Whew!

January is nearly done. I don't know about anyone else, but January is always a long, painful, unproductive month for me. And, it's really LONGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG. I will be happy to welcome February, sort of. In my warped world, February is the step-child of months. No one really wants it (especially if you live somewhere cold). It's just one of those months you have to have. Mike and I are not big Valentine's Day people, so it's just a month. Buuutttttt . . . it's a month that's NOT January and that's a good thing!

Here, I'm struggling with my annual "I want to change everything or at the very least paint it" angst. Sadly, nothing around here really needs to be overhauled - a first. I'm at a loss. I really need to get a grip and figure out what I want to be when I grow up! I have all kinds of projects in my head, but none really scream out "Me first!" My focus this spring will be on the garden. But, the thing about the garden is, it's a daylight thing. That leaves me with evenings . . . yes, I know normal people sleep at night.

I'm sure I'll figure it out, just late night/early morning musings here. Maybe I'll spend my time to write a real novel, not just a one month challenge novel? Maybe I'll start ironing all of our underwear? Time will tell.

4th Grade, Stoopid Parents and Audiobooks

First of all, I love 4th grade! In my experience this is the grade when boys really start to "get it." Reading kicks in, writing, while still not the favorite subject, no longer provokes tears and boys this age are just funny, weird sure, but still funny. Andy is no exception. He sneaks away when he thinks I'm not looking to read. Ooooo bad. But, as long as he thinks I'm hunting him down to make him stop, I'll keep ignoring it. He'll show me alright!

And then we move to the oldest child. Ugh. Like, dude, I so remember being his age. My parents were stoopid too - gag-me-with-a-spoon-stoopid! He's reached the point where he is juggling many activities and I had the audacity to suggest he make a to-do list. You know? Something to help him keep track of all of the stuff he has to do? And, I added that he did not need anything electronic to actually make such a list. STOOPID!!!!! That is until this morning . . . he made a list and spent all of his time hiding the list from me. Go on, hide the list. I'll keep ignoring it. He'll show me alright!

Audiobooks:

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane is the last book I listened to. I really enjoyed it. Great literature, not hardly. But, it was a fun story and I kind of enjoyed feeling smarter than the heroine during quite a bit of the book. Buy it? Probably not. Library, definitely. This is what I would call a vacation book. I think it could be a fun movie if it was cast well.

Have you all read the book? I remember watching the miniseries during an extremely cold Pittsburgh winter - curled up in my parents bed with my mom, my sister and my brother (dad was traveling) under an electric blanket (harvest gold at that), M&M's and bottles of Pepsi. The M&M's and Pepsi signaled it was a big deal. The miniseries stayed with me but I never got around to reading the book. I listened to it last week while I tore out the dead plants in the garden and got things ready for the warm weather planting. WOW!

The actual writing is not that spectacular, but the story more than makes up for it. I found it interesting to read in a post 9/11 state of mind. Kunta Kinte was educated and a Muslim, something lost in the miniseries. And, then, you learn so much more about how the plantations and farms worked . . . I was amazed and riveted by much of the book. Avery Brooks, the narrator, is fantastic. He sounds a lot like James Earl Jones, but not quite as imposing or scary.

:::sigh:::: Lest you think

what?

Too much free time? Too much access to video or the computer? Too little access to a barber?

I'm here to prove you right . . . Tim, Director/Camera Man, Dan, Stapler Guy and Ian, Kid Ripping My Keyboard Out of Its Happy Home . . .

The Happy, The Sad, and The Crazy

It's all here in our little microcosm - I'm sure it's in yours as well. Sometimes, though, you get the perfect neighborhood "storm." Last night was such a night here.

THE HAPPY: Andy's birthday has somehow turned into a week long event. We have the family birthday - he picks what's for dinner, we have cake and he gets his gifts from us. Then, we have the friend party - this year a low-key bowling adventure - followed by cake and ice cream. THEN, we meet up with my parents. My dad's birthday is the 22nd and he and Andy always share a cake and pizza. This year was no different. Andy is currently in a deep cake-induced-coma. We expect him to emerge sometime on Monday.

THE SAD: Yesterday afternoon/evening got a little confusing. The kids went bowling but then two had to go to the dentist, one had batting practice. The older they get the harder it is to carve out time, it seems. We agreed to meet up at our house later for cake and ice cream. At the same time, one of my neighbors was home with a very sick, very old dog. If you've ever had a pet, you know how devastating this is. For me, I was hit hard 1) because Mikey (real name Michaelanglo) was an awesome dog, a Boston Terrier. I really liked him - and I like to think he liked me ok and 2) Scout is old and I know this day is coming for us.

