Nap Matrix Part Deux

We're still caught in the nap matrix.  But it has gotten better.  Since we've been taking Littlest to bed with us he's been sleeping a lot better at night.  He will usually sleep from about 9PM-7:30AM, sometimes he wakes to nurse, sometimes not.    But I'm okay with that, it's a solid bedtime and wake time.

The bigger issue is the naptime, or lack thereof.  Some days he naps, some days not, some naps are 15 minutes some are over 2 hours.  I never know what to expect.  It seems the more I do with him the less likely he is to sleep.  On the days we're out running errands and playing outside I can forget about a nap-unless we have a long drive in the car.  But on the days when we hang out at home or stay inside a nap is inevitable.  Hmmm.

I'm torn.  I don't mind that he doesn't take a nap other than it makes it difficult for me to get my chores done.  It's nice when he takes a nap but at the same time it sets our schedule, we're stuck until he wakes up.  Sometimes he'll take a late nap, from 6-7PM.  He'll still go to bed with us and fall asleep around 9PM but then he's ready to rock and roll at 4:30AM.  That was our morning yesterday.  Up at 4:30, woo hoo.  But again it's not a big deal because he'll watch Little Bear and play with his toys and I have several hours to blog and fold laundry before my day officially starts :)

My point?  I guess I don't have one.  This is just the way my kids are, Biggest's nap routine was like this until he was 3 and I guess Littlest is going the same route, it's how they're wired.  I just wanted to put this out there for all the moms who dealing with the same issue.  I know there are others out there.  We'll get through this, it's but a season of our lives.  They will grow out of it all too soon...

 

Weekly Wrap Up: Week I Think We Made It

Oh my goodness!  We're finished, we're done, holy Toledo we made it!  7th grade was a ripping success.  (I'm doing my happy dance can you see me?)  We have one book, Star of Light, to finish this weekend and I need to drop off Biggest's portfolio to the school board and that's it for the loose ends!  Wahoohoohoooey (I'm channeling Goofy)

Monday-We took the day off school and canceled Biggest's guitar practice again.  I spent the day spinning my wheels, trying to get some housework accomplished but in the end I didn't do much.  In the afternoon we went to Kohls to pick up a dress for me, dress slacks for Biggest, and dress shirt for Littlest and a new belt for Hubby for Pap's memorial service.  The stores near me didn't have anything-beyond frustrating, ugh!  We managed to find everything we needed in Kohls and it only took about an hour.  We then met a bunch of family at Bonefish Grill for a wonderful dinner, I wrote about it on my food blog.  By the time we got home it was well after 10PM, late for us considering bedtime is 8:30.

Tuesday-Biggest and I buckled down on his school work.  We made quite a bit of headway and I was really pleased.  He hasn't done a great job keeping up with his Eastern Hemisphere Explorer, but I decided to let that go.  He's done so well in other areas I just didn't want to go there.  This evening as I was going to sleep I finally had my cry.  I hadn't cried about Pap's passing yet, I was working through my anger with myself at not going to see him before he passed.  But I finally made my amends and the grief washed over me.  I had a quiet, cleansing cry.

Wednesday-This was the day of Pap's service.  It was beautiful and a generally happy occasion.  Many of his children and grandchildren shared their favorite stories and memories.  The Maryland National Honor Guard came and presented MeeMaw with a flag and played taps.  It was a fitting farewell.

Thursday- More schoolwork and lots of it. Biggest's orthodontist appointment.  Laundry.  Dishes.  Bed.  That's it.

Friday- Today the boys and I got up early and went to Sam's Club.  I picked up a bunch of stuff for my fathers birthday party on Sunday.  We're throwing him a little party for his 53rd.  The reason I'm organizing it is because my father and step-mother have separated.  This is the "fielding phone calls" and "drama" I was referring to last week.  This is happened before, quite a few times, so right now we're just supporting them both the best we can.  We'll see where this road takes them.  So the rest of today or tomorrow will be spent shopping for the odds and ends I couldn't get at Sam's Club, baking a cake, having a party and hopefully a little relaxation!

Weekly Wrap Up is hosted by Kris at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers.

You Tell 'Em Son!

Is this proof that homeschoolers lack average social skills?  If so, we'll stick with homeschooling :)

A few years ago, my father whom we call Pappy, gave Biggest a dirtbike.  Biggest is allowed to ride the dirtbike at Pappy's house provided he follows a few rules.

1. Always wear helmet, chest guard and riding boots

2. Stay off the road

3. No riding when people are on the lawn

Well about a week ago we were visiting Pappy's house and Biggest was riding his dirtbike outside.  Across the street a neighborhood tween/teen girl was having a birthday party.  These girls were parading around the neighborhood in crazy outfits, colorful boas, over sized sunglasses, clown wigs and leave-nothing-to-the-imagination bikinis.

