Cybernation

Cybernation: n. a withdrawl from the internet for a period of time; most often signaled by a lack of blogging or commenting on message boards, also lack of email correspondence; length of cybernation varies, depending on the cause of cybernating, ranging from days to months (seldom years); is generally cyclical and temporary in nature
v. to cybernate, cybernating

There ya have it. That's where I've been. Thank you to all y'all (that is proper grammar, trust me) who have sent us well wishes and peeked in to see how we're doing. We cybernated, and hibernated. We skipped Spanish and swimming, even a much-anticipated trip to the park, in order to beat back the ickies that had camped in our nostrils. We're all feeling much better now, thank you.



We were all feeling much better on Friday afternoon (except for the Smidget, who we thought was possibly just teething, but he produced copious quantities of snot Friday night which proved us wrong), so we packed up and headed to Philly to meet up with some wonderful Invisible Friends. We all met on an expecting club for those with babies due in September 1998, and over the years we've kept in touch. This group of gals is just wonderful: they have been a source of laughter and fellowship, joy and worry, friendship and strength- both received and given. I don't know what I'd do without them, really. The only problem is that the trip was just too short, but that's better than having not gone at all, and it was great to sit around the coffee table and visit in person the way we've been doing for six and a half years online! (Photo pending permission from all the parties involved in the group shoot.)



Zorak went with us. I honestly thought he'd stay home and hunt (two days guilt free hunting time~ I'd have been all over that!) but he wanted to come with us, and that was great. The boys got to ride the train from Jersey into Philly, and James now wants to make certain we ride the train any and every chance we get! Let's hear it for public transportation!



We had a great time touring Philly, chasing ground squirrels, checking out the carvings on buildings and poking our noses into all the grates.

We stopped at a fire station to admire the fire-engines and wave to the firemen. That resulted in a wonderful invitation to tour the station! The boys had a great time, and we learned more about the different features on trucks than I could have imagined. It was a great surprise in our day.





KinderChoir ROCKS!! We made it today. We were an hour early thanks to a misunderstanding: our bedroom clock is an hour fast, so when we glanced over and saw that we had thirty minutes to get everyone showered, dressed, loaded up and on the way, we kicked it into high gear! We all piled into the Suburban breathless, and still somewhat damp, only to realize we had over an hour to spare. Ah, well, we had a good laugh over that and decided to get Squishies and enjoy them on the lawn at church.

The program is designed to be very parent-child interactive, and it's just beyond my wildest dreams for a program. I'm certain a lot of this has to do with the director: she has a passion for music that surpasses any I've seen. She has music centers set up for the children to enjoy before class begins. Tactile music notes, a table to make rubbings of the day's lesson (today was quarter notes), matching games, building games. Each table is tied to the lesson in particular and to music in general. The children have a wonderful time exploring. Then she sings them to the center of the room and begins the program. It's fully interactive and engaging, upbeat and positive. I cannot say enough good about this program, and am so thankful that we are able to enjoy it. The boys had a thoroughly splendid time and cannot wait to go back. An added bonus is that I now have some idea where to go next with our recorder lessons. *grin*

Boy, I've got a bunch to tell you, but this entry is too long already and I'm dying to go have coffee w/ the rest of you wonderful blog-buddies. So tomorrow ask me about Dr. Laura's Care and Feeding, Gram's lap blanket, and the perils of remembering how to purl (as in, "knit one, purl two", yeah, it sounds so simple...)

Love on those precious babies, and enjoy all these gorgeous leaves that are whirling about!
~Dy

Snot-nosed Kids

Nope, not a rant about feral children. It's mine. They're not snot-nosed :: feral, they're snot-nosed :: stuffy-chested, lethargic, snot-infused, running a fever (each one- would that be fevers, plural?) In all, I have three very miserable little ones on my hands.

I've spent the majority of the afternoon trying to convince myself that it's probably just a 24 hour thing. I think I'm lying to myself. The conversation has gone like this:

They were a little punky way back on Friday, remember?
yes, i remember
Monday they had the snuffles and sniffles and started slowing down, remember?
yes, I remember
Yesterday they were all but slugs. Slow-moving, snuggly little slug-like creatures who napped like the wind, remember?
yes, I remember

Wow, it's been a long 24 hours!

Book Review & Lovely Mornings!

Eats, Shoots & Leaves is a wonderful book. It isn't the direction Lynne Truss offers us on proper punctuation that makes it such a fun and engaging read; it's her style. If you were to visit a quirky little village called Punctuation Towne, she'd be the local you would want to connect with early on in your visit. She puts her arm in yours and takes off down the boardwalk, pointing out the local color, sharing wonderful anecdotes about famous visitors, expounding on the local points of interest- all with an eye for the truly interesting that only a local can have. I haven't come up with a food category for Eats, Shoots & Leaves, but this is the book that will take you to the best local breakfast diner, the ultimate little bakery, and, if you pay attention, you'll also find the local brewery. After her tour, you feel you could find each one again without much fretting or frantic roaming.