The kids were all here. My other neighbor, the one with a gift for comforting words (I'm the girl you want if you need things cleaned or done, not so much for words - I freeze up) was helping my neighbor with poor Mikey. Mikey finally let go. I'm glad all of us were home. I was glad to be able to do something concrete and feed the kids. We built a fire, the kids lit bamboo sticks and raised the glowing tips (a la Harry Potter) in Mikey's honor. It makes me weepy just typing it. Go ahead, go hug your pets, I'll wait.

THE CRAZY: In the midst of all of this, one of the older boys handed me the phone. It was our neighbor, Miss Andrea. Initially, she was a quiet, but friendly neighbor. She and Mike talked gardening and yard stuff. She was always nice to the boys and as the boys got old enough, she would hire them for various yard work. We've always had a distant but mostly friendly relationship. Over the past year, though, it's gotten strange. She called the police over our 4th of July party - at 8:30!!!!! She and the older boys have had some crazy run-ins over yard work issues this past year as well ... like they should think to haul the yard waste to a vacant house two streets over? But, they complied and remained friendly.

Yesterday, though, over the top cray-zee! I took the receiver from my son and was met with a barrage of obscenties from my, until this point, reticent neighbor. There was, somehow a plastic sword on her roof. No damage, no stains, just a dumb old sword on her roof. I knew it was there and had been lax about having the boys get it down - I don't know how it got up there - they do not normally play on that side of the yard. My bad.

But, yikes! I'm sure I've said here before, I admire people that can swear well and not sound stupid. It's an art in my opinion. But, I might have to revise my opinion. This neighbor was cursing and saying horrible things to me about a plastic sword on her roof. I will share this semi-family-friendly tidbit "I don't know what the hell is wrong with those ---damned kids. I think they're all most likely retarded or something . . ." One, she thinks I am the mother of ALL the children in the neighborhood. Two, who in the world spouts this kind of hatred at someone who has been a good neighbor for eight years? I assured my neighbor, while she continued to rant, that the sword would be off of her roof and hung up on her.

Aside from when Mike and I were dating, I do not recall EVER hanging up the phone on another adult. But, honestly, she was scaring me. She lives alone and I wonder if there's not some kind of mental illness setting in - I don't know, she's in her 50's, not that old.

For now, I've declared half of our yard off limits to all kids - the ones I birthed and the ones who just come here. I don't know what else to do.

So, that's where we are this weekend. Think a good thought or say a prayer for Mikey's family. They are sure missing him. And, think a good thought or say a prayer for my neighbor, something is NOT right there.

Hope you're all having a good weekend.

I LOVED this!

Typography from Ronnie Bruce on Vimeo.

I think all teens should have this and the "lookin' pretty stoopid with yo' pants on the ground" sound bytes implanted in their heads - not forever, maybe just a year or so until it really sinks in . . .

TEN ... and an egg

Andy had a great birthday! It's strange how I have started hoarding our time together as a family of six. Trying to tread lightly on the schedules of the older boys while still trying to keep us all together for yet another milestone. Tonight was great! Andy wanted BLT's as his birthday dinner. Can't go wrong there. (We fed Ian grilled provolone/tomato sandwiches.) My plan was for us all to eat together at our gigantic table, but the table was covered with school stuff and everyone was starving, so we ate together in the living room and watched a Fraser rerun.

After cake and ice cream, Mike wheeled in Andy's new bike! Andy's old bike had no brakes. He has been attempting to use Tim's old bike, brakes, barely, as a substitute and that would be great if Andy was about 6" taller. The new bike is the right size and very red and he was beyond excited. In fact, Mike and all the boys took off right after cake and ice cream to test drive Andy's bike. Happy kid.

Andy's brothers presented him with a pair of roller blades that should see him through the next three shoe sizes. Thus far, Andy has only tested them in the house, baffling between walls and furniture. I think he needs pads and a new helmet - but maybe that's just lazy me not wanting to go to the Emergency Department yet again.

After Andy went to bed, I went to work in the kitchen in my endless quest to keep people here fed and happy. I made some hard boiled eggs. I bake my eggs (30 min at 325, put a cookie sheet on the bottom of your oven in case one breaks). I've never had an egg break in the years I've been doing this (every 10 days or so for the past five years). Tonight, an egg broke. Wah! You tell me . . . is it Homer Simpson climbing out of the egg or just a chicken foot? Either way, I was kind of freaked out.

