Shrieking Li'l

Do you know what that sound is, highness? That is the Shrieking Li'l. If you don't believe me, just wait. It always grows louder.

*You Princess Bride fans will no doubt pick up on the spoof from the movie. Our youngest child is a shrieker, and we have now given him a new nickname. And when the shrieking begins, someone will undoubtedly be found reciting this modified line from the Princess Bride. I wanted to include an audio clip, but it sounded too much like torture, and I thought it might upset the grandparents. The child is fine, of course. He just wants what he wants, and he wants it right now--and he has a voice with which to demand it.

Do I seem more insane than usual to you?

If I do, it's because both of my boys have refused to take their afternoon naps this week. I'm really hoping this is just a fluke and that things will go back to normal any day now. But, I must confess, I'm a bit worried. I'm definitely not ready to give up the naps, even if they are. That's my moment of sanity and productivity, after all. What will I do without it?! I already feel myself becoming more panicky and less coherent. Think happy (sleepy) thoughts for us...

Go Gators!

For those of you don't already know, Ruth is a full-fledged member of our neighborhood swim team. From the very first meeting, we understood this group is pretty hard-core. But, at today's first regular practice of the year, we realized that we take our swimming pretty serious around these parts.

When we left the house for practice, it was lightly raining, and I prepared Ruth for the certain fate of practice being cancelled. But, she insisted we drive over to the pool, just in case. Well, it wasn't raining too hard when we arrived at the pool, and parents and children were disembarking from their vehicles and entering and exiting the pool area with a flourish, so it seemed to still be game on. Most of the parents, I might add, had monstrous umbrellas with them, which seemed to be a little in the overkill department to me. For about 5 minutes.

Just as Ruth stepped nervously into her place in line in lane 1, the bottom fell out of the sky. And I began to wish that I had a humongous umbrella of my own, or at least that I had already made friends with one of the other mothers with a giant umbrella. I thought certainly they would send the kids back to their now-soaking parents--(even those with umbrellas couldn't avoid the deluge). But the next thing I knew, the coach was sending the first group of kids plunging into the frigid pool. That's when I learned that you don't call off practice just for rain. There must be lightning.

Then, the phone rang. It was Jeff, asking if practice was still on. He was slightly concerned, since the power had just gone off at our house, less than a mile away. Still, the kids made their way, as best they could, from one end of that never-ending pool to the other.

And then, someone found a snake in the baby pool. And still, the show went on. Until finally, there was undeniable rumbling in the sky and the threat of lightning was firmly upon us. Only then, did the drenched parents gather up their shivering children and call it a day. It's no wonder the Gators are the reigning swimming champs in this area.

*Really, we were only there about 20 minutes and truly it didn't seem dangerous--and no practice is required, so we never have to go if we don't want to-- but I was surprised to see how "all in" these people are.

Long Overdue School Update

It's been a long time since I've reported on Ruth's school work. Here is some of what she's been up to:

• In-depth study of Ancient Rome, which will continue through the remainder of 1st grade.
• Brief study of Ancient India
• Brief study of Ancient China
• Learned how to make paper
• Took a break from the Spelling and Vocabulary classes to focus on handwriting
• More study of the human body: brain, reflexes, learning/memory, the five senses, heart/blood, lungs/breathing
• Transitioned to a new art book--focusing on drawing animals
• memorized the poem "All Things Beautiful"
• Illustrated a book for "All Things Beautiful"
• Learned squares of numbers 1-10
• Worked on fractions
• Perfected many multiplication facts
• Made a goal to finish second grade Math before her birthday
• Will finish second grade Grammar next week
  

Pictures from our trip

Spring Break #2

We are off to the Davis Mountains for the next few days to work on our cabin and hang out with family and generally just have a good time. We'll see you all next week.

Which of these things is not like the others? Which of these things just doesn't belong?

Though it seems like laundry would be among the more mundane tasks one could engage in, sometimes you find a prize in the laundry basket. And, sometimes--on a really good day--you find two.

Fifteen Months

Who says there's no such thing as a free lunch?!