These girls-who Biggest does not know-marched themselves, bikinis and all, over to Pappy's yard and flagged Biggest down.  He stopped to see what they wanted.  They told him to take off his helmet, I guess they wanted to see what he looked like, I don't know.  He told them "no" and went on riding.  The girls then plopped themselves down in Pappy's yard in a playful protest so Biggest couldn't pass.  He had to stop riding again.  This time he not so politely told them:

"Please get off the property."

I had to laugh when he told me this story.  I don't know if he's shy or still not too into girls or if he's not into scantily clad girls.  Either way I was a bit tickled with the outcome.  No hoochies!

Save Money - Use A Uniform

For the last year Biggest has been driving me crazy due to the fact that every time I would take him to buy some much needed shirts he never liked anything the stores had to offer.  He can be picky...wonder where he got that from :)  I'd waste my breath asking over and over "how about this?  do you like this one?"  Nope.  Biggest's favorite outfit became a crisp white t-shirt and jeans.  

I finally gave up.  Shortly after giving up I realized the white shirt and jeans actually looks nice (if the shirt is clean) especially when paired with khakis.  So this year, our shopping trip to replenish any outgrown summer clothing, was infinitely easier and MUCH less expensive.  

I applied the uniform look to Littlest's wardrobe too.  He got two 5 packs of t-shirts at about $10.00 a pack and they had shorts in his size on sale for $3.50 each.  Great deal!!  And it makes laundry day pretty easy too.  I just have a big load of whites to soak (for stains) and wash.  Easy.

Have You Seen This Child?

An Amber Alert has been issued for a 9 year old girl kidnapped along with her mother in the Philadelphia, PA area.  Take a look and pass it on, hopefully someone can help and this story will have a very happy ending.  http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&id=6833129

Update:  This kidnapping has been reported to be a hoax.  Mother and daughter are reportedly alive and well.

On Jon & Kate Plus 8

Let me preface this post with a little background info.  I used to watch Jon & Kate Plus 8 back in the day, like the first few seasons.  I've always wanted a big family so I would enviously watch the goings on of their brood.  Somewhere between seasons two and three I lost interest.  In my opinion the show became more about outings and vacations than demonstrating how to manage a large family.  I begrudge them nothing, it was the natural progressions of their lives, the kids became more independent, that's life.  I was just bored with it, we take our own vacations so I don't need to watch theirs.  I would watch the "big" episodes like birthdays, premieres and the fiasco that was their vow renewal (more on that later) to get the occasional update on those precious faces and see how they'd grown.  So, with all the scandal surrounding the season 5 premiere I decided to tune in.  Below I'll share my OPINIONS (you can read judgements if you must) on what I saw and where I'd like to see them go from here.

1.  I think Jon is lying.  Based on his facial expressions and tone I think he did cheat on some level.  But in his defense I have to say that affairs, emotional or physical, are usually symptoms of bigger problems.

2.  I feel Kate is putting her job before her children, I don't know if she's caught up in the limelight or the money but I think her priorities have shifted.  She has said she won't fail her children, true she's not failing them financially but how successful is she really if money is all she has to offer?

3.  I feel Jon's bigger problem is not having a job, even though he's a loving dad I think he's out of sorts with the full time dad role.  Kate's better at the business side and seems to handle most of it.  But mostly I think the problem is the publicity/paparazzi.  I don't know what they thought would happen when they became America's favorite family, but I'd imagine it to be a big adjustment.  I think Kate revels in the attention, and is perfectly happy with the way things are.  There's nothing wrong with that except that it's causing detriment to the family unit.

4.  I think Kate is willing to forgive Jon, and more power to her because I don't think I could forgive infidelity--if he was unfaithful.

5.  I think Kate knew something was going on with Jon and that's the reason for the big vow renewal show.  Did you notice how she repeated and stressed the point that "Mommy and Daddy will be together forever, right...right?"  I think that was her effort to rekindle the flame and remind him of their commitment to one another.  

My advice, cancel the filming either immediately or at an agreed upon date.  They certainly shouldn't need the money after 5 seasons of hit-show pay.  If they do need the money then they can compromise by doing one more season or a few specials to pay off whatever they need to.  Not to mention they could write a few more books over the next few years which will surely rocket to the top of the best seller list, that would help offset the decrease in pay.  But most importantly they need to seek counseling.  Together and separately for their issues.  Hubby and I have had rough patches in the past and I can tell you first hand a good counselor and an open heart can make all the difference.

Music Monday #1 - Last Mango in Paris

Here is my first half-hearted attempt at Music Monday.  This Monday crept up on me, my days have been off.  But we have only one week of school left, the sun is shining, it's a holiday and I'm ready for some summertime tunes.  This week was emotionally trying for me so the first Music Monday isn't too peppy-just a fun, fair-weather song from one of my favorite artists-Jimmy Buffett (the playlist has his last name spelled wrong).  Over the next few weeks I'll be writing up the meme rules and mastering Mr. Linky, until then if you have a tune you'd like to share leave a link in the comment section.  Enjoy:

Paging Ronald Gladfelter...

