Thoughts

I am thinking is it time again for another end of the month post.  I am also thinking I am at least two weeks late with my church ladies' newsletter, and already five MONTHS tardy in posting the last of our summer vacation installments, maybe the best one of the bunch, our visit to the PlainJanes. I am also wondering what I will make for company for Sunday dinner this week... and thinking about trying T-Tapps for a much-needed workout. Trisch at Never a Dull Moment is an amazing T-Tapps success story. But groan... look at the price on that workout DVD!  In the midst of all this thinking, I am re-thinking education (oh my, this subject has been ruminated on many times), but not reaching any conclusions.  I don't care if my kids know the life cycle of a sponge or a fungus or a protozoan.  I'm also thinking about turning over a new leaf and actually writing down a few personal goals and objectives for the coming year, for I am finding that with no goals, I gain no sense of accomplishment.  This thought, in turn, has me thinking that I have not grown at all in the past year.  Arghh!

The Bible says, Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established. My brain could be de-cluttered of four or five of those thoughts if, unto the Lord, I would just DO the things I have been thinking about doing.  If it is God's will for me to DO those things and I am not doing them, that means... that means I am rebelling against him!

Now I'm thinking I'd better stop thinking, and get busy.

Raining Inside and Out

We are at my mom and dad's house, celebrating my dad's 76th birthday.  Yay, Dad!  We love you!  You won't believe what an impersonal and practical, no clutter gift we got him -- socks.  Yes, it's true.  Socks.  It's not quite as impersonal a gift as it seems.  Dad and I both have tender feet, and neither of us can stand to have a wrinkle in our sock.  I saw some socks for diabetic/tender feet, nice soft cushy ones, and that's what we got him.  I hope he agrees with all the glowing reviews.  Dad?

While here in California our girls were going to get their first experience at ice skating.  Daddy and I were even planning to put skates on again for the first time in decades! But alas.  Emily threw up at 3 a.m., and again this morning in spite of the fact that she kept telling me how "fine" she felt today....  boo hoo.  Many tears now, as her ice skating is going to have to wait for a healthier day.  Poor Emily.  (I wondered if maybe this is God's way of keeping me from doing something really foolish (grin).  But no, then it could have just been me throwing up...)  The two of us will just stay home together and try to rejoice with them that do rejoice.

In the meantime, it is pouring rain. As high winds are expected along the way, and snow as low as 1500',  we are considering our options for our return trip to the desert.  Praying it won't be with a van full of flu patients.

Super Washer Repair Woman Strikes Again

Yes, we are doing laundry today. Or trying to do laundry.  The agitator has been giving out, and I think the clothes would be washed more thoroughly if I stood there and moved the water by hand.  I told my husband earlier today that I think we are going to have to call the repair man this time, and he told me no, we'll just get a new washer.  After all, this one is at least ten years old, and a family of six is hard on a washer.  But I couldn't help looking inside it to see what I could see. And after a little bit of exploration on the internet, I found out that the cause of the wimpy agitator is simply worn out agitator "dogs", very easy to reach. The replacements cost less than $10, and the difficulty of the repair is rated SIMPLE. **huge grin**  Super Washer Repair Woman strikes again, saving her dear man hundreds of dollars.  (That will help make up for my expenditures in the chocolate department.)

I think I missed my calling.  Maybe I should have been Mrs. Maytag.

Posts to Share

The other day I was ready to ship all my kids off to the local federal "education" building. (You never wanted to do that, did you?  I didn't think so.)  After watching this video yesterday, I was ready to burn our textbooks and start over as radical unschoolers.  After all, even if the philosophy is somewhat different, most of the nominally Christian curriculum we use today is patterned after that which the federal schools are using.  Today... today I am digging myself out from under an avalanche of hormones, which helps to explain the failure of my meek and quiet spirit to react graciously to unmotivated students and evil-ly motivated educators.

Mom Wanted, Signed, Your Children is about the return of the mother-heart to HOME, a post which had me alternately ow-ing and amen-ing.

Needed At Home, by Lady Lydia, gives us SAHMs some good ammo for those times we are made to feel like non-producers in the world's economy.

And one by Sherry at Large Family Mothering, Planting Seeds of Joy.  This is the real reason I homeschool.  After nearly going off the deep end the other day I suddenly remembered I do it because I love it. :)

Mrs. Morecraft shares a wonderful reading list for kids of all ages.

And here's a great, practical post for those of you who are snowed in and loving it.  Share these with your snow-loving kids, How to Build an Impenetrable Snow Fort, and How to Make the Perfect Snowball, from The Art of Manliness. The comments are an added bonus, but do watch for language. Yes, I do subscribe to this masculine-themed blog.  It's so that I can forward the good stuff to my husband. And no, I did not send him this snow post.  Totally impractical here.  I will send him the one on that site called "A Man's Guide to Socks". We do wear socks in Arizona.  Sometimes.

