped! (With thanks to... was it Rebel? Where did I get this??) Anyhow, here ya go:


You are a descriptive writer. An avid reader of
Robert Frost, perhaps, you LOVE to use flowery
words and use the paper and pen as your canvas
and paintbrush. You prefer to paint a mental
image rather than simply toy around with
people's minds. A very inspired person, you
love to be in nature and usually are a very
outdoorsy type of person. A writer with a
natural green thumb, perhaps?


What's YOUR Writing Style?
brought to you by Quizilla

The boys are helping me blog today:

From John: iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii *insert giggling here* iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii *"I like
it because I like pressing one all the time. It makes me laugh!"* iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

From James: I love you, aunt B..Love, James.

From Me:
There are times I just can't express how much I love my life. The boys plunked down on the
living room floor after breakfast this morning to play legos together. The airplane models
protected the puppy toys. The lego city was defended against the attacking Hordes. There was
a musical held part way through. School hasn't started yet, but the detour was gloriously fun.

It's all a matter of how you look at it, I suppose, and we have chosen to see the blessings.
We have our health, and even when we don't necessarily have "excellent" health, every day above
ground is a good day, ya know. We have one another, even when we're separated by the day at work
or by travel or other obligations. There is still our home, our central gathering spot and
touchstone, to which we all return for sustenance and rejuvenation, and love. It's such a blessing.

Beth asked about the Free State Project,
and when we're moving to New Hampshire. I am still working to convince Zorak that it's worth the doing.
He believes, as I do, that we need to give it a go in order to try to ensure freedom for our children
and their children. Our move to NH, or even to the second place state (which we'd really rather do-
to be honest, we don't have much desire to call anyplace east of the Rockies "home"), is dependent
upon his ability to find employment.

I really believe it's possible to make a go of the Free State Project, just as I believe that a
political revolution is possible by electing local and county officials outside the two
parties. Then move into state assemblies and senates. From there, you have a chance at sending a
voice to Washington, but not before then. Yes, it's a slow process, and isn't as grandiose as
having a Presidential candidate, but the big changes don't come around in one fell swoop.
They take place brick by brick- whether you are building a nation or tearing it down. Right now our
nation is being torn apart, brick by brick, tenet by tenet, and instead of whining about it, I think
we need to do something about it. Zorak and I are working toward a Free Tomorrow, and we invite you
to join us. You don't have to uproot your family to make it work. You have to speak up, run for local
office, get out and talk to people! It's not that hard, and so many, particularly those coming from the
institutional training houses of today's educational State, are not aware of so very, very much. Just
start talking, start listening, and remind people what it is like to have an active voice in their own
government.

We are attending the rally in June, though! Anybody else going?

OK, grab yer soapbox and settle in...

First, go read THIS.

It's absolutely terrifying! The next thing we know, we'll all be getting a note from the State as soon as our pregnancies are confirmed telling us to whom we should report for prenatal care, where and when and how we will be delivering. Think it can't happen? That's not far from how it's done in France! When the government provides your care, the government controls your care.

First of all, let's set the record straight- medical care is a business. Personally, I think that's great. It means they provide a service and you can choose to take your business elsewhere if you aren't pleased with the care you receive. WAHOO! Long live capitalism! You may like that fact, you may not, but let me give you some insight before you go off on a socialist rampage against my stance.

There is a reason you are asked to sign "AMA" forms when you do not take the route or means of care your doctor advises. You are acknowledging that you are going "against medical advice". It's not a mandate. It's advice. Take it for what it's worth. You have hired a consultant and care provider to whom you ultimately do not have to submit. That person, that facility, is employed on a contract basis BY you, and THEY answer TO you.

It's bad enough that doctors have filled our country with women who have been pushed, prodded and scared into elective surgeries and unnecessary interventions by these "it's for the health of the baby" scenarios. Now the doctors have decided that, in spite of their own pitiful failure rate, exorbitant costs, unnecessary interventions, outrageous infection rates (if lay midwives had secondary infection rates to rival hospitals, there'd be a bigger witch hunt than there is now!) other increased risks, and so on, they somehow still know best. They know all.

Are we going to let them take this power? It's ours to give, or to refuse to give! They won't be so quick to go after families if families stop paying them to do just that.