It's FIFTY! Yep, fifty degrees at nine in the morning. Ahhhh, feel that Crisp! Feel that Chill! Feel that Fall! The boys are freezing, but it is just beautiful outside this morning! The car windows in the parking lot were frosted when I peeked out earlier, and the dew seemed crystallized on the lawn. Mmm, this is the good stuff! As a matter of fact, it calls for a snuggle on the couch in our jammies and some hot chocolate to start the day...

I can't believe Summer is finally at an end. While my mind knew it would end, my heart was so weary from the heat and the stickiness that it had honestly begun to wonder... sort of like the little child who just knows it takes a full year to get from Thanksgiving to Christmas.

Off to enjoy the Fall air!
Dy

The end result

Well, supper has been eaten, the downstairs tidied, stories read and shopping done. We stopped for Squishies -Slurpees or ICEEs for some, but for Simpsons fans they are Squishies- after doing our shopping and had a lovely recalibration of the whole thing. For those of you who could laugh, I have to say I'm glad you read here. You "get" it! I was laughing, too (moreso once the RR kicked in, but even before- it was all that could be done). Without our ability to laugh at ourselves and with our friends, life would be depressing, to say the least. Anyhow, in all, the day was salvaged.

The Sea Monkeys, sadly, were not. And they were getting so big, too! But that's the way natural consequences work. If you insist on lifting the legs of the end table to put the beads around the legs of the table, eventually you will knock over the items at rest upon the top of the end table. This will include the water-filled container of creatures, and they will flail upon the carpet while you stare in utter disbelief (and your mother cringes from head to toe because, well, have you ever seen a large Sea Monkey?? And now that thing is in Mommy's carpet!) And Daddy will have to end their suffering with the wet/dry vac. And it is a sad day, but a day of learning. Natural Consequences; you can run, but not fast enough.

Zorak is just so cool! I hope the boys grow up to share his ability to see the ironic, the absurd, the hidden path, and to embrace it. Some days I hope they just manage to avoid needing to spend their tuition money on therapy. He spiked James' hair last night after bath and sent him into our bedroom, where I was putting away the wash. James let out a deep sigh (the one that says, "You people are so weird sometimes!") and said in a very monotone voice, "Dad said to come say, 'It's a nice day for a white wedding.'" He shouted back to the bathroom, "I did it." Then looked at me and said, "Mom, what is he talking about?" I glanced at my skinny, pale, white-haired boy with his hair sticking out in all directions, and promptly lost it. It was just too funny! I wonder if we can get him to do the sneer?

OK, and speaking of Billy Idol (what a segue- wham, you're just sucked right in, huh?), in my quest to find that excellent sneer pic, I found this article by Steve Tilley, reviewing a 2001 Idol show, the 80's, and the seemingly beneficial trade-off of banning Mony, Mony at school dances vs. going out back to drink behind the gym. Zorak and I did not have the upbringing we hope -pray- to give the boys, so this particular article made me laugh so hard I woke the baby.

And ya know what, y'all? I am bushed tonight! I have enjoyed Toad's Wild Ride, but it's time to get off and go find the Pepto - can you use that instead of creamer? - and let Zorak work some mojo on the computer. (I never know if he's actually doing work on the computer or if he's cruising the sales at Sportsman's Guide, but he does manage to look productive either way!) Have a lovely evening!

~Dy

Breathe In... Breathe Out...

UPDATE: we got back on a good track. Jacob slept for two and a half hours and awoke much happier. Our Wonderful Neighbors Who Moved came by for a visit, so we all sat outside enjoying the gorgeous weather and wonderful company. The boys are much improved in their general mood, as am I. See, it was salvageable, and beautifully so, particularly with such a great surprise visit.

Now off to the market!