And, that was our day. How was your day?

It's official

He's 10! Andy is 10 today. He is excited to reach double digits. I'm trying to roll with it. How is it my BABY is 10? I look back and wish I had spent more time, I dunno, reading or snuggling or something . . . but, the fact is, I did a LOT of those things. Andy had WAY more one-on-one time with me than any of the other boys. Add that to the fact that Andy is much like me . . . he didn't/doesn't want to be snuggled or coddled. He wants/wanted to be his own person as soon as he could walk. I get it. But, I'm still sad to mark the end of my first decade with him. Before I blink, he'll be a big, hairy person - just like his brothers. Waaahhh!!!!

This will be a low-budget birthday. Tomorrow, Andy and I will hit the library "friends" bookstore and he can buy his fill of books/comic books up to $7 (cash in my wallet right now). He's gung-ho - no doubt because he knows the ladies that work at the Friends of the Library bookstore adore him and will give him twice the books he has money for AND candy. Mike and I have a cool big present for him - I'm excited about that. Beyond that, I have a coupon for bowling that we will use with his two best neighborhood friends followed by cake and ice cream here on Friday.

And, as Andy and I enter our second decade together, I'm trying to figure out what to do with myself. It's been a LONG LONG time since I have had to consider this. Yes, Andy still needs me, but not like he used to. And, there's no one coming up behind him. It's a strange place to be. What to do next?

HELP!!!!

I forgot to tell you, we're famous!

That's right, it's only a matter of time until the paparazzi are stalking us all over the front yard . . . well, maybe I exaggerate - but only in this one particular instance.

Mike's birthday is December 11 (he shares a b-day with the infamous Ami.Mental. in case you're still updating your 2010 calendars). As a general rule, Mike and I do not buy each other big gifts ever because, well, because we have four kids and are usually broke. This year, for a combination birthday/Christmas gift we got each other a new oven/stove. We love, love, love it!

However, on the day the stove died, before I knew it was actually dead, I picked up a copy of Alton Brown's new cookbook, The Early Years. Now, Mike has had a man-crush on Alton Brown since his first show. We saw the book and knew it would be a hit. Then, we were in Costco, as we were checking out, the cashier handed us a flyer. Alton Brown, the actual person, was coming the day after Mike's birthday - to OUR Costco!

I know. I doesn't get more exciting, does it? I admit, I like Alton Brown on paper. He grates on my nerves when he's on TV, but Mike and the boys watch him regularly. I actually used two of his cookbooks for a year of middle school chemistry quite successfully - I just do not want to watch the video.

Anyway, for his birthday, we cooked on the new stove and gave Mike his cookbook with the flyer folded into the pages and then had delicious cake. Me? I really didn't think running over to Costco would be a huge deal. We're a weird family. There aren't that many people like us are there? I puttered around while Mike paced, clutching his new book (nerd note, the jacket cover unfolds to become a poster - gah again!). Like the Beverly Hillbillies, we loaded up the car and finally headed to Costco.

Oh my, there are cooking nerds hiding in all of Orlando's deep dark corners. They had a line that snaked through the entire right side of our Costco. Disney could not have designed a more cryptic line. But, Mike was on a mission. We wandered around looking for samples, but the old folks were out in full-force. Finally, I went and ordered a pizza - food is a good way to slow down boys. Mike, meanwhile, had made friends with his line-mates. Holy Cow! There were people there with 5-10 books they wanted to get signed. I'm pretty sure they're all on our Christmas list now.

We ate pizza, we wandered all over the store. We found a spot between wine and frozen foods where we could actually see Alton Brown signing books. Who knew? He's a little guy! But, I have to say, whoever organized this book signing thing was good. The lines moved fast. Alton Brown never acted rushed. I dunno, I've never been to a book signing before.

A mere two hours later, we saddled up to Alton Brown. You could practically hear the back of the line cheering when they realized that we were all together, thus dramatically shortening the line. Mike got to talk to Alton, Alton signed his book and even let us take the picture above. So, as you now understand, it's important we lay low for a while and let the novelty wear off.

2010 . . . so far

Danny got a job! A real job! He went and peed in a cup and everything today. After a year of searching, he's employed. He studied really hard for the drug test and I have my fingers crossed that he'll pass. He'll be working for Winn Dixie, a local grocery store. I don't expect he'll like it, but he knows he's lucky to get his job, VERY lucky.