Why am I so adamantly opposed to socialized medicine? Why am I not clamoring at the feet of whatever liberal politician stand up and shouts, "We need medical care!" Well, let me tell you- first of all, you can get medical care in the United States. Yes, even if you cannot afford it. A public hospital cannot turn you away for care if you show up on its doorsteps. If they do, they are violating the law. But I firmly believe that medical care should NOT be given over to government control because of idiots with a God complex like the staff at Wilkes-Barre Hospital in Pennsylvania! If the State is willing to come in and take away a mother's guardianship of her own child because the physicians at the hospital are upset that she won't let them play Dr. Frankenstein, then the State already has too much power! We do not, I repeat DO NOT need to give the State any more power. We need to take it back or we are going to find ourselves in a very frightening, bleak future.

Please allow me to share, just from my personal experience in the medical community, some of the many, many times the "experts" have been dangerously wrong (these are just a couple, as I'm short on time tonight, but there are plenty more):

1- My mother was at her wits end by the time I was six months old. I cried and screamed 20 hours out of every 24. The doctors insisted that she was "imagining things", that I was "spoiled", that I was "feeding off her stress" and she "should just lay that baby down and let her cry". My mother went AMA repeatedly, determined to find the root of the problem. One physician prescribed a sedative in a dosage high enough to knock out a 200 lb. adult male. It would have killed an 8 mo. old infant. She declined the prescription. Three months later, due to her unswerving determination, it was discovered that I had been born with a double ruptured hernia. Surgery was scheduled immediately. (For the record, I also caught measles suring that stay in the hospital, and had been vaccinated already.) If the government and the medical establishment had the authority to coerce and force her to follow their edicts, I would be now, at best, severely damaged, most likely dead.

2- At the age of 16, I was diagnosed by a physician at the UNM Hospital in Albuquerque as "epileptic", and prescribed Dilantin. We fought it. I was not about to take Dilantin when I did not need it, not knowing what I knew about the side effects. The physician tried to pit the State against us. We fought for two years and discovered that I have (believe it or not) perfectly normal brain activity- not a single sign of epilepsy. The nerve damage, vision problems, and blackouts I suffered were an allergic reaction to Nutrasweet/Aspartame. My Central Nervous System, liver and teeth are most appreciative of the fact that we had the right to take our business elsewhere and find the answers we truly needed.

3- What if hospitals had the ability to force a pregnant woman to take an FDA approved drug because of the "health of the baby"? Would that be ok? Let's talk Thalidamide. How many more women and children would have suffered if they hadn't had the right to say "no" to that drug? Even if rejecting it meant that they had to go against medical advice... even if it meant "putting the baby in jeopardy". That's a risk I am willing to take.

4- When John was 7.5 mos. old, his big brother got hold of some Formula 409 and decided to "help clean" his baby brother. I began flushing his eyes immediately, called poison control, called the ambulance. The paramedics told us to go on in (since I was alone with the two boys and would need transportation home), and called the ER. We got there and they refused to see him. They didn't feel he was behaving distraught enough for anything to be wrong. For three hours, the triage nurse told me to "go home, he's fine." For three hours, I grew increasingly angry and insistent upon being seen and having a thorough flush done. It got to the point that I had to stand in the lobby and scream. They put us in the back to shut me up. An hour later, I cornered the physician on call and demanded my son be tended to. To "placate" me, she did a litmus test. He had a pH of 11.5! (Eye fluid should be neutral- appx 7.5) At that point, it was a different story. Suddenly, there was an emergency! The doctor requested the "big bag" of solution. One for each eye, actually. Then she sent in a nursing student who had never performed an eye flush and was too afraid to try. I flushed his eyes myself. We stayed until he measured neutral. I have no recourse because "his records show that he was attended to". It does not matter that he was attended to under extreme duress. It does not matter that he did not receive professional or timely care. It does not matter that *I* am the one who provided the actual treatment. Hospital records show the hospital to be blameless. Imagine that. If these people had the authority to determine care solely on their whim, my son would be blind today.

5- My friend, Amy, was afraid to challenge the hospital staff. She underwent four surgeries to correct a "collapsed shunt" from her gall bladder surgery. By the time her husband could convince her to seek medical care elsewhere, she had been in ICU for a month, had had numerous MRI's, CT scans, surgeries, blood transfusions, antibiotics enough to choke a horse... she was at another hospital a whopping four hours when their staff found a cancerous mass the size of a football in her abdomen (right where the other surgeons had been poking around.) They scheduled treatment immediately, but it was too late- she died the next morning. If she had felt she could complain, she might have received better care elsewhere rather than taking what was given to her. We won't have that option at all if the State and the medical establishment continues to rein in our rights as patients and consumers.