~Dy

Breathe In... Breathe Out

Just me, havin' a "day" here. It's nearly ten-thirty, and here's how the day has gone by 9:30:

Jacob puked on me before we got out of bed.
James woke up sneezing and watery-eyed.
I gave him some Emergen'C, which he promptly set down.
Jacob saw that as a gloriously serendipitous opportunity to... dump the stuff in my boots. (That'll teach me to put them where they belong, huh!?)
Jacob began screaming - and didn't stop.
John slept late, and awoke with a horrible cough and phlegm. Also whiney.
We're out of eggs.
We're out of oats. (We're also out of jelly, so lunch isn't looking so hot right now, either.)
We're out of apple juice. (Don't know how that happened!)
John has been in tears four times today- not fits, just the helpless crying that he cannot stop. I think he got into some wheat.
James and I went rounds about his attitude (Where is the pencil? *it's in the family room,* NO, it's not, Mom. *James, yes, it is. Your pencils are in the pencil box on the craft shelf in the family room.* NO, they aren't! ARGH- so I went up and sure enough, if he'd bothered to open - the - box he'd have seen them, in all their yellow glory. But I know my Mother had a talent for finding things that were completely invisible to me, so that didn't get me. My issue w/ him this morning was his attitude.)
John wanted to say something, but wanted to take a million years to spit it out, speaking into his chest, and starting over every... single... time... he... got... four... words... starting... over... every... starting... yeah.
Jacob screaming in my left ear,
James clamoring for attention,
John starting over again.

ENOUGH, ALREADY!!!

SO-
I put Jacob down for a nap at 9:30 (he is currently drooling all over the couch- my best guess is that he's teething), set James up with his "Draw Insects" book, and snuggled John in with a tape on Ancient Greek myths, took some Rescue Remedy, and am waiting for it to kick in.

In the midst of all this, we've done Math and Reading, two loads of wash, made the bed, tidied the kitchen, and ran the dishwasher.

*sigh*

OK, I feel better.

Thanks for listening. Sometimes it's difficult to explain, but I think you ladies know what I'm saying. I'm definitely not angry at anyone or resentful of anything, just a tad bit overwhelmed by all that took place in a short two hours. I love our boys and love doing what I do- but even w/ the bestest job in the world, not every day is a Mary Poppins kind of day. :-) Days like this happen, and it's up to us how to approach them.

On the upside, it's only ten thirty, so there's time still to salvage it! I can feel the Rescue Remedy kicking in, James just brought me an amazing drawing of the Assassin Bug, John is on side two of the tape and seems to be a little more calm now. I'm off to have a puppet show and do a little mock bull jumping! Then, provided Jacob arises from his nap in a better frame of reference, we'll go to the market for those peksy food products that keep disappearing.

~Dy

It happened!

This morning, as I sat on the porch enjoying my coffee, I could feel it. So, I *sniffed*...
could it be?
*sniffed again* OH!
Joy! Yes!
I was so afraid that perhaps we wouldn't be able to smell Fall here, but yes, *sniff*, there it was! I sat there for a good fifteen minutes, just inhaling and exhaling and grinning from ear to ear.

Later, as we loaded up for church, I asked Zorak, "Did you smell it this morning?" *he gave me a rather disconcerted look* "Fall, honey. Did you smell it?" He hadn't been outside yet, but just then James came bursting through the door, shouting,

"Mom! Mom! The air outside smells SO good! It smells fresher than Febreeze and nicer than cookies! Come smell, Mom! It smells beautiful!"

Zorak smiled and said, "Well, there you have it. It must be, then."

We enjoyed the sniffing of the air today in a deep and wonderful way. Regardless of what the calendars say, Fall began today for our home, and it's a happy season.

We missed services this morning (I think the extended air-sniffing didn't help), but made it to Sunday School. We went anyway mainly just so the boys remain in the habit of going there regularly. It was good. It'll be nice to finish the visitor's class, though, and be allowed to use a room that has some form of climate control. It's just been stifling in there all summer, and today was no exception.

After church, we drove about looking for a property we saw for sale. STILL couldn't find it. We searched four miles in either direction of the supposed location, too, but no dice. Ah, well, if it's meant to be, right?

Mmm, brain isn't working right tonight. Just feeling a little restless. I am going to go work on my blanket and *sniff* for a bit.

Dy

Hear that?

Shhh, listen! Hear that?

No, that's the dishwasher... listen again.

Um, that's the washing machine... once more. It's the really loud noise coming from outside.

YES! It's the nice powerwasher guy, ridding our house of the green that wasn't put there by the folks at Benjamin Moore! WOOHOO!

Zorak took the boys to the dump. I cleaned. The belt broke on the vacuum cleaner, though, and I thought, "Hmmm, I can break out the tool box and fix it... OR..." so, here I am, blogging, a little after one on a Saturday afternoon.

What fun!

We watched The Missouri Traveler last night- oh, guys, it's a good movie! You can get it right now for $3.99 at Big Lots (double feature DVD w/ The Lone Ranger!) and honestly, it's the best cheesy family movie we've watched in ages. No swear words. No unnecessary nastiness (as in gratuitous). Lee Marvin's character is such a jerk, but he's got a heart. It's not gold, by any means. The only thing that creeped me out a bit was the, um, romance. That, I'll admit was just a little too creepy to sit well with me. But hey, what can you say? Can't have it all. If you get a chance and want a funny, clean, feel-good movie, check it out!