...if that's your real name!  I have lived in this house and had the same phone number for the past SIX years.  And from the week we moved into this house to the present I have intermittently received collection calls for Ronald Gladfelter.  I don't know Ronald Gladfelter.  Ronald Gladfelter does not know me.  But Ronald Gladfelter is giving MY number to his lenders.  So Mr. Ronald Gladfelter:

PAY

YOUR 

BILLS!

Weekly Wrap Up - Week: A Big Blur

This week Biggest was able to cover a surprising amount of school work given the circumstances.  However I have no clue what all he did as I've been completely disconnected from that area this week.  On Monday I instructed him to "do as much of whatever you can without me" thinking that I'd be back in the game on Wednesday...but that theme rounded out our entire week :)  Oops.

Monday- We dropped school and canceled the guitar lesson so we could go visit MeeMaw who lost her husband Pap in the wee hours of Sunday morning.  We had a really great visit.  We sorted through old photos and talked about Pap and his kind spirit.  It was a really soft, quiet, enjoyable time with her.  I think she was still in a little bit of shock, but we're here for her.  FYI-she and Pap would have been married 67 years this July!!

Tuesday-This was my run errands/chores day.  We went to the library to drop off some overdue books.  We ran into one of Littlest's friends from our co-op there so we played for a bit. Then we ran a few more errands but for the life of me I can't remember what they were right now.  Then it was back home where I did laundry and made a side dish to take to my Dad & Ma's for dinner.  While there we helped them download and burn a CD of some of Pap's favorite songs for the memorial service next Wednesday.  

Wednesday-This was a therapeutic day for me.  Hubby's step-father is the grandfather who has been helping us finish our garage.  He came down and Biggest helped him in the garage all day.  I played outside with Littlest and did some gardening.  They're finished with the part in the garage Biggest can help with so Hubby and I decided to pay Biggest for his time, as we had offered to do in the beginning.  We calculated that over the last few weeks he's worked about 5 days in the garage, for which we're very thankful.  We agreed to pay him $5 an hour for his time--not realizing how long the project would take.  So this evening we paid him $200.  We then used this time to explain taxes and took back $60 :)  He was still over the moon happy with his $140, good money for good work was what we told him.  And cheaper than a general contractor!

Thursday-On Thursday I fielded a bunch of phone calls in the morning because there is some drama going on in my extended family.  Then I went back to the library to drop off yet another book I found that we forgot to return.  I then took Biggest to Walmart where he spent about a third of his hard earned cash on video games.  For my part I forgot to pick up every thing on my list, ugh.  My mind is so scattered lately.  I was going to go over Biggest's school work but was so frustrated with myself and this week in general that I said Forget It.  We all played outside.  It's been wonderful weather, in the 80s and Biggest has been teaching Littlest the joy of the garden hose.  I wish my camera was working, I've missed some great shots this week :(

Friday-I spent the morning playing catch up with laundry and housework.  I've declared today "Reclaim The House Day!" and that's what we've been doing.  So now my house is pretty straight, the bills have been paid and the cloth diapers are in the wash.  I'm considering whether or not to take the boys grocery shopping because we're out of everything except toilet paper.  I don't know if I have the energy but a girl's gotta eat.

Tomorrow I need to go buy dress clothes for the boys and myself and make sure Hubby's black suit is clean.  Then I plan on relaxing and enjoying this weekend, no ifs ands or buts!

Want to share your week?  Head on over to Kris' blog and share!

Dreaming In Verse

If you know me in real life you know that I often have weird dreams....really weird dreams full of random stuff. For instance, the week before Pap died I dreamt that Hubby was irate because Pap stole his jelly beans. I don't even know if Pap liked jelly beans, but in my dream he liked them well enough to steal Hubby's. Goofy.

Occasionally I will dream something that comes true. Naturally, no one believes me because my dreams are usually so goofy. This year I started keeping a dream journal, I record the clearest of my dreams when I can. I need to get into the habit of writing in it every morning, but for now I write in it when I can. One day I know I'll be able to prove I dreamt something that eventually happens :)

This morning I made sure to record last night's dream. It was really bizarre. I dreamt a poem of sorts. There were no images, just words in verse. I found it a bit unsettling, Benjamin-Button-esque. They went like this:

If the bitter held no sweet
Wholly we would choose
This journey backwards
Becoming not bones but flesh
Releasing the memories

Inexpensive Nikon?

Does anyone know where I can get a good deal on a Nikon D3? As I mentioned on my travel blog, our camera died. Hubby and I have been looking at cameras and we've decided that THIS is the one we want...but it is so expensive. Over the past few years we've been doing some serious work to become unsecured-debt free and we're almost there. We should reach that goal within a few months...if we don't blow it by spending $3,500.00+ at the drop of a hat.