6- I don't know how many times my sister was officially pronounced dead. Then got up from the bed, asking for food. I know it was three, but there may have been more. Doctors are not Gods.

7- A chiropractor broke one of my mother's ribs. She was in such excruciating pain that she finally told me what happened. I took her to the ER. They took X-rays. The doctor on call showed us the X-rays, showed us the broken rib, explained how to care for it. Two months later, her physician hadn't even asked about her rib, so she questioned him about it. He was confused. There was nothing wrong with her rib. He showed her the ER report. The tech who prepared the report for her physician is tight w/ the chiropractor who broke her rib. The report stated that there was found, "no indication of trauma or injury". The X-rays "couldn't be located" for confirmation. Humans are fallible, corrupt and essentially unethical when they have too much power.

8- A friend broke her arm and went to the ER. They X-rayed it, then put on a cast. She complained repeatedly over the next few days of the excruciating pain and asked that they do something about it. She was told that she just wasn't prepared for the pain of a broken arm. We finally convinced her to go to another hospital. They took X-rays and immediately removed the cast. It had been put on improperly and she was in danger of losing permanently the use of three fingers, as a muscle was caught between the bones. I repeat: Doctors are not Gods, and should not, no- MUST NOT- be treated as such.

There are so many more examples of medical ineptitude, of life-saving questioning of advice or refusal to follow doctor's orders. I know that doctors can be invaluable assets and save many lives many times over, but there must be some balance of power. No one authority on any subject. When citizens cannot question, the nation will stagnate. There is no reason to give the medical establishment more power, more authority. We need more personal responsibility, less power-play and coerced intervention.

Some writers are trying to draw a parallel with abortion advocacy and consider this a "woman's issue". I say that's selling the issue short. This issue is a human rights issue. It is about the difference between providing care to citizens and turning citizens into lab rats. Don't let this happen.

If you live in PA, write to the hospital. Demand an apology from them. Demand a change in protocol. Demand patients' rights be broadened, not restricted. Tell them you will neither support their hospital nor patronize it, and then follow through. Publish letters to the editor of your paper. DO SOMETHING NOW! When it comes down to it, their bottom line is the fiscal one, and unfortunately for all the jibberish they spew about "patient care", it's the dollar that they will heed. So please, if you have dollars to spend, spend them elsewhere and let Wilkes-Barre Hospital know that you chose to spend them elsewhere. Demand accountability from these delusional powermongers before it's your family they come after!

*As a matter of fact, write your judges and other elected officials and let them know that this slight of hand did NOT go undetected and will NOT be tolerated. If they value their job security, they'd better straighten up quickly!*

I'm meeelllllttttiiinnngggg!

Quit tid-bits while the fish are cooking:

*If you have small children, don't make anything that requires you to cook down a fruit, strain it, and set aside the glaze. I don't care how good it is, if you have small children, it will NOT be worth it.

*We have central a/c, electric. Will cracking an upstairs window still work w/ that? I've only had to do that w/ swamp coolers and window units! I'll give it a try.

*The carpet does feel significantly drier since we've had the air on. I do hope this will at least slightly retard the growth of molds under the carpet. Blech

*Cousin Charles (not to be confused with "Zorak" Charles) is en route to Juneau, Alaska for a mission trip over the summer. Six cool college guys turned loose on the mission world! WooHoo! So far, they've hit a deer and lost a headlight, but thankfully weren't going highway speeds when it happened. Nope, they were driving through SNOW. In late MAY! Ha! That's funny! Nobody was injured, and true to family form, he's just using his highbeams rather than replacing the light fixture. It's hard to be a poor missionary/student/traveller with the genes of an eccentric engineer, eh? And yet, they're still having a wonderful time of it! Please keep these guys in your prayers while they're on the road and while they're getting settled in.

*We found the rose oil to keep the ticks off- I'll let ya know how it works! (Don't laugh! If it were scorpions, you'd be lookin' for a solution, too!)

*James was sooo cute today. We stopped for lunch at Chic-Fil-A. He wanted sweet and sour sauce for his nuggets. Since I could see the counter from our table, I suggested he go "ask the nice lady at the counter" for some. He started over, then turned and with a look of absolute glee, asked, "Is this a very big responsibility?" I was slightly caught off guard, but fortunately caught myself and said, "Oh, yes. I know you can do it well, and I trust you." He spun on his heels and skipped to the counter, just beaming with pride. I sat there and beamed a little, myself.