In the meantime, I've lost my car! My car! I didn't even have to pee in a cup or anything. Gah! Between Danny's school schedule and soon-to-be work schedule (not to mention Tim and Ian will have licenses soon and will start college classes of their own in the fall) we're going to have to face the reality of another car and *GASP* a car payment. I HATE the idea of a car payment right now. I also hate being trapped by other people's schedules. I think we'll stick it out as long as we can with just my car - or until I lose my mind - or until we win the lottery (can someone please remind us to play the lottery?). Unless, of course, anyone reading here is seeking to unload a low mileage large vehicle at no charge - in that case, I might just take you up on that.

Good news overall, though. Right? The boys are not growing up AND away from me, right? They're not actually ever going to leave and have their own lives, right? OK - talk amongst yourselves, I'm all verklempt.

What a friend I have in Jesse!

Jesse is my niece, the only girl grandchild for my parents. Naturally, she's our princess. We don't get to see her (or her brothers) nearly often enough, but suffice it to say, Jesse thinks her Aunt Amy is pretty darn weird. Oh well . . . she's certainly not the only one! And, she still lets me play with the Barbie's and other cool girly stuff that I have no clue what to do with.

My sister sent me a story Jesse wrote today (she's in second grade). I'm so glad I have Jesse on my side. (And, NO!!! It is not a true story, though it easily could be. I've made a note to never go to Blue Jay County Park.) Here it is:


One day, while I was having a picnic at Blue Jay County Park a bird flew down and landed on Aunt Amy's head! Aunt Amy is terrified of birds. She jumped up and ran around the playground several million times. For some weird reason, she got confused and started to play on the playground. While she was still confused, she began to swing on a tree like a monkey and was saying "oo-oo-ah-ah." Meanwhile all the people at the park stopped what they were doing and stared at her. I helped her by jumping on her and shaking her and also saying "snap out of it!" Once she calmed down, we sat down and had a nice picnic the rest of the day.

THE END by Jesse

Loved it!

We watched American Idol tonight. The best part of the show was this guy - he's 62 and funn-ee!

Forgot the newsletter!

I got cheap this year and cut WAY back on my Christmas card list. Since 1994, I've been mailing a little newsletter out to family and friends. Many of you did not get a card this year - nothing personal. Mostly, it's because I know you read here and none of the stuff in the newsletter is really new. Anyway, I'm going to put the newsletter up because I like to have it somewhere safe. Once again, a belated Happy New Year!

The Baker Times-Journal

December 2009 A tradition since 1994!

Happy 2010 everyone! As we looked over past Christmas letters this year, the boys mocked my early letters with their pasted in photos and low quality printing. They have no real concept of a world without internet or digital photos. In 1994, the year of the first edition of this newsletter, cell phones were still GINORMOUS and rare. This year in an attempt to be on top of things while still using “old-school“ paper, I’m going to let you in on our top ten phone conversations - because, it seems that everyone is on phone all the time (The pic on the left is Mike and the boys in our garden.)

Phone Conversation #10: Dan (in line to get his driver’s license): “Mom? What’s the organ donor thing? They wait until I’m dead, right?” Mom (sitting in the waiting area in the DMV not 20 yards away): “Are you serious? Do you really think they’re harvesting organs from people who run STOP signs?” Dan: “So, I should say, ‘Yes?’ right?” I hung up on him. People wonder why I spell homeschool with a “k.”

Phone Conversation #9: While I was out running errands, Tim agreed to help Andy with his science lesson. Tim: “Can you pick up more bananas on your way home?” Mom: “Why? There was a whole bunch on the counter an hour ago.” Tim: “We’re studying gravity. Bananas are awesome for gravity.” Mom: having a small flashback “Are you guys on the roof? If you’re on the roof get down. NOW!” Tim: (grumbles all around) “Can you bring bananas and we’ll wait until you get home to get on the roof?” Mom: “Fine.” After all, who am I to defy gravity? (That’s Tim directly above.)

Phone Conversation #8: Daytona Magic: “Mrs. Baker?” Mom: “Yes?” Daytona Magic: “Are you aware your son just ordered several flammable devices from our site? They all have legitimate uses in magic, but we like to let our underage customer’s parents know what’s going on.” Mom: “Thanks for the heads up.” Daytona Magic: “Sure thing. Does he have access to an adequate supply of lighter fluid?” Mom: “OK, thanks again!” IAANNN!!!!!!!”