I've been trying to think of ways to afford it, to earn a little extra money to put toward it in time for father's day but I'm not coming up with anything. We have an old SUV we're cleaning up to sell, but it won't bring much. Whoever buys it will probably use it for parts. It's been our back-up, hauling junk vehicle for the last four years. So if we can sell it that will defer a lot of the cost, but I don't know if it will go in time for Father's Day.

I'd love to be able to get one for him, he works so hard. This would be a great "reward"'. Not to mention I want it too :)

Cheryl To The Rescue

Have I mentioned that I am FULL of useless bits of information (the dogwood flower is not really a flower, the flower petals are actually leaves for the itty bitty flowers in the center) and songs (I've been around the world and I, I, I, I can't find my baby...). I'm also pretty good at remembering jingles from commercials of the 90's (Blockbuster video, Wow! What a difference)...is there a game show any of this would come in handy?

Anyhow I went to visit MeeMaw today, who lost her husband (Pap) on Sunday. She's doing really well by the way. Ma was there and she asked for my help in remembering a song from the 80s that they wanted to use at Pap's memorial service. He dedicated his body to science so there won't be a traditional funeral. There will be a memorial service and his request was that it be a happy time in celebration of his life.

Being that I'm full of all this useless pop culture Ma said "I know I can count on you for this, we want to use this song, but we can't remember any of it or how it goes." LOL...um okay. So I asked how it went and in a zippy tempo she said

"Woo Hoo...no matter what I say...da naa na...Woo Hoo"

Oooohhhhh, that song! No problem! :) It triggered a memory but I couldn't quite grab it, but I OBSESS over this kind of stuff. I'll spend hours online tracking down some obscure song or TV show (Jem!). So I visited for a few hours and right before I left I remembered a bit more of the tune but still couldn't quite get it. So I left and as soon as I walked into my front door I remembered the song! Woo Hoo! I called Ma and sang it for her. She yelled "That's it!!" So I pulled it up on YouTube and played it for her over the phone. Man, I so need to find a way to make a living out of this type of thing! So here you go, a song that was a hit when I was six years old, Walk of Life by The Dire Straits (you can go to the bottom of this blog to pause my regular music if you want to listen to the video below)



It's funny that this happened today. I've been thinking of removing my music and doing a series or meme. Something like Music Monday. I love music and have a huge range of tastes. Maybe a video or a song and question pertaining to that type of music/era.; a soundtrack for the week. What do you think? Would anyone be interested in participating in or reading something like that?

2:30 AM Phone Calls

These are never good. Ma (my step mother) called early this morning, at 2:30. Her father, Pap, passed over. She was with him when he passed. The hospital staff tried to revive him, but they could not. He's been on a slow but steady decline for the last two weeks. He spent most of last week in the hospital. My family and I were going to visit him this afternoon. Now it's too late. I'm kicking myself for not getting down to see him sooner. I'm so mad at myself.

He tried to hold out. His health has been pretty poor the last few months, he's been in and out of the hospital and had a rehabilitative stint in a nursing home. So we knew this was coming, he knew this was coming, but he was trying to hold out one more month. He had an agreement with my brother Jesse who is serving in Afghanistan. This is Jesse's second tour and he only has about one month left left until the end of his 18 month tour. They had made a pact to stay alive for each other. Jesse will be heartbroken that he didn't get to see him again, but Pap fought hard. Very hard.

Weekly Wrap-Up: Standardized Test Week

Not much schooling went on this week. This pushed our end of year date out a week, but I knew this would be the schedule so it's all okay.

Monday morning Biggest squeezed in a little schoolwork and reading. After lunch we drove a few towns over to a private school where we rent our standardized tests. Then we ran over to Biggest's evaluator's house for his end of year evaluation. She flipped through his portfolio and asked a lot of questions then deemed his school year satisfactory. Yay! We then had two hours to kill before Biggest's guitar lesson so we went to a local restaurant, grabbed a bite to eat and started on his test. Then it was off to guitar then home.

On Tuesday we had our FINAL week of co-op; Hallelujah! I really love the co-op but I am so ready for it be over for the year. I'm tired. The kids put on a talent show and individual classes had display tables for the showcase. My General Science class and several others had class parties. We ate ourselves silly then went home - Woo Hoo! Once we got home Biggest completed the rest of his test.

Wednesday Biggest went to his great grandmother's house. He goes to visit her once every six weeks or so. Since the first half of the week was harried and I knew the second half would be too, Littlest and I hunkered down at home. We cuddled, watched Zoboomafoo and played.