* Shannon got me in hot water w/ the boys by posting a picture of her adorable kitty! Had to laugh, too, as she is taking Chris' word for it that "Chibi" means "small" in Japanese. We got a call once from the brother-in-law, wanting to know what "Chuy" means. His daughters wanted to name their new dog that, but he wanted to make sure it wasn't a bad word first. :-)

*To my blog-buddies: I'm reading, just not posting so much, as the topics many of you have posted about recently would require some serious thought in order to form a coherent sentence to reply. I'm still wrapping my mind around Latin, so I'm sorry to say you aren't going to be getting my better brain cells for the next few, erm, howeverlongs... But I'm reading! Keep blogging!

*May 29th is coming. May 29th is coming. Someone remind me on the 28th that we need to sign up for swim lessons on the 29th- and that the 29th is the next day! Please?

*I'll be back later to shout from my soapbox about the Wilkes-Barre Hospital in PA. *GRRRRRRRR* Feel free to look it up so we can have a thorough gripe-session together, ok?

Time for supper!
Dy

Up and blogging at four thirty in the morning.

THIS is what happens when you go to bed at eight and are accustomed to going to be much, much later. You are up at three in the morning, fully rested and bored stiff. ;-)

So, a quick blog before I try to get some more rest.

The cooler is working great- downstairs. The upstairs is very toasty, well, it's hot. It's miserably, horribly, HOT. Any idea why?? Help? Please. It's icky up there.

Zorak isn't feeling well. Neither is the baby. I'm more concerned about the baby (not that I'm making Zorak fend for himself, but he's a big boy). Jacob is just burning up tonight (do ya think we could find a thermometer? of course not!) He fell asleep on the bathroom rug last night while the boys were playing in the tub. We changed him and laid him in bed. He's been up off and on during the night, but mostly resting the deep rest that only children and small kittens know. He's up now, though, hungry and hot. *sigh* If the fever doesn't break shortly, we'll be at the dr's tomorrow.

We baked yesterday- key lime pie, wheat-free cake doughnuts, strawberry pie, lasagna. It was a delicious day!

***
Later... laid down w/ the baby and wonder of wonders, got a bit more sleep for all! It's raining now, and the boys are still down, so I think I"m going to do some chores. ;-)

Dy

A Sweet Day

We loaded up and drove to the berry farm this morning after breakfast. It was hot there. It was humid. Even the bugs seems laden with moisture and sluggish in their flight. We picked a few pounds of strawberries, listened to some music, ate ice cream sundaes, and then high-tailed it outta there!

James promptly quit helping to pick once he tasted the first berry. He ate one, picked up the basket of berries, carried it under a tree and camped out there eating berries until we (ok, let's be honest, "I") stopped picking.

Jacob also tried a berry. (I know, allergen! Bad Mommy alert!) He loved it, is thoroughly stained from rounded head to tiny toe, and he survived. I imagine much of his upbringing will be similar in sequence. ;-)

We bought a new book! It's a biography of Thomas Stone, the youngest signer of the Declaration of Independence from the Maryland delegation. The author, Mr. Wearmouth, was there, and we spoke with him for nearly an hour. He's 80, a Maryland native, and is utterly fascinating. I'd have come home with more books if I'd known there were going to be books there! However, I'll give a review of this one once I'm finished with it. (I'll also write more on it when I've got it in front of me rather than in the diaper bag!) He also invited us to visit with him and his wife at their place in LaPlata sometime. Truly pleasant gentleman.

Came home to relax for a bit. I'll admit it, we turned on the cooler. The house was 90' inside, and we were entirely too miserable with the 80-something percent humidity, to boot. So. There ya have it, my home is now being cooled. It is heavenly. I have stepped back outside twice, just so I could get hot 'n sticky, then feel that adrenaline-pumping rush of cool air upon my neck and arms as I re-enter the home. Ahhhhh. Good stuff.

Had cake and ice cream w/ the neighbors this evening. Their littlest daughter is two. She is so precious. I love the age of two! It's a fun, fun, exciting age. Children just begin to comprehend that their use language directly impacts the world around them and that they have a certain level of control in that area. What an exciting time of exploration! Two is a wonderful age.

There were many cute things today. I can't remember a single one of them, though, as I sit here to type. So, I'm going to sign off. Tomorrow begins another busy day- hopefully one with a slower, more savory pace than the ones we've had of late. That would truly be wonderful.

G'nite!
Dy

BAD Salesman, NO Bonus!