I went into the grocery store just before noon today, with a "rumbly in my tumbly" (the inspired words of Winnie the Pooh) and the thought of grabbing some lunch when I finished my shopping. Before I could even get in the door, a nice man beckoned me over for a sample of some sweet watermelon. Once inside, I found sample stations set up every few feet--chicken salad, lasagna, hummus, mac and cheese, California rolls, trail mix, yogurt, etc., etc. I must confess, I did not turn any of the samples down. And I only purchased one of the products being offered. And when I was checking out, I realized that I wouldn't need to stop for lunch after all.

Is this as completely pathetic as it seems?! Or is it possibly the most brilliant scheme in all of lunch history?

A Day in the Life

• Woke up early and actually had some quiet time to myself to pray and read the Bible before everything got crazy.
• Attempted to remove the sticky "essence of movie theater" off of my kitchen floor.
• Noticed that each of my children seemed taller when they got up this morning.
• Worked my way through the utility room, clearing out things that didn't belong and organizing all the cleaning supplies.
• Removed an inconvenient shelf from the wall in the utility room.
• Changed the light bulb in the utility room...standing on tip-toe on a short bar stool, which was perched on a bar-height chair, while my height-fearing husband gripped my legs for dear life and kept me from falling to my death.
• Ate chocolate chip cookie dough like it was going out of style.
• Made homemade paper with Ruth.
• Cleaned debris and misplaced items off the back porch.
• Became outraged when I read of Plano ISD's scheme to dumb-down future generations.
• Understood several of the "words" Max said.
• Unpacked and enjoyed framed pictures and albums of days gone by.
• Reveled in Max's 3-hour and Weston's 2-hour naps.
• Pulled a shard of glass out of my finger.
• Made a mad dash to the library before it closed, when Ruth announced she was out of books.
• Bought a birthday present at Walgreens.
• Bought two gallons of milk...for the second time this week.
• Laughed genuinely and hysterically as Weston told "Knock-Knock" jokes.
• Had breakfast for dinner.
• Bought a dining room table and chairs to use in the homeschool room.
• Sang "Amazing Grace" with my family, along with a few other old hymns, before reading the story of David and Goliath and watching the children's faces light up with joy and wonder.

A Walk In The Park

There are miles and miles of greenbelts and walking trails here in "The Livable Forest," and we have slowly been taking advantage of them as we explore our new surroundings, and as the weather permits. The largest park in Kingwood is just around the corner from us, and I swear, you would think you walked into another world. It fronts the lake on one side and has an extraordinary amount of beautiful trails. I told Jeff I felt like I was on vacation somewhere instead of just a short distance from the house. It's amazing, and is something we will take every opportunity to enjoy it.

Mattress Mess

We had our first overnight house guests on Friday night. To prepare, we blew up our tried and true queen-size inflatable mattress--which we already knew had a leak, but which we hoped to fix before my in-laws arrived. No such luck. The air leaked out, and we couldn't figure out from where, so we went to Plan B. We decided to buy another queen-size inflatable mattress to replace the leaky one. I bought a relatively cheap one, which was labeled as a queen and had the dimensions on the package. When I blew it up, I found it barely bigger than a twin-size mattress. I had Jeff look at, and he, too, thought it was awfully small. We then looked up mattress dimensions online and found that the dimensions on the package were actually full-size dimensions. But, when we got out our handy-dandy tape measure, we found that it didn't even meet those standards. I grumpily deflated the mattress and returned it to the store. I then went to a different store and bought a more expensive, name-brand, queen-size inflatable mattress, with actual queen-size dimensions printed on the box. When I blew it up, I also found it lacking. And the tape measure test confirmed: a full-size bed masquerading as a queen. I was outraged at the blatant false-advertising and the attempt of the inflatable mattress people to so badly rip off the faithful consumers--namely me! Jeff felt the same way. So, we deflated and packaged up yet another inflatable mattress and determined that we were getting out of the inflatable mattress business altogether. Instead, we instituted Plan D, which was to go out and buy ourselves a new king-size mattress and move our old one up to the guest room. A bit extreme, I know, but it was the ultimate plan anyway, and it was worth it not to have to deal with anymore crummy inflatables.