Thursday I dropped Littlest off with my step-mother (because you can't take kids with you to grade) and went back to the private school to grade Biggest's tests. I graded the tests and was so proud of Biggest, he did really well. I was really proud but also really confused. I will post about it at greater length later but this is why I don't put a lot of stock in tests, some kids test well, some don't. Biggest is about 2-3 years behind in math, he's finishing up 7th grade and we haven't even started fractions (this is why we'll be doing math ALL summer) but tested above grade level. There were two math sections, in one he tested on grade level 8.6, on the second he tested PHS (post high school) - tell me how that's even possible. With the reading, vocabulary and comprehension he tested PHS also.

Friday morning Littlest and I packed up and went to pick up Biggest from his great grandmother's (a little over an hour away). We visited for a while there with Gram and Paw-Paw. We then took Gram into town and met Hubby for lunch. After lunch we Biggest, Littlest and I took Gram to Walmart so she could do some shopping. I ran into an old friend there and spent some time chatting and catching up. Then we dropped Gram off at home, drove home ourselves, had dinner and now here I am blogging it up!

That was my week. How was yours. Let us know over at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers.

3 Simple Questions

Dear Hubby,

I love you with all my heart. I think you are a brilliant man, truly the smartest person I know. But the other day while I was tearing the kitchen apart looking for my cake pan you asked me three infuriating, un-brilliant questions. They were as follows:

1. Where did you have it last?

2. Where do you think it is?

3. Did you look in the cupboard?

For future reference, of course I looked in the cupboard and if I could have answered the first two questions I would not be looking for the cake pan; the cake would have already been in the oven. When I am so flustered and angry I'm slamming cupboard doors your best course of action is to 1) help me look for the lost item or 2) give me plenty of space. If you should chose to act outside of those two choices I cannot be held responsible for my ensuing foul mood. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you.

All my Love,

Cheryl
xoxoxo

PS- You are also temporarily banned from taking my phone messages...you know why.

DS Bundle Giveaway!

Christine at From Dates to Diapers is having a great giveaway, a DS Bundle! Visit her blog by clicking HERE or on the button on my sidebar to enter. Good Luck!

Mother's Day

HAPPY MOMMY'S DAY TO ME

AND TO YOU TOO! :)

Weekly Wrap Up - Week WHAT ATE MY BEANS??

It's that time again! The weekly wrap up. If you'd like to share your week join in the fun at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers.

This week was once again rather uneventful, just plugging through the last few weeks of our curriculum. Nothing new to share, really. No great new books, no fun art projects. Just me making a bunch of lists for the end of year loose ends. Next week Biggest tests (for me) and has his yearly evaluation. I have his portfolio mostly together, I've been sporadically sticking work samples in it all year. I've also kept a detailed log of all the books he has read as well as the field trips he's taken. So I'll just have to flip through it and fill in wherever it is lacking.

It rained a lot this week. The few minutes the sun would shine here and there I would sneak outside and pull a few weeds in the garden. I became quite flustered yesterday when I found that some mystery bug ate the leaves of my freshly sprouted green bean plants back to the stalks. I was already unhappy with the fact that only half of them sprouted to begin with. I guess I'll replant and hope for the best.

That's it for my week. How was yours?

Simple Mother's Day Ideas for Husbands

Mother's Day is fast approaching. Do you know what you're going to do for the mother of your children? The gift possibilities are endless and a simple google search will yield more suggestions than you could imagine. So rather than plugging items I'm going to share my take on Mother's Day, the things I like and those I don't.

First, those I don't care for:

Breakfast in Bed- I know this seems to be a staple "gift" as it's on almost every Mommy's Day commercial out there but personally I don't care for Breakfast in Bed. Shhh! My son doesn't know this because most years he's kind enough to fix me a great breakfast and proudly bring it to me in bed and I ooo and ahhh over it. I really do appreciate the thought and care he puts into it so that's really what it's about. But I'd much rather eat at my kitchen table.

Sending Me to the Spa- Don't get me wrong, I'd love to spend a day at the spa. But not Mommy's Day. Mommy's Day is about celebrating being a mother so I want to spend the day with my KIDS! Of course, a gift certificate for a day at the spa would be great.

Inviting Everyone Over to Our House EVERY YEAR- I love to entertain, there's nothing like opening my home to loved ones and putting on a huge spread of food. But it's a lot of work. And while I don't mind hosting the Mommy's Day gathering, say every other year, I don't enjoy doing it every year. It's my day too and I'd like to relax.

What I Love:

Sleep- Moms are usually sleep deprived. So any day we can sleep in uninterrupted is a huge gift. And if we get a nap too? Heaven!

No Cooking- I don't care if we eat Chinese take out for breakfast lunch and dinner, if I don't have to cook at all on Mommy's Day you've bought yourself a get out of jail free card.

Staying Home- I go back and forth on this one. It's nice to be taken out for a family dinner. But some years I want to stay home sacked out on the couch, with my kids, in my pajamas, with no make-up.

Sex or Perhaps No Sex- If I want sex, fork it over now. If I don't specifically ask for it, don't you dare bring it up!