Phone Conversation #7: Mike: “Hello?” Amy: “The car is GONE! Oh, wait, never mind. Dan took it. I forgot. Pretend I never called.” Amy and Andy drag their library books back into the house hoping none of the neighbors saw anything. Repeat 17 times throughout the first semester.

Phone Conversation #6: Mike calling home from work: “Did you know we can send pictures from our phones???” Tim: “Um, yeah, we did, Dad.” Mike: “Really? “ Tim: “Um, yeah, Dad.” Poor Mike is just catching up on advances from this past decade and the kids are merciless. Tim, upon hanging up, “I’m so glad I wasn’t born in the 1940’s like Dad.” What’s 20 years, give or take?

Phone Conversation #5: We met my sister and her family in May for a long weekend of camping in Georgia. The boys and I had some challenges finding the actual mountain. Ian, my co-pilot, called Aunt Lynne whose family had not only arrived but had built a log cabin and some out buildings while waiting for us. Ian: “Aunt Lynne? We are at a gas station. We can see the mountain but can’t figure out how to get to you. Can you make your fire bigger? (This is where I smashed Ian on the back of his head.) Mom is getting grumpy and mean.” Lynne: No real response, just screams of laughter. We found them in the end. All we had to do was go “Up.” (That’s Ian, right above!)

Phone Conversation #4: Ian attended his second Daytona Beach Magic Convention recently. We all go. Ian pretends he doesn’t know us and we stalk Ian for fun for the entire weekend. The first day, Ian planned to attend a late night conference. Once we were certain the conference wasn’t being held in the hotel’s bar, we cleared him to attend. I had plans to work on some writing while Mike and the boys slept off their surfing hangovers from the afternoon. I’m a night owl, but even I was yawning at 2:00 am. Mom: “Are you nearly done there? ” Ian: “I’m sitting here with Harry Anderson (think Night Court) talking about old magic stuff!” Mom: “I’m tired. I’m pretty sure Harry Anderson is older than me, so he’s tired too. Tell him I said to go to bed and be up here in 10 minutes.” Ian: “Fine,” in that special, petulant voice teenagers have. My bad, Ian arrived upstairs in under five minutes and was so wound up from the evening that I was up for another ninety minutes listening to all kinds of things that I simply do not understand

Phone Conversation #3: Dan (that’s him above.) started taking classes at the local college early in September. Though we’d talked about “If you’re old enough to take college classes, you’re old enough to keep track of everything . . . insert Peanut cartoon adult voice saying waha wha wha wha wha here.” Day of first math exam - Dan, whispering into phone: “Mom, it’s me, I forgot my calculator.” Me: “Well, you’re just going to have do the best you can. They put men on the moon without graphing calculators. Besides, you have the car! “ Dan: “Right. I have the car. Moon. No calculators. It’ll be fine. See you later.” It was a long semester, but, in the end, Dan pulled through and earned excellent grades. Here’s hoping 1) next semester is better and 2) Dan never has to send anyone to the moon with only a slide rule in his pocket.

Phone Conversation #2: Actually, this could be phone conversations 2 through 2000. Any chance he gets, Andy (picture down at the bottom) will call from the car, which Dan is driving, to let me know of road rule infractions and/or to ask what is for dinner. That his older brothers have not left him on the side of I-4 is a miracle.

Phone Conversation #1: Mom: “Hi Dan.“ Dan: “Yes, I am sitting here on the side of the road and not endangering other drivers, what’s wrong?” Mom: “Remember how we were at the beach all day and then picked up groceries on the way home and how you were in a rush to leave for the Homecoming game?” This Homecoming, since Dan does not attend the same high school as his friend-that-is-a-girl, required transcripts and actual letters of recommendation for him to be allowed to attend Homecoming festivities. (It’s ok, we think it’s crazy too.) Mom: “Well, sweetie, right behind your seat in the car is an 18 pack of cheap beer. Maybe hand that over the girl-that-is-a-friend’s parents when you arrive to pick her up. I’ll call them and explain.” Dan: “Thanks, Mom. I’m not sure what I’m thanking you for, but thanks.”

And so it goes! I guess that’s life, learning it all the hard way. We are all wishing you a happy, healthy 2010!

Monday!

It's warm, tropical and topical.

Brrrrr . . .

I know everyone is cold, but I'm really, really, really cold. Mike, who has somehow managed to retain his this Buffalo blood is never cold, he keeps turning the heat down! My Pittsburgh blood thinned about 20 seconds after I moved to Florida - I keep turning the heat up. It's fun.