Zorak decided last night that if he had a time machine, he would buy all the solid wood coffee tables at IKEA and go dump them in some nifty section of the Petrified Forest, then fast forward to Today and retrieve them. Wow, wouldn't that make just the neatest furniture? Perfectly formed, unibody, petrified coffee tables that only need to be polished. The brackets would rust away, but the structure would be one piece. Wow. I couldn't come up with anything cool to do if we had a time machine. I was too sleepy.

Well, while it's quiet and the laundry's not quite ready to switch out, I'm going to go blog run and have coffee w/ friends. Have a lovely weekend!

~Dy

Wow, we are SO in the wrong business!

How much would you bid to expand an existing, servicable, three mile road from two lanes to four? And how long would your crew like to have to get it done?

$3.2 million? Sounds reasonable.

$5.5 million? Yeah, even that makes sense.

$15 million? Mmmm, well, okay...

How about $52 million, with a pending additional $10 million (without which, said project would "languish", according to State legislators).

Now, could you do it- from design to completion- in three years? No? How about five? No, hmmm, well, ok, you can have six. To begin with. (But anyone who has worked in construction knows that's only a preliminary target date. It'll move.)

This project won't begin until 2007, and is scheduled to be completed in 2010.

For the most part, this whole project is a joke, but the clincher for me was reading "...project was credited to increases in vehicular registration fees". OH MY GOODNESS!!! *banging my head against the monitor*

Now, it's not as if they have actually purchased the right of ways yet. There are 120 properties along this three mile stretch that will need to be negotiated for (under "eminent domain"). This won't take place until the engineering is completed. Then the purchase.

Roy Dyson and John Bohanan, who voted against the measure (as well as the fee increases), did not attend Thursday's roadside ceremony to commemorate the project. They'll have "way to go" letters from this old gal come Monday morning.

My goodness, but it just gets curiouser and curiouser...

Dy

What a day!

The boys were both a little punky today- not sick, just a little tired and slow on the curve. We slogged through a bit of math and phonics, but then retreated to our favorite hidey hole: reading together. That calmed the Bicker Beasties and warmed the hearth fires a bit, and we did get through the day with relatively few eruptions.

James is working on a new skill set in math. He gets it and enjoys it, but as with most newly acquired skills, this seems to have shoved previously mastered information back into the "must I really drag all that out again" file. Hrumph. Fun. His penmanship has improved so much, it's downright pretty now, and he's enjoying all the various avenues his education is taking this year. I think I'm going to switch the Burgess stories to read alouds, though. He seems to enjoy them more when we explore them together.

John read quite a bit today. He can read with relative ease any of the words I can make using the phonograms he has mastered. The ones he's still working on take a little deciphering, but he can do those, as well. Talk about a warm fuzzy! The way his face lights up when he reads is just one of the best feelings in the world.

Jacob today tried to stage dive. If you've ever seen a Chris Farley movie, then you have an idea of how well that worked out. It seems that either my hair belies the actual size of the head beneath it, or his depth perception is as bad as mine. Whatever caused the miscalculation, however, resulted in a blinding blow to my temple as his knee jerked forward in preparation for the landing. He glanced off my head and tumbled onto a bed of animal crackers, then laid there, looking at me with a "that was sooooo weird" expression on his face. No blood, no foul, and he was immediately back up on his feet for another giggle-filled go. Oh, the resiliency.

Mommy brain strikes again! Got a call from the children's music director at church. She got the blue form, but not the orange form... that means two things: the orange form is somewhere in the Suburban, and I have NO idea what I stuck in the collection plate last week. Anyhow, the boys are signed up for KinderChoir, and we're all looking forward to it. It starts on Sunday! We've held off on music sessions at home until I could get a feel for what they'll be doing in KinderChoir this year, as I'm hoping to incorporate the two.

Ah, well, the baby is just about out now, and we have a sweet movie waiting for us to enjoy. (Missouri Traveler, starring Lee Marvin, who I just adore, although it's strange to see him without Clint Eastwood, a la Paint Your Wagon.)

Enjoy this lovely fall and don't forget to stop and smell, er, observe the critters!

Dy

Ahem...

See, I get all excited about the sauces and forgot the main dishes! Mercy, I'm a mess!

OK, so check out Good Soil. I didn't link it HERE, because it's over THERE! (Pointing to the left of the screen.) See, she's there at the top of the list! Her link will also open in a new window. She's not new to the blogosphere, and I didn't just find her, but you know how often we take things for granted- like lunch with a good friend, or coffee at sunrise (like I'm watchin' the sun rise without coffee! *shyah*)... well, I goofed. Amy rocks. I read her daily (as she can attest by the sheer volume of "when are you going to blog again" comments I leave.) She is funny and energetic and much hotter in her bikini than I am in my 1930's "beach wear"...