And a final note for husbands- if you are truly at a loss over what to do or get simply adopt the motto (say it with me) "Today, Daddy does it all!" Happy Mother's Day!

Tag, I'm It!

I've been tagged! RivkA from Coffee and Chemo tagged me for the Honest Scrap game. I love these things! Just a short while ago I played a similar version of this game on my food/allergy blog. So if 10 facts aren't enough and you want to read even more facts about me you can read 7 more HERE.

Rules: Ten honest things about me, then pass it on to seven bloggers. Being that I just tagged 7 people on my food blog, I may not have another 7 to tag, but we'll see :)


10 Honest Facts About Me:

1. I love 1940s fashion, it ALL needs to come back, the dresses, the gloves and strappy shoes, the hairstyles, the hats. Oh the hats! I wish women's hats would rage back into style. My husband is always telling me to start the trend...I just might.

2. I wear size 9 shoes. My feet have been that size since middle school. My step father used to call me Sasquatch...with love :)

3. I'm terrified of the ocean and I married a man who loves to sail. Go figure.

4. I think Robert Redford is still one of the sexiest men alive!

5. I'm writing a book about my journey with homeschooling, I hope to see it published one day. I've also written a lyrical, children's picture book about Native American culture and am researching how to go about finding an agent so that it too will hopefully be published one day.

6. I have eclectic music tastes, I love opera, pop, classic rock, rap, R&B and a little bit of country. Some of my favorite artists are Jewel, Prince, Jimmy Buffett, Elvis, Eminem, Madonna and Alessandro Safina.

7. I want to sell my house, pack a bag and travel for 1-2 years straight with my family. I dream of hopping across the world, going wherever whenever, only stopping long enough here or there to earn a little money to continue our journey. On the top of my list, Russia, Japan, India, Romania, Ireland, Peru and western USA. I'm dying to see the Middle East. Sometimes I get misty eyed thinking that a whole generation or more may miss ever seeing its wonders due to the current hostilities.

8. After all that traveling I want to buy a small home with some land in France. I want chickens and fainting goats. The chickens for the eggs, the goats for the amusement. Or maybe a little apartment in a rustic little village.

9. I've had 2 miscarriages. They were both blessedly early, in the first trimester, but they were still the most difficult experiences I've had to deal with. I experienced a lot of spiritual growth with them. I heard God speak to me during the first, it was an experience I will never forget.

10. I love to know peoples middle names. It's a little obsession of mine. Chances are, if I know you in real life, I know your middle name.

So that's it. I hope that helps you form a better idea of who I am. Now I'll tag:

Nancy at Mom Just Like You - because she's a wealth of knowledge about vaccinations

Granola Chic at So What CAN He Eat? - because she has such varied interests, she's very intriguing

M4M at Mothering 4 Money - because I admire foster parents, they always have interesting perspectives

Blogger (I don't know her name) at Her Very Own - because I've been lurking there for a while and figured now would be a good time to de-lurk

1,000 Hits

1,001 to be exact. This afternoon my hit counter measured 1,001 visitors. I know that's not zooming upwards at the speed of light but I cannot tell you what simple joy it brings me to know that there are like minded people out there. I love the way you can reach out and find a friend half a world away. Amazing.

I saw a UFO

I can hear you laughing. Stop that, it's rude! But I did see one.

I'm not talking scary green men here...I don't think. But last week at dusk I stepped out on my back porch and I saw a flash of red light shoot across the sky. It was fast. I've never seen anything move so fast. It was unsettling. We're only a few hours drive from the Pentagon, Ft. Detrick and Camp David. I had to wonder if I was looking at the next best thing in military technology. Dramatic, I know. But when you're alone and see something you can't explain your mind goes places.

Like I said, it was a red light, steady and bright. It was low, lower than a plane. In the few short seconds I saw it I'd say it soared at about the altitude of a helicopter, maybe a little higher but not by much-it was low. It made no noise, it was eerily silent. It left no trail, no smoke. And again it was freakishly fast. It took all of 3 seconds tops to soar from straight above my head to out of view over the horizon-yeah, that fast.

You know what it made me think of? A flare...shot horizontally. But really high up. With no noise. Or smoke. Or flickering. Hmmm.

Foster Care, CPS - In Response to a Response

I've been having a conversation with Legally Kidnapped through the comment section of her blog. (I don't know if she's a guy or girl I'm just saying she to make things simple). She brought up some good points and questions for me that I thought I would answer here rather than taking up 3 pages in the comment section. This may not make a lot of sense to my readers because the responses below are in reference to my comments on her blog. What is below are responses to questions I asked her, but for expediency I didn't copy everything, just that I wished to respond to. If you're curious you can check out the original response from LK HERE. Feel free to comment here if you like, but I ask for respect no matter which side of this issue you fall on. I realize when it comes to children emotions run high. But we'll never get anywhere if we're not calm and diplomatic. Disrespectful comments will be deleted.