Our neighborhood looks like a camp of disaster survivors this weekend. I can only think of two neighbors who own heavy coats. The rest of us are wandering around in layers and blankets and ridiculous outfits. It's kind of sad, kind of funny.

The kids and their friends are all Florida kids. They're not used to being forced inside for extended periods of time. Today we ended up with a bunch of teen-aged boys wearing shorts/snuggies/hats and all kinds of weird clothing sitting in the kitchen playing poker. They're all nice kids. They treat me like I'm still taller than they are (*snort*) and I appreciate that. And, they will eat ANYTHING. I cleaned out my entire fridge this afternoon. It's fascinating in a gross kind of way.

But, if you were just listening in on my kitchen today, you would have thought we were hosting a Beavis and Butthead Convention. Seriously, there is something about all of those newly deep voices talking and laughing and teasing each other that sounds so ridiculous if you're on the outside. They might be giant-sized, but they are so much still little boys. It was only a couple of years ago I would lift any of them up onto my kitchen counter to clean a scraped knee or pull a splinter. Now, just about any of them could toss me clean over my roof (this is why I feed them). Crazy.

In my efforts to balance my testosterone-soaked world, I curled up on the couch to knit and watch "girl" tv. Oh my . . . Bridezilla? Where do they find these people? I can't judge really. I sat there and watched and knitted and gaped for over two hours. Boys and men have absolutely NO interest in this show so it was a pretty peaceful two hours - it's like male bug spray. What amazed me the most was the willingness of the men on the show to go through with the wedding after witnessing such incredibly ugly, insane behavior on the part of their fiancees. Do they really think it's going to improve? It was kind of sad.

Later in the evening, we watched The Bad News Bears. Oh my again. I was 11 when this movie was released and I remember being mad that I was not allowed to go see it. Well, now I know WHY I was not allowed to see it. The language is pretty rough. No way could they make this exact movie today - talk about politically incorrect. And, of course, Andy sat through the whole thing with me interjecting "You are NEVER to say anything like this EVER!" It was kind of fun to watch through the kids' eyes, though. They picked up on weird things - like how small everything on the tables in a McDonald's scene was. Tiny hamburgers, short sodas, tiny fries. Another thing they noticed was the lack of helmets and/or seatbelts throughout the movie. Mmmm... Mike and I would not have noticed if they had not been there. The final scene, where Walter Matthau hands out beers to his little league team had the kids on the floor howling.

I hope you are all warm and cozy and WARM. I'm thinking about asking Mike and the boys to knock out a wall and install a fireplace tomorrow if it doesn't warm up. Good plan, don't you think? ;)

How 'bout this weather, huh?

Let's face it weather is a common topic among folks who do not know each other very well.  It's something we all share and, when in doubt, it's an ice-breaker.  Here, under my foil hat, sometimes I'll use weather or (VERY rarely) politics as a means of blogging.  Both, particularly in the way I use them, are trite/banal/not terribly original.  Oh well.  This is a blog about my day-to-day life raising (and, yes, homeskooling) four boys.  Sometimes life/my thoughts/my writing is banal/trite (I like it better as banal/trite, it almost sounds like something nutritious, doesn't it?).


I welcome comments and opinions that challenge my own.  There are many regular readers here that don't mind telling me to look at things a different way and/or just burn the Ayn Rand books.  And that's fine.  I know who they are and I still love and admire them.  There's nothing wrong with honest face-to-face disagreement.  In general, though, I don't seek argument here.

My goal is to serve as a beacon to people who still think potty-training/learning/whatever-it-is-now or time outs or chore charts are the ultimate parenting challenge. They're not - those things are just warm ups for dealing with older kids.  I thought I was home-free the first trip to the grocery store that I did not have to buy diapers.  I was wrong.  I'm sharing the good, the bad and the ugly about life with older kids.  On my best days, I aim to give people a "I'll never do that" low to avoid on their own journey.  (Did you guys like the beacon thing? I kind of did.  Beacon sounds a lot like Deacon without all of that church stuff . . .)

As far as homeskooling goes, eh.  It's not for everyone.  Even for the people it really is "for," you're going to have some down time.  We're into our tenth year.  We've been up, down, under the table, you name it.  Come on over, meet my kids.   Talk to them.  They are edumacated, civil and open-minded.  They love to argue - especially when they do not agree with me.  And, I'll give them credit, they know how to argue.