Dy :-)

Gettin' Fancy!

OK, I fixed the sidebar links, aaaannnnndddd...

Click on 'em- they now open in a new window!

I've been wanting to figure out how to do that for two years. LOL.

OK, now I'm really going. Have a great day!
Dy

Wowsa.

Good Morning, guys! Can you believe it's October 1st!?!? I can't. It's still August (although I must say, the weather this August is just lovely *grin*)

We had a great day yesterday. We made it to Spanish on time, then got a temporary base pass for me (not nearly as bad as I thought it would be- I think the guy behind the counter took one look at me with three small children in tow, explaining everything in the office to them on their various levels and realized my life is the tangible equivalent of filling out every form in triplicate, without the benefit of carbon paper, and decided that I probably actually really just lost the darned thing in the melee). Then we had lunch with Zorak and headed to the park for Park Day.

The kids had a blast and we stayed for quite a while. It was so nice to visit with the moms in our group. One lady and I were discussing some of the recent not-so-bright articles that have been written about homeschoolers, in particular the concept that homeschooled children are only around other children of like mindset and cultural beliefs, and we had a really good laugh over that one. (This group is about as non-homogenized as it comes!) The weather was pretty nice as long as the breeze kept up or the clouds obscured the sun. The kids all managed to migrate from the play area to the creek. (Kids will do that- you can spend tens of thousands of dollars on playground equipment, but if there's water and Mama says it's ok, they're in the water!)

We drove about on the way home, trying to find a house that's for sale. Never found it. Found one that I thought *might* be it (and I was quite relieved that it's *not* it). John and Jacob fell asleep, so rather than going to the market we came home, had a snack and then worked in the back yard.

We pulled weeds at first.

Then we watched the critters we'd unearthed pulling weeds.

That morphed into trying to identify the different critters, and we spent a wonderful hour and a half just bug watching.

Today we'll work on the front porch. We have to get all the stuff pulled away from the house so it can be power-washed tomorrow. Yippee!! It's very green right now, and it's not supposed to be green, it's yellow. But everything here grows mold if it's not mobile. We were going to wash it ourselves next weekend, but the property mgmt. folks said it's the owner's job. Wow, very cool!

And it's Friday! The time is just flying by. I can't explain it, and I think it has to do with more than just having the boys (although they have sped up my perception-clock tremendously!) Zorak brought up a good point last night: his schedule seems to generate the sensation that each week doesn't take very long. He works a full week, then works a four-day week. We have long weekends every other weekend, and that makes the weeks feel so short, even though he still puts in 80 hours a pay period. We really enjoy the long weekends, and suddenly we look up- *poof* A year has gone by! Hooo, weird.

At any rate, it's a late-morning blog, but it's all good. We're off to read from the Thornton Burgess book we checked out and then to enjoy the beautiful morning while we work on the yard. Have a wonderful Friday!

Dy

GOOD MORNING!

Yes, folks, you read that right, it's morning and I'm blogging! What in the world is going on here???

Well, as it turns out, I hog-tied "Night Dy" last night and hauled her rear upstairs by (get this) ten-thirty! This AM, "Morning Dy" hopped right out of bed, showered, dressed (no, not to the shoes, sorry Flylady), did some laundry, tidied the kitchen, made the bed, and settled down to read the boards. Mmmmm, ok, now *this* is what I'd imagined when I wanted to start getting up early. (For more sense of the Night/Morning people residing in my happy home, check out Staci's musings a few days ago. So true.)

There was no sunrise to watch this morning, but it was beautiful and dark when we arose, and it felt SO good to sit on the back patio and just enjoy the gentle brightening of the sky. A hot cup of coffee, a good man, and a clean dishwasher. Mmm, good stuff!

So, what's on the plan for today? Should be busy, should be fun, but it's not going to be, erm, an interesting blog. HA! Isn't that always the way? It's the weird, out-of-step days, the tirades and ironic highlights that seem to make the best grist for the mill. Alas, there isn't much some days. Sorry folks.