Oh, and also let me say that I am admittedly VERY ignorant about the foster system. I've been interested in fostering for years but honestly, I don't think I have the backbone for it. Selfish I know, but it's true. And being that way I feel I could do more good from the outside, if that makes sense. That's why I visit blogs like LK's and M4M, to try to see ways to help. My only experience with fostering is through 3 friends who foster. Two of them give their hearts and souls to these children and work hard for reunification if that is what the court orders. The third loves the kids, but is very disorganized and I think looks at foster more for a means of cheap adoption-not a reason I personally feel anyone should get into foster care. Okay, LK's words are in italics, so here goes...

First-to the Anon commenter on that post-I'm sorry to have offended you, and my heart aches for your loss. Looking at my response I realize I didn't word that well. I was referring to the ways in which I feel LK harasses foster parent blogs (like M4M-whose blog title is meant to be taken as a dry, ironic joke)

You would need people running the system who respect the rights of the family including the parents. You would need to start addressing some of the issues that parents raise. Issues such as lying CPS workers stealing children for trivial reasons and the judges who will rubber-stamp their signatures on practically every piece of paper that gets put in front of them by one. You would need to remove some of the financial incentives so that the System Sucks aren't viewing other peoples children as a meal ticket. Good luck with that.

I completely agree. The system needs someone to answer to-I personally feel it should be, on some level, the public. Our country as a whole has steered away from government fearing it's people. Now people fear the government-it shouldn't be that way. "They" should live in fear of their people uprising and kicking their sorry butts out of office.

Social workers etc should get paid better because their work is difficult, physically, emotionally, you name it. They SHOULD NOT be paid based on how many children they bring into or adopt out of the system. It's sick.

Where do we start to stop it? I don't know the route. Who do I complain to? I honestly don't know where to begin-once I do know I can guarantee I won't sit idly by.

This is a very common question I get, but it's also a trick question. And the simple answer is, I am not against fostering altogether. How could I be? I'm not really a bad person. I don't advocate for a parents right to abuse or neglect their child. I am rational enough to understand that some parents should not be or are not capable of raising their children. So I'll be the first to admit that there are times when foster care is necessary. I'll be the first to admit that there are times when foster care is the best possible option for a child.

This was not meant to be a trick question. I would not feel you were bad to say you're against fostering. I'm not talking about children here I'm talking about a system. But I can understand your caution and see how unscrupulous people would twist such an answer.

The labels such as "abuser" that are placed on parents are generic. There is a difference between a kid who gets a spanking and a kid who has been beaten to within an inch of his or her life. There is a difference between a kid who gets abused for no reason and a kid who gets a slap in the face for telling his mother to go and fuck herself. There is a difference between poverty and neglect. The system has lost sight of all of that.

Bingo! Yes. The public as a whole has lost sight of this. People afraid to spank their children, or discipline them at all for fear of being accused of abusing their kids. There is a difference between spanking and abusing. I can't tell you how many smart mouth kids of strangers I'd love to slap or stick in a corner, but the parent just takes it. And the whole poverty issue-very very true. Again society as a whole. We've been spoiled in America and many people seem to think that if your child doesn't have a whole closet of the latest and greatest whatever then they are neglected. If their pants have holes in them, then tsk tsk. But what they don't pay attention to is the close-knit-ness that family may have, the love they share.

In cases like that, you protect them. If that's what these people did, I wouldn't have a problem with them. Instead we have them stealing children for trivial reasons, not giving them back when it's the right thing to do and putting them into foster care when other family members are available and willing.

True. As is the reverse. Sometimes no one will step forward because the whole family tree is misguided, addicted or simply already stretched beyond their means.

It's actually quite funny. There is a whole gaggle of these lemmings, all bitching about the kids and those pesky bio-parents. "Oh my God! What I have to put up with when warehousing other peoples children." They all follow each others blogs and every time one of them speaks, ten throw in their two cents, either agreeing with it all or trying to out do each other.

Because, whether you chose to believe it or not, they care. Misguided or not they care about the kids. I've seen it and it is emotionally draining as well as financially. Do you think they don't feel sad and guilty when a 2 year old foster child is screaming for their Mommy in the middle of the night? They do, but they feel and are told by the SYSTEM that they are protecting that child from further abuse. Yes, sadly so so sadly, the child is experiencing emotional abuse by being ripped from the parent they love but if it is a true case of parental abuse then it is a necessary evil. Even abused children love their parents and want to stay with them, that doesn't mean that is where they should stay. The ones you should be dogging are the ones who don't complain. They are the ones who don't care. They take the money, don't feed or clothe the child and go on their merry little way. Not making ripples so no one notices their treachery.

They all claim to. Yet at the end of the day, they are just as much stooges for the agencies as any other system suck.