Anyway, I've changed the template to the blog again (sorry, I get restless!) and I've changed the comments section.  By all means disagree with me but at least have the balls to leave a name.  In the meantime, I will be here studying up on how best to question and understand Mr. Gore should he make my neighborhood a priority in his travels.  I think if I make a lot of note cards and write on my palms and wrists I can muddle my way through an interview. I'm gonna try real hard.

Stiltus est sicut stultus facit.

It's Cold!!!!

Really and truly, it's cold here.  Yes, I know, I normally whine about the heat, but it's cold.  And, it's Florida and cold does not work in Florida.  Sure, we're all gung ho about temps in the 40's - time to build a fire outside and make some hot-buttered rums and talk about when we all lived "up north."  But when the temps are dropping consistently for over a week into the low 30's and even high 20's, we draw the line.  Capris and wool socks are a fun look for less than a day.  We are freezing our butts off - it's actually supposed to get cold and wet enough tomorrow that we'll see snow flurries.  HELLO!!!!  We're in Orlando.  I would be so ticked off if I was paying and staying at one of the Disney resorts right now.  Dan and Mike spent  the better part of the early morning scraping ice off of their windshields with their YMCA cards.  Did I mention we live in Orlando?  Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.  I want to speak with Al Gore - now.  Surely, he can explain this.

Because it's cold, I've been channeling my inner-Pittsburgh girl and cooking for bitter temperatures.  Pork/sauerkraut with mashed potatoes and applesauce (best meal ever in the whole wide world); chicken pot pies; stuffed peppers; baked potato soup; cinnamon buns for the morning . . . so now we're cold AND fat (but pretty damn happy too). 

Last year, I knitted several awful hats.  We've all taken to wearing them around in our efforts not to die of cold (no, I do NOT exaggerate!).  Strange . . . if I wear a hat for several hours, I have crazy-straight hair!  Same for Ian.  Tim, Andy and Dan - eh, not so much, their hair looks normal.  I wonder, if when the heat comes back, I can stand wearing a hat to bed?  Probably not.  I'll enjoy the straight hair while it's cold enough for me to wear a hat. 

We're back to a normal-ish school schedule.  It's weird, Dan pretty much works on his own these days.  He asks for help when he needs it, but mostly, he's a free-agent.  Ian and Tim are close to being free-agents as well, but we still have our weekly meetings to keep up with their various subjects.  Andy, pity the fourth child, is my new focus.  He's being nice about it so far, but I don't know that it will last.  I've actually looked at joining a co-op or something to get Andy involved with other kids.  But, that would mean I have to get involved with other moms.  I like other moms, but my past co-op experiences have not been positive.  I'm kind of a runs-with-scissors mom.  For now, I'm just thinking about things.  (cue Jeopardy music)  Stay tuned.

What's everyone reading?

I love the Christmas break because I get a chance to read things that I want to read instead of just trying to keep up with the boys' reading material (not that I don't enjoy that too).  Over the break, I had a chance to read several books. 

The first book I read was ."  Once you get past the fact that it's written in back and forth letters, it's a fun, quick read. 










Throughout the busy week of Christmas/New Year's, I listened to The Angels Game.  It was long and engrossing and the ending totally creeped me out.  Your mileage may vary. 

Things got really busy and there was little time to just curl up and read until New Year's Day.  Talk about the perfect day.  We had a house full of leftover snacks from our party.  It was cold and rainy and ugly outside.  Mike and the boys were engrossed in football.  I spent the day in bed reading and eating and eating and reading.  The only thing that might have made the day better was being at the beach, but I'm not complaining.

The Well and The Mine was the first book I read.  It was a Christmas gift.  I loved this book!  I loved the writing, I hated to finish and say goodbye to the characters.  It was interesting in that the book was written from each of the main characters' perspectives.  Set in the Depression in Alabama, the book tells one family's story and it just sucks you right in. 

After the uplifting first book, I moved onto The Road.  Ummm . . .wow.  I had heard about the book, I knew it was a movie, but I just let it linger on the stack of things to read.  Ian read the book right before Christmas.  He was struck by it and wanted to talk about it.  It's not a long book, but it's a lot to take in.  When I first finished it, my opinion was iffy to negative.  After a week, though, I think it's worth a read.  I've read good reviews of the movie, but I'm not sure I'm willing to go there just yet. 

Two books, and still no one in my family wanted or needed anything from me!  So, I grabbed some of the leftover crab bread (it's way better than it sounds), a bigger blanket and moved on to Olive Kitteridge.  This book was recommended to me by several people and I was anxious to dig in.  The comments I heard prior to reading the book were about how horrible Olive was.  Well, she wasn't stellar, but I'm a little worried by how much I felt I had in common with her!  I dunno.  Maybe I'm a bad person or maybe Olive isn't quite as bad as I'd been lead to believe.  Either way, I really enjoyed the ride!