*Wake the children (who are, thanks to this gloriously grey Eyore-like weather, sleeping past six o'clock nowadays! WaHOO!), get them fed, dressed, and somewhat educated for the day.
*Call Zorak and tell him we're ready to brave the Great Big World
*Stop at the pass office on base to admit that I, um, can't find my base pass, no, I'm-not-a-terrorist-who-has-loaned-it-to-a-psychotic-suicide-bomber, yes, I really mean that, and may-I-please-have-another-so-I-can-pick-up-my-husband-from-work-on-days-we-really-need-the-Suburban?
*Make it to Spanish co-op. Perhaps on time, perhaps not. That will depend on the folks at the Pass Office.
*PARK DAY!! I'm so excited! I always forget about Park Day with our homeschool group. Yesterday I got an offlist email from one of the ladies reminding me of it and asking if we wanted to start coming! *Hmmm, could I have found an Activities Coordinator who will call me and remind me of things so I don't completely forget to show up for life outside the house????* (I'll blog more about AC Friends tonight- it's really kind of sad, but beautiful that friends look after me that way. Ha Ha.)
*Market. We're out of fresh fruit, and it's driving us all nuts! (Can't believe I actually wrote that.)

Oh, did I tell y'all about our stop at the Republican Party booth at the fair? Actually, it was Zorak's stop at the Republican Party booth. The boys and I stood outside and spun in circles until we were dizzy and fell over. (I'm sure he didn't proudly point us out to the folks at the booth...) Well, Zorak came back out just beaming! Come to find out, the Republicans have a candidate running against Barbara Mikulski!! Oh, well, gotta find out more aout that, then! So in I went (while Zorak stood outside and spun in circles with the boys- we're odd, but we're well-matched.) I did sign up to volunteer to support Pipkin in any way possible. Zorak and the dizzy boys rejoined me at the table and bumped happily against my leg at this point. (The boys did, Zorak wasn't too wobbly.)

The gentleman recognized Zorak, (enter A-ha! moment here) then he asked my age. (I am so past the point of thinking anyone is ever hitting on me!) The conversation was a little strange:

Me: 30
Him: Would you consider signing up to help out with the Young Republicans group in St. Mary's County?

*awkward silence*

Me: No. I'm not a Republican. Sorry.

He was a little surprised, considering my enthusiasm toward Pipkin (of course, having corresponded with Mikulski, just about anyone would be tickled to support Pipkin, but I'll blog about that later, as well.) Then I had to come out and admit that I've defected to the Libertarian party. I don't think he's ever heard that before, gauging from his reaction. Considering Zorak had just signed up to help with the YR group, it was probably doubly unexpected.

He did ask why! Wow, how cool. I explained that the Republican Party has gotten a wee bit grabby with individual rights, almost to the point of being as bad as the Democratic Party, and that gave me the willies. So, I will support Pipkin in any way possible, but just can't align my support with the party as a whole. He was gracious (and so was I). We reiterated our support for Pipkin, and look forward to helping out with the campaign.

You know, both sides are like that now, and it's depressing, really. Fewer freedoms, more restrictions "for our own good". It's as if we go from our father's homes to our Brother's homes, and never know the point of being grown ups in our own rights. Just sort of sad. Too many hills they want us to die on that I'm not willing to die on. Hills that have nothing to do with Freedom.

...And now for something completely different...

I added some new links to my sidebar, but evidently I'm functionally illiterate in HTML and they don't work because I have too many "http's" in there. I'll fix that tonight. One I love is Modus Operandi, but it seems it's now doing the same thing Krista's (Homeschooling 101) does on my browser, and I get an odd message- my ISP won't let me go there. But check it out (and Krista's, too). Neat stuff!

OK, time to get the boys up and dressed so we can get going! Have a wonderful day!

~Dy

It is a bizarre sensation to log on to NOAA and see that the hurricane that has been terrorizing Florida is the same front that's brought all this rain to us today! Wow. I just haven't the words to synthesize it. What we're experiencing here is nothing to what others have experienced. Perhaps that's what makes it seem more surreal: this doesn't feel like what I would imagine a hurricane would kick off. This feels like, I don't know, late summer monsoon weather. Well, whatever it is that brought it, we've had to turn the a/c back on just to try to pump some of the moisture out of the air. It was downright stifling in the house today. Both John and Jacob have been covered in a sweaty sheen for 48 hours. Poor kids.

Our library evidently has stopped calling each time a "hold" comes available for pick up. They used to call for each hold as it arrived. I've been waiting a few days before picking up our new books, as I didn't want to have to make multiple trips to get what we needed. They never called again, though, after that first call to tell me they had one book in. Well, I broke down today and took James to return some books and pick up the one book that was waiting so it didn't get sent back. HA! We had three big stacks ready and waiting! Gosh, if I'd known, we'd have come sooner. *oops* However, the living room now resembles... something untidy. Books are everywhere, and we had a blast reading before supper. Both boys traipsed upstairs after supper with armloads of books for bedtime. I do love the library!

OK, let me go on record as being in AWE of anyone who has actually hooked up the camera to the TV to watch clips or slide shows! *I salute you, in humble adoration and mild envy* The closest I've come to that is reading somewhere in the instruction manual that it's possible. Otherwise, that's right up there with getting the VCR to record a show on the proper channel (which has never happened for me).