SOOOO, ok, picture this:

You are working the showroom of your local motorcycle dealership when in walks a family- the whole lot of 'em- husband, wife, three children in tow. This isn't park day, they're looking for something. They have out of state tags. They wander around your showroom for a good twenty-five minutes and nobody says so much as "hello" to them. The small children are getting antsy. The husband is eyeing certain bikes with great interest. He keeps trying to get someone's attention.

Finally, as the wife and the three children make their third lap around the outside of the building (because of the sign on the door that says "all children under the age of 21 must be carried", and since the stay is growing longer by the minute, she is trying fervently to prevent the utter chaos that is just begging to erupt with the children and the bikes and the tipping and the... well, the husband must REALLY want to be there and she must REALLY be OK with it, ya know), the husband approaches a salesman and says to him, (are you ready?):

"I'm an rider from years ago. I haven't been able to ride for a long time, well, (motions to the expanding family) as you can see. *smile* However, I've just graduated from college, have a good job and am looking to start rebuilding my motorcycle collection."

What would you do, if you were this salesman? Well, call the guy who works at Velocity in Richmond, VA and fill him in on how to handle a situation like this!

For those who aren't familiar w/ sales, let me brief you here, on what you would call, to use the auto sales vernacular, "an easy lay"-

*We had the checkbook in hand.
*The woman was there (which is, like, rule #2 on vehicle sales protocol- get the woman in there b/c even if it's his vehicle, it's her yay or nay you're gonna need).
*We had driven two and a half hours to this particular shop.
*The man knew his stuff and asked specifics about specific bikes- he knew what he wanted.
*AND YOU HAD IT!

HELLO? Tell me I'm not the only one who feels there is no reason for a sale not to have taken place there today! For the love of God, a little interest, a microscopic bit of enthusiasm and we'd have come home today with a great BMW or a really nice Dukati. Zorak saw one of each that he'd have been happy to bring home. TODAY.

Pffttt. Entrepreneurial apathy is what's killing our economy, not the war efforts, not the French and their attitude toward us- it's our own stupid laziness. C'mon, people!

Yeah, Zorak was disappointed, too. Any information he managed to get out of the guy was due to direct questioning, but if the man had so much as offered information on financing options (he might've made an even bigger sale than the cash one we had in mind), or what it'd cost out the door. Nah, why bother? By the time we left, it was out of absolute frustration. We don't want to have to beg someone to take our money. We'll go elsewhere and do it with less irritation and frustration.

*****

Then, to assuage the boys' frustrations over being in an unfriendly, cramped and uncomfortably warm environment for almost an hour (not to mention the 2.5 hrs in the car), we took them to the Richmond Children's Museum. It was a great time, but let's be honest- this isn't a museum. It is a romper room of gigantic proportions, and it's loads of fun for little guys, but it is more along the lines of the ultimate Montessori classroom than it is a museum. Lots to do, overly expensive for what it offers ($7 a head for all persons over the age of 1!), and very interesting. On a scale of 1-10, with five being totally ambivalent toward it, I'd give it a sliding scale score: 4 if we lived there, but 6 since we had a 2.5 hour drive home and the kids had already been cooped up far too long! Glad we went.

*****

Yesterday was spent at the Naval Air Museum. Now THAT is a museum. It's small, but wonderful when you are three and five! There are hands-on exhibits, but it also has a much more educational atmosphere and no Romper Room Effect! (Not that we have a disdain for Romper Room, but there's a time and a place....)

Tomorrow it's off to the Hydromont Berry Farm to pick strawberries and check out civil war weaponry. There is nothing quite like a wonderful day of food and firearms to make this family happy!

****

In miscellaneous things,
*We have definitely nailed down one of James' allergens: clover. We had another "eye episode" tonight right after he, in his five year old glee, "fluffed" a bunch of clover blooms into his face. Ewww. Thank God for Benadryl and OTC drugs!
*James would also like to know why "such ridiculous laws such as mandatory seatbelt use ever got passed in a free country"! (Ha, me, too, kiddo, me, too.)
*John sang along with most of the Math-U-See tape today on the drive home. He is learning so much and having such a great time of it.
*Jacob is a great (and I do mean great) traveller! Woo-Hoo! His teeth are getting closer to the surface (oh, that looks painful) and he definitely loves wheat-free ginger spice cookies!
*We tried a wheat-free doughnut recipe today. It doesn't make great doughnuts, but would be a WONDERFUL coating for sweet and sour chicken! Good stuff. Not that the boys cared- we told them it was doughnuts, covered the stuff with glaze and Voila! happy children.