The morals of the story are these: Don't believe everything you see in print. Do not trust inflatable mattress people under any circumstances. And, we have a super-comfy guest bed, so don't hesitate to come visit!

All Dressed Up

Mommy Quiz (Ruth)

This seems to be the going thing in Blogland right now, so I'll jump on the bandwagon. You're probably all tired of hearing about moving and the house anyway. Weston's answers follow in a separate post.

Ask your child(ren) the questions and type in their answers as they say them. Tag other folks with older kids who might have fun with this. :)

1. What is something Mommy always says to you? I love you

2. What makes Mommy happy? Hugs and Kisses

3. What makes Mommy sad? When I get hurt

4. How does your Mommy make you laugh? By tickling me

5. What was your Mommy like as a child? I don't know

6. How old is your Mommy? 31

7. How tall is your Mommy? Kind of in the middle of me and Daddy--maybe 5 feet

8. What is her favorite thing to do? Eat at Chuy's

9. What does your Mommy do when you're not around? Plays on the computer

10. If your Mommy becomes famous, what will it be for? For cooking

11. What is your Mommy really good at? Cooking

12. What is your Mommy not very good at? Picking me up

13. What does your Mommy do for her job? Stays at home with us

14. What is your Mommy's favorite food? Mexican food

15. What makes you proud of your Mommy? When someone tells her that she is a good Mom

16. If your Mommy were a cartoon character, who would she be? Alice (from Alice in Wonderland)

17. What do you and your Mommy do together? Grammar class

18. How are you and your Mommy the same? We almost have the same length of hair

19. How are you and your Mommy different? Mommy has green eyes, and I have brown eyes

20. How do you know your Mommy loves you? Because she always says "I love you."

21. Where is your Mommy's favorite place to go? Chuy's

Mommy Quiz (Weston)

Ask your child(ren) the questions and type in their answers as they say them. Tag other folks with older kids who might have fun with this. :)

1. What is something Mommy always says to you? I love you

2. What makes Mommy happy? Your eyes

3. What makes Mommy sad? Your mouth

4. How does your Mommy make you laugh? You just do

5. What was your Mommy like as a child? Daddy

6. How old is your Mommy? 21

7. How tall is your Mommy? About shorter than me

8. What is her favorite thing to do? Eat breakfast

9. What does your Mommy do when you're not around? Go to the library

10. If your Mommy becomes famous, what will it be for? For moving out of the house

11. What is your Mommy really good at? Pianos

12. What is your Mommy not very good at? Reaching without a stool

13. What does your Mommy do for her job? Work

14. What is your Mommy's favorite food? Granola and Roast and Potatoes

15. What makes you proud of your Mommy? I don't know

16. If your Mommy were a cartoon character, who would she be? I don't know

17. What do you and your Mommy do together? Work

18. How are you and your Mommy the same? We just are

19. How are you and your Mommy different? I don't know

20. How do you know your Mommy loves you? I just do

21. Where is your Mommy's favorite place to go? Library

No more warm-fuzzy

Raise your hand if you love to get the clothes out of the dryer and feel their warmth radiating into to you as you carry them to that little patch of floor in the bedroom where they will remain for the next few days/weeks. Ooh, what a good feeling! Unfortunately my new dryer doesn't deliver that little piece of laundry paradise. The clothes come out cool, even when you run the machine on the high heat setting. I'm sure that's a good thing on some very practical levels, but I'm in this thing for the literal warm-fuzzy, and I must admit, I'm disappointed every time the dryer buzzer goes off and I open up the door.

Virtual Tour

Many people have asked to see pictures of the inside of the house. My pride prevents me from taking any pictures while there are piles of boxes and stuff lying around everywhere. So, I will give you the empty house version, and when everything is really settled (in another couple of years or so) I'll come back with more interior pics. Here's the narrative of what you'll be seeing in the slide show:

As you walk in the front door, the dining room is on your right and the staircase is on your left. Straight ahead is the formal living room (with the fireplace). There are two little doors (which you can't see in the picture) leading out of the dining room on the far right wall. Those take you into the kitchen/breakfast/family room (the utility room is just through the doors on the right), which can also be gotten to by going straight through the formal living room. Facing the white, built-in bookshelves in the family room (from the kitchen), you'll see a door on your right. This leads out to the driveway and garage. There is also a door on the left, between the family room and the living room, that leads out to the backyard. Past the staircase (if you are starting from the front door) and to the left is the powder room (not pictured). From there, a jog to the right takes you into the master bedroom. From the door of the bedroom you can see Jeff's office, with the French doors. Looking out from the office, you can see the master bath. At the top of the stairs there is a large game room, with lots of built-in shelves. There are two bedrooms to the right of that room: Ruth's (lavender color) and the guest room (tan curtains). Those two rooms share a bathroom (also lavender). To the left of the game room, and down a step and a short hall, is the boys' room (blue curtains). They have their own bathroom, which can also be accessed from the short hallway leading to their room.

Maybe this will give you all a better idea of what the house looks like. But if your curiosity is still nagging at you, you'd better just plan to come visit. It looks much better in person anyway!

Lost and Found

You will remember from my last post that several items were missing as the moving dust began to settle. It was especially disturbing because they weren't the kinds of things that might just be in the next box. (We're talking mops, brooms, rakes, hoes, filing cabinets, etc.). Well, the good news is that most of the items have been found (or, as in the case of the vacuum cleaner, it has been remembered that they actually met their demise before we moved from Austin). The cleaning supplies were at my parents' house and the yard tools and filing cabinet were at my in-laws'. This makes me very happy, because for a while there I was seriously questioning my sanity.

Now, if I can just find the bag with all my pajamas...

Let's Play "What's In The Box?"

Even with fairly thorough labeling, it is still exciting to open each box and see what it holds--whether true treasures or moving mysteries. It is so neat to take each item out and carefully and lovingly find it a new home within the new home--or toss it in the nearest garbage can, if need be. Some items bring an unexpected smile, some an unexpected frown. But either way, I'm enjoying getting all my things out and finding them a special place.

So, without further ado, here are this week's categories and answers for "What's In The Box?"

1. So Happy To See You Again

*Clothes and Shoes (more than just a two-week supply)
*Massage Chair
*Address Book
2. Unexpected Joys
*Dating Memorabilia, including scrapbooks and letters
*African stuff
*Crystal and China (after they were washed and put away all bright and shiny)
3. What On Earth Made Me Put You In A Box In The First Place
*Lots and lots of sippy cup valves, without corresponding sippy cups
*Worn out, ill-fitting bras and panties
*Stale, disgusting candy from birthday pinatas gone by
4. Damaged Goods
*Antique Gossip Bench
*Moqueca Pots from Brazil
*Memory Foam Mattress Topper
5. Beyond Repair
*Cheap, metal garage shelf
*Decorative Mini-Martini (Cordial) Glass
*Melted, Spilled, Re-solidified, No-Longer-Useful, Highly Fragrant Bluebonnet Candle
6. Why, Oh Why Did I Say Good-Bye
*Coffee table and Side table
*Highchair
*Large Faux Flower Arrangement
7. Wish You Were Here (I know I kept them, I just don't know where they are)
*Broom, Mop, Vacuum Cleaner
*Ladder
*Shovel, Rake and Other Yard tools
8. New In Box
*Washer/Dryer
*Toaster Oven
*And coming soon: Oven
Thanks for playing along with us. Be sure to join us next time when we find out "What's In The Box?"

We're home

In the midst of the boxes and chaos, we are here. And we are happy. This is a good place for us. (That's right, Sharon, we are happy; we're in a good place; we're where we need to be)! We have met many of the neighbors already, and all have been very friendly. We are learning our way around town. (Jeff can probably make it to the hardware store and back blindfolded by now). And we are even making progress with unpacking--thanks in no small part to my parents, who kept the kids while we moved and came down over the weekend to help us out around the house. We are also really enjoying seeing and using all our stuff again. And for the children, it's like a great big birthday party. Since our stuff has been in boxes for nine months--and some of it for as long as a year--they can't even remember some of the toys they had before, so everything seems new and fresh and exciting. And, really, it's the same for Jeff and I with our stuff, only we don't call someone over to watch us enjoy our items like the kids do. The Lord has blessed us so much and we are so thankful to be home!