School today was entirely child-led. James did 30 someodd pages in a reading workbook, and ten pages of math. John wanted to do things that pertained to the "k" sound (C and K). You know, it was just too hot to argue, and it's not like they made poor choices. So, no Latin or music, but hey, it's all flexible and good. It was a very good day!

Still no word on buildable land or affordable housing. *sigh* Still looking. :-)

Alrighty, then, I'm going to go catch up with Frodo and see what's going on there, then up to read to my little Hobbits for a bit. Y'all be good to each other! Kiss those babies.

~Dy

Head Coverings?

So, does a do-rag count as a head covering?

John wanted a proper "pirate hat" the other day, and the best I could do was to tie a bandana at the four corners.

Fast forward two days, James came down with it on his head. Then he untied one corner and put it over my head.

There, now your head is covered, and the tail comes down to cover your braid. That's better.

Um, either I am in dire need of a new hairdo, or James is thinkin' I'm just not modest enough for his taste!

So, do ya think this counts? LOL.

Dy

Tech Blog

Hi Diane! Thanks for the note. I have to admit I'm really *really* not a technical person. (Reference the whole "plug thingie" bit about the CD-DVD thing.) Any successes I've experienced are usually due to pure dogged determination and a good grounding wire. However, I'll share what we stumble upon as we go along. You have to promise to do the same, though, OK? Maybe if we all share our tips and newfound ideas we can make some use out of these newfangled gadgets.

So far, the best perk we've enjoyed from the short video clips on the camera is the ability to create short email video messages for family and friends far away. The boys sang Happy Birthday for Jess' son, Ryan and we emailed it to him (took me three days to figure out how to "convert" the file for email- d'oh!- but it can be done!) And it was really fun when Ryan, and all the rest of the gang, sent a Thank You video back! So that's our typical birthday card now. We'll also use it to tape the boys doing their memory work or singing a song and email those things to Gram, who can no longer read.

Also, and I haven't played w/ this just yet (because I found it the other day), our camera software has the ability to create single frame photos from the video! Now, considering how difficult it is for me to get catch all three boys mid-motion without at least one of them being some kind of UFO-like blur across the screen, I think once we figure out how to do this, it's gonna be FUN!

I'll try to figure out how to upload and save movie files. Perhaps one of my more tech-oriented readers will decide to do their kind deed for the day and walk us through it? Wouldn't it be fun to have movies on the blog!

~Dy

Just thinking out loud

Lord of the Rings: brain candy, deep reading, or a little of both? I can't decide, but I'm thoroughly enjoying the read. I do, however, find myself getting confused after reading LOTR for a bit and then going through The Hobbit with James...

CD-DVD: *sigh* The box didn't come with the proper pluggie thingies and the computer is ignoring it. That is the official report from the "Tech Dept." It's going back.

Neighbor Kids: Zorak has become the local "fix-it guy" for the neighborhood boys. We're very glad they are comfortable coming to the door when they need help with their bikes or anything else, and we enjoy having them around. Still, it is a little sad knowing they don't have someone at home to do these things. (We don't know the details of their home lives, only that they don't have anyone at home to show them how to take care of their things, or to keep them supplied with tools and such.) He wants to pick up brake pads this week. The boys are cruising around on bikes with no brake pads and they're grinding their wheels to death.

They are very good boys, and we enjoy having them around. They're in 8th and 9th grades, right on the cusp of testing those waters of manhood. It's a tenuous period. We hope to help keep positive things and healthy activities within their grasps as they grow. Active young men will look for things to do, and it's human nature to do whatever is easiest. Zorak remembers that all too well. *grin*

Church & Tithing: You know, there is simply no delicate way to handle the mandate of tithing when discussing it between believers and non-believers. It sounds like it's all about the money, which completely depends on your perspective, I guess. I'm pretty sure that's because the two parties are not coming from a common foundation or using common definitions. Obviously, we don't tithe. Not because I don't believe in it, but because Zorak earns the money and he doesn't agree with it (y'all should've seen his face the first time I suggested tithing! "Ten percent of all of it???") He's never taken issue with me tithing monies I've earned, which I appreciate and respect. I also respect his stance on the money he earns. Today in the Visitor's Class, the topic of the day was... ta-da! Tithing! Zorak and I had a good talk about it after class, but that's one of those topics that probably won't ever find a consensus.

Computer Time: I think I'm going to cave in and allow the boys scheduled computer time. If they're going to be on, I'd rather it be doing something slightly more productive than playing MOHAA with Zorak. Now that the computer is running stunningly better, we'll install some programs on the boys' log-in and work it into our regular routine. It helps that we don't have access to regular TV, so I don't feel like it's just one more thing to compete with for their attention.