And finally, for you who would rather play at the computer than in the snow, online Blokus.  This is a good board game; now you can play free!

More Mom Wisdom

Furthermore, the smart mother does not buy chocolate when the children are present.

In such a case the mother might as well not bother to hide the chocolate in her pantie drawer, because guilt will coerce her into sharing.  

Secret guilt, now that's different.  I'm experiencing severe withdrawals, waiting for a chance to go to the store alone and restock my stash.  


I predict my next post will be a lament over weight gained and clothes that no longer fit.

Good Mother vs. Smart Mother

The good mother bakes cookies for her children.
She cuddles them and hugs them and tells them she loves them.
She reads aloud to them.
The good mother prays for her children.
She provides clean clothes and warm food and a table set for the entire family.

The smart mother hides the chocolates in her pantie drawer.

The Death of a Loved One

in which I remember the mournful demise of Emily's "favorite" jumper.

I was in my room this evening, enjoying the start of a new book and a moment of semi-privacy.  The door was open, which is about the same thing as having it shut, because a door never kept anyone in this house from knocking and entering unless it was locked first.  From the other end of the house came the sound of forceful sobbing, which grew louder as the pajama-clad sobber sought the refuge of her mama's sympathy.  Emily climbed up onto the bed with me and buried her head in my armpit. I dutifully asked her, "What's wrong?"  Her crying was so loud and hard that I could barely understand her. 

It seems that the jumper that I pulled out of the back of her closet yesterday, that threadbare one with the zigzag stitching across the shoulder to keep it together a bit longer, you know, the one that is so faded that it doesn't even resemble the original color, and is too short, yes, that one, that jumper suffered a major tear at the knee.  It's not salvageable.  Isn't it weird how something a child hasn't seen in months suddenly becomes their favorite?  Emily bawled, "It's just like when you find an old doll in the shed and you love her and want to sleep with her!  Boo hoo hoo hoo!"  

Oh dear.  Such drama over an inanimate object. She asked me if she could cut off a little piece and keep it for the memories.  I asked her if she wanted to sleep with it.  A little giggle escaped, then more tears. "Noooo!"  Hm. Maybe she would like to cut a piece from it for wiping her violin down?  The tears stop on a dime.  The face brightens. "That would be nice!!"  (I know how much fun it is for a seven year old to be allowed to use the fabric scissors.)  Problem solved.  Daddy even acquired a few new rags for his bicycle maintenance.

Whew.  That was easy.

How to Create a Drop-Down Menu for Labels.

For easy-to-understand instructions to create a drop-down menu for your categories (labels), see this post.  You will have to find pre-existing code in your vast template HTML, which is easily done by typing CTRL F (Windows). On the lower left of your screen you will see a little search window.  Enter all or part of the code you are looking for.  The first occurrence of that particular piece of code will be highlighted in green. If that is not the one you need, click on Next to see the next occurrence, and etc.

I'm sure that with a little bit of brain action you could use these instructions to make drop-down menus for other features.  Happy creating!

Silly Mimi

Amy posted a funny here today.  Mouse over the photo. :)

New Blog and a Techie Tip

The camel really didn't feel loaded; each additional straw was just that -- just a straw.  Slightly bothersome, but not really.  Taken one at a time, they really didn't weigh anything.  But that last straw was just too much for the camel's meek and quiet spirit.  She rebelled.  And she found solace at Blogger.  My HSB blog is still active, but I have to take a break from that platform for a while.  It was either that or quit blogging altogether, and well, heh heh, you see how that turned out. Yes, I do feel like a traitor to HSB and to my dear friends there, but you can all follow me right here and we'll be fine.  Just "follow" me, or add me to your reader, K?  I was patient, really I was.

For anyone else who jumps ship, I have a techie hint for exporting/importing your HSB blog to Blogger.  The instructions here at Blogger are rather simple.  They are found here.  When you export your HSB blog, make sure you check the box that allows all of your old HSB posts to be published on your new Blogger blog. There is a problem with importing Wordpress to Blogger, however.  To fix it, go to the Wordpress2Blogger site, and follow the instructions.  Just browse your desktop for the saved WP file and click on "convert".  Now save that file to your desktop and discard the first one.  Now go to Blogger and import the new saved file. All of your old HSB posts are now new Blogger posts, and they will be found on the "Edit Posts" page. If you forgot to check the "all posts" box when you exported HSB, you will have to individually publish each of your previously HSB posts.  They will be listed in the "Edit Posts" page, but will not appear on your new blog until published.  Voila'!

The camel is now a happy camper (I pity anyone reading this who is trying to learn English, lol.), a happy camper with two campsights to choose from.