Yes I guess you could put it that way. But they are trying to help in the only way they know how. And some of these kids, but not all, desperately need them to be safe. Your blog proves that there all failings on both sides. It's a catch 22.

So many stupid people think that the system is a safety net for abused and neglected children. Well it's not. It's a mess. It causes psychological disorders in children, homelessness, and children are more likely to be abused. They drug them up to keep them quiet and happy. They bounce them around from home to home or throw them in group homes and institutions. Very rarely do any of them come out of it with their heads screwed on straight.

Yes, but not all, again the reverse is true. And if they were taken out for valid abuse to begin with I would be surprised if they ever came out with their heads on completely straight-even if their foster parent was an angel. You carry that with you a lifetime.

So if you want solutions, great! You are free to take any of the information I provide and think some up.

Again, I'm really ignorant of the system here but I have given it a little thought and I'll share my sad contributions below.

How are you going to know what the problems are that need to be solved? How are you going to identify the issues that need to be changed?

I don't know.

Are you out there sticking up for the families who have been screwed by CPS? Are you speaking up for the children whose lives are destroyed because of an injustice?

No, I don't know where to begin. I've been looking for guidance.

Now LK, for my "solutions". They're just thoughts really. First, I think we need some common ground. A place where people from both sides of the issue can come together to politely debate change and make suggestions. Somewhere where different groups and blogs can post their sites to raise awareness for people in their area, where there can be forums for polite discussion and people can create groups for their state/city/county, where announcements can be posted based on state/area for rallies and petitions being held. Where there can be support and instructions on where to start, how to get involved in your area. It needs to be compartmentalized because each state has different CPS laws (right? I'm not 100% sure) but together so it can be a national movement. It would however need to be more of a website than a blog so there could be an agreement for terms of usage, moderators (who could not be extremists on either side) to keep things from getting ugly and the moderators would need to have the ability to suspend or delete accounts based on behavior. We want a calm, safe place to come together. I was thinking of something modeled it after RFAK's site (which is about food allergies). There may already be a place or places like this, I don't know. But we need to get organized nationally, all the little subgroups need to come together.

I also think people like you need to stop attacking foster parents and foster parents need to stop attacking people like you. The truth of the matter is there is good and bad on both sides and the system needs a complete overhaul. We need to come together to hold "them" accountable. That won't happen when we're at each others throats, we're not a threat to them when we're attacking one another too. Only when we come together will we really see change. Can you imagine how powerful that will be? Agents on both sides. We could effect change from the inside out and the outside in. Mwaa Ha Ha! (cue shifty eyes and evil grin) But seriously, that would be amazing.

Weekly Wrap Up - Week Nada

Uuuuum. Let's see. What to write about? Uh...I got nuthin'. Nada. Zip. I wish I had some grand, entertaining activity to tell you all about. But the truth of the matter is we didn't do anything interesting this week. We're beginning to wind down the school year. We have about 4 weeks left. I've been going over Biggest's curriculum to be sure we're on par with everything. Making sure we've covered all the academic bases. All looks good. I've been researching next years' base curriculum and I am soooo excited, it looks really interesting.

So right now my plan is this. Over the next four weeks we'll finish the curriculum, have Biggest's yearly evaluation and submit his yearly portfolio to the school board along with the required Affidavit of Intent to homeschool next year. I will be testing Biggest myself this month also. The school board doesn't require 7th grade testing so I won't be turning over the test. I'm a firm believer in giving the "government" the bare minimum requirements ONLY. I'm testing for me, I want to know where he stands academically-though at the same time I don't put a whole lot of stock in the tests. I think they work for some kids, but not every child is a good tester even if they know the material inside and out.

Anyway-I went off on a tangent there-after all that we'll probably take a month off then Biggest will resume his math. We're definitely behind in math. I'm not even going to tell you how far behind. It's sad because it's completely due to my laziness. He could handle the higher level work, I just haven't taken the initiative to actually work. Can you guess which subject was my least favorite in school? So math will be our focus the end of summer and through most of next year too.

Oh! One thing I did want to share is about the book Biggest and I have been reading and enjoying very much. I mentioned it last week, Seven Daughters and Seven Sons. I still highly recommend it but there was a somewhat awkward moment in our reading this week. In the book the main character, a girl named Burhan, is examining her naked body in the mirror. She describes what she sees including her breasts, hips and pubic hair. Gulp! It's all quick and it does hold relevance to the story but this is the first time we've read anything like that together. Biggest is still a bit shy about the opposite sex so much of those talks are between Biggest and Hubby. I had to give him credit though, he was very calm and mature about it, so I just kept my tone very nonchalant though inside my mind was racing. "Should I skip this sentence? Should we talk about it? Should I let it go? Will I embarrass him if I say anything?" We poor mothers of young men :)

So that's it for my week. What about you? Weekly Wrap Up is hosted by Kris at Weird, Unsocialized, Homeschoolers. Stop by and tell us about your week!