Typo: oh good grief, we watched Horatio, not Horation. *sheesh* Evidently I didn't have enough coffee last night, eh?

All-in-all, a quiet weekend with not much going on. After church today we came home and made fried chicken. We told stories and made root beer floats. Then we read ourselves into a stupor and tucked the boys into bed. I love days like this.

Oh, and John has discovered the ultimate filibuster! He makes up a story to share. It's generally long and involved, but comes to an ending something along the lines of, "And they lived happily ever after... Except for the time that..." and he launches into yet another impromptu story! This will go on for as long as you can stand it. He has found it useful for both supper and bedtime so far. We usually give him a little leeway, just to appreciate his creative and wonderful stories. (And to quit giggling- it's really hard not to giggle when they're so cute.)

Ah, well, I am going to head out and gather this week's schedule. Hope you are all having a lovely end of September!

~Dy

Neat Day!

The hard drive has been replaced successfully! Not only did we replace it, but we *knock on wood* managed to piggyback the two drives and transferred all our files intact! It was a tense few hours and we went to bed just as the sun was thinking of coming up, but it worked! Zorak says he feels "like such a Beta nerd". (Picture the Superman pose w/ a cup of coffee in hand as he says this.)

Today...

Jacob walked! Not just one step or two, but up to five at a time, and he kept at it all day. I don't know who is more proud of him: us, the boys, or himself.

St. Mary's County Fair is where we spent our afternoon. It was absolutely wonderful, and probably one of the best County Fairs either of us has ever attended. We had a lovely time in all, saw several people we know, enjoyed the rides and the junk food.

We learned so much about goats that we hadn't known before. Neither of the boys wanted to milk one, although they both had several opportunities to do so, but they did enjoy hearing about them and touching them. One gentleman in particular spent plenty of time answering all our questions and sharing "getting started" stories about raising goats. The nubian goats are just beautiful!

We also were fortunate to find and visit with the folks who brought draft horses for the horse pull. Holy Cow! These horses are mammoth! We had to head out around seven thirty, and the teams were only pulling around 6,000 pounds when we left. (I say "only", as we heard last year's pull was up around 12,000 pounds by the end- can you even imagine? The power and grace in these animals is just awe inspiring.) They weren't even straining! It was amazing.

The bonus, the unexpected thrill of the entire fair, though, came as we headed for the gate. Among the competing sounds of loud 80's rock, the calls of the horse pull announcers, the whirrs of various vittle makers, we heard something familiar and... we stopped, listened, and turned to face one another. It was like our own personal Cricket in Times Square! We heard Western Swing! Playing live, no less! Oh, finditfinditfindit! I chirpped happily, hopping up and down, trying to discern the source of the melodies amidst the din. We found it, and we danced. We waltzed, we two-stepped, we danced the happy, strange, spinning dances that only children (and parents of children) do. We danced with the boys, we danced together, we swayed and hummed and just absorbed the familiar, warm music we both love so much. This bit of serendipity delayed our exit from the fair by about half an hour, but none of us minded. The band is truly excellent, which only added to our excitement.

Nobody seemed to know the name of the band, but we plan to track them down and if they play locally, then there's a date night coming on!

We got video from the fair on the digital camera- wow, this thing is GREAT! Not only can we take great snippets of video with it, but we can extrapolate stills from the video clips once we've uploaded the files to the computer. Wow, technology has come such a long way from the Commodore 64, or Polaroids! Neat stuff.

Anyhow, Zorak and I stayed up way too late watching Horation Hornblower (which we thoroughly enjoyed, and now I'm going to have to read the entire series!) so that's all I have time for this evening.

Enjoy a beautiful Sunday!
~Dy

Technical Difficulties

Well, the computer was kind enough to let me know it's dying. That gave me time enough to try to back up the files before it goes under completely. Sort of. There are a few things it seems I will never learn: go to sleep at a reasonable hour the last two weeks before the baby is born, fill the gas tank when it hits the 1/2 full mark, and back up my hard drive regularly to an external source.

As it turns out, the vague period between your first inkling that your computer is dying and the moment it actually dies is not the time to discover that your CD burner is also kaput, or that your photos are too numerous to fit on all the zip disks you own (including cannibalizing from hubby's school set).

The new hard drive is waiting patiently beside my chair. Photobucket is going to charge me double in the morning, I'm sure. Zorak is picking up a new CD-RW at Wal-Mart (while we're in there, we might as well do all the fixin' it needs). It's going to be a long night. Hopefully, though, it will be a productive one.

In case we don't see you until Monday, have a beautiful weekend. Enjoy the fresh fall air (chilly fall air for those of you way up North!) Be good to one another, and hug those babies.

~Dy