By now, it was getting late.  But, I have a thing about finishing a book and going to bed.  I can't do it.  Just part of the strangeness that makes me so special!  I like going to bed with the possibilities open for the characters I'm reading about.  So, I grabbed a bowl of chili, moved to the living room (Mike was asleep) and started reading Blue Water because it was next on the stack.  I read through the chili and the remaining chocolate in the house and went to bed.  Finished the next afternoon and I'm still not sure what I think of the book.  There were parts that really touched me and, yet, I never felt wholly connected with the story or the characters.  How's that for wishy-washy? 

Right now, I'm reading South of Broad by Pat Conroy.  I'm only about one-third into the book but so far, I'm liking it.  I'll keep you posted.

In audio-land, I'm listening to A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving.  I loved this book when I first read it a million years ago.  The reader is PERFECT.  If you haven't read the book and/or want a good audiobook, this one gets my vote.  In fact, I'm heading out to finish folding laundry while I listen to another chapter before heading to bed. 

A happy Thursday to all!

Brrrrr ....

It's cold, cold, cold here.  Down to 28 tonight!  We are not equipped for this kind of cold. Yikes!

The house is back to pre-holiday state.  Usually, I'm happy to pack up the Christmas stuff.  This year, I'm kind of sad to see the twinkly lights go.  Today we hit the library, the grocery store, the office supply place and I think we're good to go for the second half of the school year.  Honestly, I could use another week - I still have some books I'd like to read and a few stashed away cookies I'd like to eat while reading.  But, it's not to be.

While running errands today with Tim, Ian and Andy, a woman approached us and actually made a "tsk-ing" sound and glared at me and said "And, WHY are they not in school?"  I glared right back (the way a deer glares right back into headlights) and Tim jumped in and said "We're homeschooled."  "Well, that would explain it," the woman said.  Not sure what that meant, but okay.  As we walked off, Tim and Ian let me know that they knew this woman from Scouts.  (In my best teenage girl impersonation) Whatever!  Honestly, who would march up to a group of kids accompanied by their parent and demand an answer to such a question?  If I were faster on my feet, I would have said "Swine flu," coughed in her direction and been done with it.  


I'm trying to get excited about restarting Latin and Shakespeare and the Great Depression, but my enthusiasm seems to be lost.  Maybe in the morning? I think Andy and I might make tomorrow an art and music day.  That always cheers me up. On the upside, we DID get new pencils, pens and even a stapler today.  I do love me some office supplies!  Oh, I didn't mention the fresh new paper - wide and college ruled.  Ahhhhhh . . .

Wish us luck tomorrow!

Happy New Year!

Sorry to be MIA for so long.  Birthdays, parties, clean up and all of that took over for a few days.  Looking back over the decade (or nine years, depending on how you view decades) . . . I have to remember five years ago . . . my friend, Claire called me on 12/29.  We first met when I was pregnant with Andy and she was pregnant with her first son. 

In 2004, Claire was pregnant, REALLY pregnant, with son #2.  She was in labor and wanted to know if she and her mom could hang out here until her husband got her checked into the hospital.  At the time, I was the owner of nearly new couches and I actually made Claire promise not to have the baby on my new couch - nice friend, huh? So, Claire and her mom came over and hung out for a while.  It's hard to host a laboring pregnant woman while feeding her mom Christmas cookies.  Sorry Claire, you get ice, your mom gets ICING on top of a delicious butter-filled cookie.  To her credit, Claire did not give birth on my couch.  Her husband called, she was all set to go at the hospital.  I don't know about you, but I don't think there is anything more exciting than a new baby (just not on the new couch lol). 

I loaded Claire and her mom into their car and pointed them in the direction of the hospital.  Not 10 minutes later, I get a phone call, Claire's mom laughing hysterically. (Claire and her mom share an awesome infectious laugh!)  They'd actually been pulled over for speeding and got to use the excuse, "She's in labor!" And it worked!  Claire was not laughing nearly as hard as her mom and I were.  Seriously?  When does that ever happen in real life?

She made it to the hospital and delivered a beautiful baby boy who remains one of my most favorite short people on the planet.  He will be one of my favorite short people even when he's 6'10". 

Anyway, that's one of my favorite stories of the past 10 or so years.  Happy Belated Birthday, Sean!