OK, well, I am hoping to call Gram tonight. My phone battery died and it's just not charging quickly enough. I'm going to go find Zorak's phone and give her a ring before she heads to bed. Have a great night, all!

Dy

A Potpourri of Blog...

A little of this and a pinch of that today. Actually, that's sort of how I make soup, come to think of it.

9:45pm-blogging solo tonight- the baby is asleep!

Well, first off, this was linked on TWTM forums today, and I got a big kick out of it. Dick and Jane, if written by Poe... too funny! Actually, I read the whole blog of Bob the Ape, and he's a great new blogger!

10:10pm- now up w/ baby-

Motherhood teaches us a lot, the strangest of which hit me today- only a mother with a diapered child would understand that you can pretty well sum up a situation by sniffing someone's rear end. Dogs aren't so stupid, after all! *Note: this is NOT recommended for anyone outside the parent/diapered child relationship! Failure to follow this guideline may result in very awkward, embarrassing events.*

10:40pm-this isn't going well- he should be out by now!

Melissa sent me this link, about why we should never post a photo on the internet, which has me in stitches at eleven thirty at night!

11:50pm- ARGH! I'm walking with this child and I think we're halfway to Rivendell by now! HELP!

OK, so Jacob is helping me blog tonight. Or rather, he's irritated and grouchy that he is still up. He can't help it, though, as a quick peek in his wee mouth revealed not one or two, but FOUR teeth trying to push their way through. He's gassy, sleepy, in pain (I think he may have fluid building up in his ears- he started grabbing at his ear over supper)... He is, in short, miserable. He has also become a relentlessly gnawing toothless gopher and I am pretty much desperate at this point. I just put him in the neglect-o-matic (swing) to see if the motion will help soothe him.

While I'm up at midnight w/ a teething child and coming up on a Friday I'm just not looking forward to one bit, I'd like to say that Joyce is one of the neatest people. She is just selfless in her patience and humor, and she makes me feel so much better after a chat. :-)

Let's see, what else?

The boys are going to a play tomorrow night! The neighbor's daughter is having her end-of-year school play tomorrow night and the neighbors asked if they could take the boys for supper, to see the play, then perhaps to the park. I always panic at the thought of the boys being without my supervision, but we trust these neighbors, the kids do all get on quite well... I'm still anxious as heck, though.

(The swing didn't help, trying to brainstorm, but am only getting a mild breeze and some slight humidity.)

Ragin Dave left a cute note about submission... "If I want a part of my family to be submissive, I'll get a dog". I can appreciate that. Those who have known me for years usually get that cock-eared, RCA puppy expression when they hear me use the word "submission" in a context other than "to put in for; apply". I guess it's pretty well-established that the term, submission, evokes images of one (usually assumed to be a woman) who has no thought of her own, no desires of her own, and certainly no opinion of her own. I loved Samantha's recent musings on how submission is tailored to each marriage just as each person is tailored to his or her marriage. What constitutes me being "submissive" to my husband probably wouldn't even count for some ladies I know. Conversely, if I tried to be like they are, my wonderful Zorak would most likely take me in for some kind of shock therapy to rid me of it. At the very least, he'd walk quickly ahead of me in public, moving in a zig-zag motion and glancing over his shoulder occasionally to see if I'm still stalking him. It would be horribly uncomfortable for all involved, indeed.

It just struck me as funny to think what image pops into visitor's heads when they come here and read about "submission" from me, the One Most Far Removed From Position of Uber-Wife. (I'm pretty sure that's an actual Viking title from the early 1300's.) I dunno, but I can tell you Jess is laughing at me right now.

12:49AM! OK, I'm back. Warm bath with lavendar oils, massage, dim lights... that did the trick. Unfortunately, it also sucked all will to stay awake from my frail bones, too. He's not asleep, but he is significantly calmed and much happier now. I feel better having been able to help alleviate some of his pain and misery.

It's funny the things that make me feel "successful" now, vs. the things that would have made that same top five list ten years ago. The things that mean the most are the things that make me feel like a good Mom, a good wife. What are your top five?

I look forward to hearing them!

1:04am- Houston, the Eagle has LANDED!!! (He's sound asleep!) I'm off to follow suit!

G'night,
Dy

For Donna...

The editing is terrible, but I did something wrong at the start and am just too tired to fix it. Sorry. This cut off a few things near the bottom, but I had to sit on the counter opposite just to get the picture- our kitchen is a skinny piece of land between the living room and the dining room. :-)